This homemade cream of chicken soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food!
A creamy and savory chicken broth is filled with tender chunks of chicken and a handful of veggies for a simple and cozy soup recipe.
This easy recipe comes together in no time at all for a savory soup that will be on the menu rotation all year long!
Simple Comfort
Cream of chicken soup is one of those cozy recipes that feel like a hug in a bowl. Simple homemade goodness.
- This soup is the perfect way to use up any leftover bits of chicken or even turkey.
- It is a combination of simple ingredients that packs great flavor and reheats well.
- Add potatoes, leftover rice or even pasta to turn it into a creamy chicken noodle soup.
Note: This is a creamy soup for eating, not a condensed cream of chicken soup substitute for casseroles. Find our from-scratch condensed soup here to use in recipes.
Ingredients
Chicken – Adding cooked chicken to this soup makes it so easy (check the notes if you don’t have cooked chicken)! Use chicken from a leftover rotisserie chicken or use turkey if that’s what you have on hand!
Vegetables – Onions, carrots, and celery are simmered until tender. Try adding bell peppers, zucchini, or mushrooms!
Broth – Chicken broth or chicken stock is the base of this soup. A splash of cream a creamy, flavorful texture!
Seasonings – Poultry seasoning, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper are all added to the soup.
How to Make Cream of Chicken Soup
A thick and creamy soup starts with a really good roux! After that, it’s as easy as 1-2-3!
- Melt butter in a dutch oven and cook the onion until tender per the recipe below.
- Add the flour and seasonings, and cook for a few minutes. Add broth a bit at a time, mixing after each addition until smooth. Simmer with carrots and celery.
- Add remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes more. Discard bay leaf and serve immediately.
Tips for Perfect Creamy Soup
- When adding the flour, let it cook for a few minutes before adding liquid.
- Start adding liquid a bit at a time to thicken the soup. It will be thick and pasty at first, continue stirring until smooth after each addition.
- Heavy cream can be substituted for evaporated milk or light cream.
- If there’s no sherry, feel free to substitute dry white wine!
Serve this soup with some homemade buns or french bread for dunking!
Super Yummy Soups
Here are more of our favoriter creamy cozy soup recipes!
Did you enjoy this Cream of Chicken Soup? Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below!
Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 onion finely diced
- ⅓ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons dry sherry
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 2 ribs celery finely chopped
- 2 cups cooked chicken chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream cream
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook onion in butter over medium heat until softened, about 4 minutes.
- Add flour and seasonings and cook 1 minute more.
- Stir in broth a bit at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.
- Add sherry, bay leaf, carrot, and celery, simmer 12-14 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
- Add chicken and cream. Simmer 5 minutes more.
- Discard bay leaf, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with parsley if desired and serve.
Notes
- When adding the flour, let it cook for a few minutes before adding liquid.
- Start adding liquid a bit at a time to thicken the soup. It will be thick and pasty at first, continue stirring until smooth after each addition.
- Sherry can be substituted with dry white wine. You can leave it out if you’d like but it does enhance the flavor.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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I made this soup for lunch today. It was so tasty! Rather than add salt, I added Roasted Chicken Better Than Bouillon, a half teaspoon garlic, cracked black pepper, and I used canned chicken. So yummy!
The more the recipes, the better my palate enjoys new flavors.
Thank you.
Doc.
I am so glad you have been enjoying the recipes Richard!
Delicious recipe. Only change I made was adding homemade rivels (dumplings) to it.
That sounds delicious Nicki!
Excellent soup. I added some cauliflower rice.
I am so glad you enjoyed this soup recipe Sylvia!
Hi Holly
How are you?
Your homemade Chicken soup looks delicious would love to try it someday!
Hilary Cole
Harare Zimbabwe
Hi Hilary, this soup is delicious and I can’t wait for you to try it!
Made this today. I had a rotisserie chicken, took the meat off and simmered the caucus for several hours, cooled the broth and skimmed the fat off. Had about 5 cups of broth.
This was absolutely wonderful. Will definitely make it again.
I am so glad you loved this recipe Anne!
I made this for a friend who is going through a cancer journey. It was so good. She requested a repeat. It will be on our rotation as well.
I’m so glad you both loved it.
The absolute best chicken soup recipe. I bake my chicken breasts in the oven with a healthy coating of McCormick rotisserie chicken seasoning and sealed in foil , I then put any juices from them into my soup along with the stock.
Don’t try to rush cooking this soup you need everything nice and tender
That sounds delicious, Joan! So glad you are enjoying this recipe, your additions sound amazing.
This is seriously good soup! I boiled my chicken breast as per your recipe and precooked the carrots and celery in chicken broth for about 10 min. and subbed this broth for one cup of the chicken broth. I added a pinch of tarragon. This soup is hearty and comforting on a cold winter day!
Thanks for sharing Bonnie, it’s great to hear you enjoyed it!
This soup is Awesome the only change I made was I used leftover Turkey instead of chicken, made it exactly as written. Thanks for the great recipe, it was a hit
You’re welcome Lorraine! Sounds delish!
Love this site!!!
Made this recipe for dinner tonight. It was very good and very filling. I used Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour and it worked fine. Had to add salt and pepper but I didn’t pay attention to whether or not I used low sodium broth.
Love this recipe! It’s quick and easy but most importantly, it is delicious! I tried it the first time and it was a hit.
I did not have enough blueberries so I added some thinly cut apples to make up for them. It worked very well.
Holly, I’ve commented several times asking you to include calorie per serving and you’ve never responded. Well, duh!!! I finally figured it out and I’m sorry I bothered you about it. Keep everything coming. I love it all.
Thank you so much Di! We always appreciate your feedback! I’m glad you find it helpful.