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!
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, tender carrots/celery/onion, garlicky-thyme brothy-goodness.
With pantry staples like chicken stock, this comes together lightening fast (definitely weeknight worthy). All you need is some crusty bread off to the side to dunk into this cozy pot of earthy, wholesome comfort food.
Feel free to add a splash or more of that half and half, giving that luscious creamy texture we all love and need sometimes (definitely fewer calories than cream). If freezing, omit the dairy completely to avoid graininess and separating, adding it in right before serving.
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.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
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.
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.
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
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.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this soup last night and instead of using chicken thighs, I purchased a roasted chicken from the grocery store and used the breast meat from the chicken. It was so delicious and quick to make. I also used Swanson’s Tuscan Chicken Broth which gave it added flavor!
Made the soup tonight. Rather than use the dark meat I used left over shredded breast meat. Also added a 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper. Was delicious. Didn’t have to buy anything special had everything on hand
I made this last night for my husband and I and we both loved it! I love how it’s full of veggies, especially mushrooms which my husband loves. It was perfect comfort food a gloomy rainy day. It warmed me right up, the broth was so flavorful and it wasn’t heavy like I expected it to be with the addition of half & half. Thanks for all your delicious recipes by the way! I have been trying quite a few of them lately!
Holy delicious! This is probably the best soup I’ve made to date – and I make soups WEEKLY this time of year (Wisconsin winters)!
I had to alter the recipe because it was too cold for me to shop for ingredients. Instead of chicken thighs, I used breasts; I substituted the half and half for a can of evaporated milk. I added the milk and didn’t realize that the recipe called for 1/2 cup – so I added 1/2 cup of orzo to thicken the soup back up. Awesome addition!
I can’t wait to make this soup again, the original recipe, to share with my fiancé. I think I can convince him to like mushrooms with this hearty soup!
What would you think about adding wild rice to this soup? I cant wait to make it.
That sounds like an amazing addition!
I made this tonight, and it was was absolutely delicious! I did put in Dijon mustard. Will definitely make again!!
I made this tonight, and ended up dropping in about a tbsp. of Dijon mustard, which kicked the flavor up a bit for me. But it’s a delicious, hearty and gorgeous soup! Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you for including nutritional information on your wonderful recipes – I really appreciate it!
You could also sub. canned Evaporated Fat Free Milk for the 1/2 and 1/2. You get the creamyness without the fat.
I did sub the Evaporated milk for cream and it was delicious! Added extra vegys too because you can never have too much onions, celery, and carrots.
Simply delicious,made this recipe for dinner, we ate it all, it is a keeper! Thank you
This looks really good! But first look I thought it was Butternut Squash Chicken soup! That gives me an idea! Use that instead of the cream etc! Or I thought, I love blended carrots in soup that could help add creaminess without extra cream also! I can’t wait to try it!
made this tonight was another winner! When i was in the middle of cooking i kept thinking oh this just might not turn out right i admit i dont always follow directions completely for instance i used extra butter and it was salted because its all i had. I also used leftover chicken from 2 nights ago cooked it in olive oil then cut up a boneless breast and added that too.
I used more mushrooms then the recipe called for and extra bay leaves and rosemary.
At the end of the intial cooking stages, i threw in some baby spinach leaves and some french green beans!
IT WAS DELICIOUS SO GLAD I FOUND THIS COOKING SITE WONDERFUL RECIPES! I made some yummy buchman bread (copy cat outback steakhouse recipe) so good, but i am sure crackers or corn bread would go nice with this too.
Another hit! I could probably cook every night from your blog! Tonight, my Mom, Dad and Hubby all gave this wonderful soup a “thumbs up”! It is snowing here right now and this was perfectly comforting! Thanks Chungah!
I made this tonight, and it was delicious!!! I used a combination of mushrooms and used leftover cooked chicken, which made it a tad easier. This is a hit! Will be making this a regular! Thanks for a great recipe!
I love you blog!! every recipe i have made from here has turned out amazing!!
This look absolutely delicious! I’m making this for sure!
I made a batch of this soup, and it’s great. Easy, tasty, filling…perfect on a cool evening. However, I also found it satisfying as this morning’s breakfast. Cheers!!
I was wondering what to cook for dinner tonight and found out this recipe, luckily I have just all the ingredients needed. Thank you for sharing.
This was so good! I made it last night and used chicken breasts instead, but it worked out well! Thanks 🙂
I am making for dinner today–going to double the recipe and add a couple of handfuls of spinach and a cup of uncooked orzo. Should be great! Can’t wait!