Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup
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Velvety creamy mushroom soup! So cozy, comforting, hearty. A 30 min recipe, truly weeknight-dinner worthy!
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Don’t mind me as I drown myself in this epic creaminess in the middle of winter. A fun spin on chicken soup, this is made even creamier with a quick roux, along with all the little cremini mushrooms, mirepoix with garlicky-thyme brothy-goodness.
reasons to make creamy chicken mushroom soup
- Quick, cozy weeknight meal. This chicken soup uses pantry staples like chicken stock, and comes together lightening fast (certainly weeknight worthy).
- Clean-out-the-fridge meal. This is an ideal recipe to throw in any veggies (ex. peas, corn, green beans, broccoli or spinach) on hand that need to be used up ASAP, the most perfect opportunity for those picky eaters.
- Best soup for dunking. What a great excuse to whip up some crusty bread off to the side to dunk into this cozy pot of earthy, wholesome comfort food.
tips and tricks for success
- Repurpose leftover rotisserie chicken. To cut down on prep time even more, substitute rotisserie chicken for the chicken thighs.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Use heavy cream for more richness. Heavy cream will have a higher fat content than half and half, yielding a thicker, more velvety smooth consistency. On the flipside, use milk over half and half for a lighter soup.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Freeze without the dairy. Skip the half and half prior to freezing to avoid graininess and separating, adding it in right before serving.
what to serve with creamy chicken and mushroom soup
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
Half and half is equal parts of whole milk and cream. For 1 cup half and half, you can substitute 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream or 2/3 cup skim or low-fat milk + 1/3 cup heavy cream.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the half and half (dairy soups tend to separate when frozen) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding half and half when serving. Label, date and freeze up to 2 months.
Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup half and half, or more, as needed*
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Melt butter in the stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock, bay leaf and chicken, and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in half and half until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more half and half as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this recipe yesterday and it was great.
Do you think you could use Chicken Broth instead of stock?
Yes.
Thank you Chungah, I am so going to make this tonight, looks wonderful!!!
Hi! Do you think I could instead add shredded chicken?
Yes, of course!
Just made this soup today and it is absolutely delicious!!!
So good! This one is a keeper. I have made this a couple of times now. Today, I actually added gnocci to it and it was fantastic. Give it a try….you won’t be disappointed!! 😉
Hi Chungah
I made this soup tonight for dinner and it is delicious. I pretty much followed your recipe but did cook the vegetables in a little chicken stock until the carrots and celery were tender and then went on with the rest of the soup. And I sautéed the mushrooms in butter separately and added them near the end, cooking a little more after adding them to get the flavor throughout. A big success for this cold, rainy evening in North Idaho. Thank you for the recipe! Loved it!
This soup looks so good…can’t wait to try it out! Can you tell me where your pretty red pot is from? I’m looking for one just like it. Thanks!
Le Creuset. 🙂
I made this for my family tonight. It was a hit! I think the key to softening carrots is to sauté them for a longer period of time. Test the carrots before adding the other ingredients, Carrots are the longest ingredient to soften, sosauté them first before adding the celery, onions, garlic, and the mushrooms. I made a side of wild rice mix with chicken broth to add to the soup for those that wanted added texture and a gluten free option to bread. I also changed the flour to rice flour to make it gluten free. It makes it a little thicker, but just add more brother or cream to make it less creamy. Very good recipe!
This looks so good Chungah! I want to try it but a couple family members have milk allergies… can almond milk or soy milk be used instead of the half-and-half? Perhaps a little more flour to keep it thick and “creamy”. Can this substitution apply to your other recipes that use half-and-half? Thanks 🙂
Yes, absolutely.
Made this for dinner tonight! It was delicious, but it was not smooth like the pics. Did you blend everything together when you were done? Regardless…. it was so good…. definitely we will be making it again! Thanks!
I actually didn’t blend this at all – but you can certainly choose to blend as needed until the desired consistency is reached.
This is excellent! I will be making this all winter!!
My family loves this soup! Wondering if I could make it in the crockpot pot and if so what changes I should make?
It is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide. Hope that helps!
WOW I found this through Pinterest.. I’ve never seen your website before, but I will definitely be returning! This is absolutely delicious and I’m eating it as I’m writing 😀 I followed the recipe except I didn’t have carrots on hand, I added 1.5 cups orzo and added a splash more 1/2 & 1/2. Perfect!
Hi! I usually meal prep on the weekends and stick stuff in the fridge so I can take it to school for lunch (I’m a sophomore in high school :)). Would this soup be okay in the fridge for a few days and then reheated?
Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with.
OMG! Just made this soup and it was incredible! Perfect flavor and very smooth and light creaminess (thanks for the tip of using whole mile + heavy cream in place of half & half). On a scale of 1-10, it’s a WOW! Thank you!
I’d like to make this soup for dinner. It looks amazing!
But, I’d like to add some cooked rice to it like some of the reviews suggest.
How much cooked rice would you suggest putting in the soup?
About 1-2 cups, but really, it’s up to you!
I love the nutritional information. Thank you! The only problem is that it says the values are for one serving, but does not specify the serving size. Do you know what the size of a serving is for this recipe?
About 1-2 cups.
I made it for dinner and served in bread bowels,it was a big hit. I was surprised that only half a cup of half and half could make it so creamy. Thanks for sharing. I will be making it again.
Made this tonight and my whole family — from my hard-to-impress hubby to my 4 year-old daughter who heretofore refused to eat mushrooms — raved about it. It’s SO exciting to find something new that pleases the whole gang. It was, indeed, damn delicious…even in Alabama in July! Thanks for an amazing recipe!
I made this soup a few times now. I add brocolli instead of celery and serve it over rice. (I live in Hawaii and we serve everything over rice/with rice, it makes the soup thicker and last longer too)
It is so yummy and hearty and my hubby always begs me to make it lol. He says he could live off of it.
So I found to make sure the carrots are soft I start with the medium heat then I lower and cook it covered on low with all the veggies BEFORE I even add the broth. For about 5-10 mins, however long it takes for the carrots to get soft. Then continue with broth. Makes for a yummy soft carrot!!