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 haven’t made this yet because I would like to know if it freezes.
Perfect chicken and mushroom soup. I didn’t change a thing and won’t change anything when I make it again!
The flavor is GREAT but my veggies were very crunchy. I followed the recipe as shown. I will make it again, but will cook them a lot longer
I didn’t change a thing. It was easily the best soup I have ever made. The girlfriend was very impressed. I will definitely be making this again. It was fantastic!
I do think adding rice could be could but it is amazing as is.
Delicious, light cream soup. I was looking for a soup to use up leftover cream and this was perfect. Like the others, I cooked the vegetables longer and added more herbs and pepper. I also added some cooked wild rice and stirred in the cooked chicken and cream towards the end. I prefer chicken breasts and diced them smaller than one-inch, so I didn’t want to overcook them. This is a good soup to experiment with, adding different rices, pasta or potatoes would make it heartier. It’s a “keeper” of a recipe.
I LOVED the flavor and texture of this soup. Truly cozy! The only comment I would make is that the time listed to cook the vegetables isn’t nearly enough for a regular soup pot. I’m not sure if it cooks through quicker in a Dutch oven but in the regular soup pot at least double the time is needed to make sure the veggies aren’t crunchy. Other than that, love it!
We thought this was just ok. I had to cook it much longer than the recipe stated for the veggies to be fully cooked and i cut them up very small.
This was so delicious and packed with flavor! My grandmother likes her veggies cooked throughly so the only modification I made was boiling the veggies in the chicken broth on medium low for about 20 mins before adding the half and half. Very impressed and will be making again. My grandmother is know to be a harsh critic when it comes to flavor and her first words were, “Mmm it’s gourmet.” I’d say it was a hit!
I made this recipe exactly as written… yum. Then again with left over baked lemon garlic chicken. The lemon added so much. Won’t do it again without it!!! I love soup ever since I was a
Child… one of my favorite meals. Love love this recipe!!! Thanks!
i’m heating up a can of Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Chicken soup, with some additions from these comments: 1/2 whole milk + 1/2 heavy whipping cream, dried tarragon, smoked sweet paprika, lots of fresh-cracked pepper. when it’s not so late and i’m not so lazy, i’ll make your actual recipe. it’s a GREAT recipe and a good base upon which to build. i love the use of orzo as a thickener, using leftover store-roasted chicken, and grating the carrots!
Made this was delicious
Love this recipe.. num-num-num. Better than chicken noodle (the go-to) when under the weather. I freeze a couple small servings for just such a “glorious ” occasion. But instead of kosher salt I use Sea Salt. It’s much better for people with health conditions that can absolutely not go without salt. Like me!
Great tasting soup! Light for a cream soup but filling. A truly sophisticated soup, and so easy to make!
Have made this twice now for family and company. Didn’t make any alterations to the recipe except for homemade broth with some leftover chicken and it received rave reviews.
That’s awesome!
Made this tonight……was fabulous! Kind of winged it with a rotisserie chicken and boxed broth, was still so good. Hey mushrooms were two for one at Publix today!
I have made this soup at least 10 times now. It’s one of my favourite soups to make. I know it’s literaly the only meal that I seem to choose first and commit to on a Sunday night.
It’s the best! 🙂
Was feeling today the “what shall I eat today” so I was searching on google some soup recipes that it could fill you up also. So this soup pop out as I was searching and the picture of it made me curious to try it out! Also it was so easy to cook. It took around 20 minutes maximum. As result it was so DELICIOUS that I even had two plates of this amazing recipe. I definitely recommend this soup!
This was really delicious, I probably used more seasoning than the recipe called for but I always do. I did add a large handful of chopped parsley to it while it cooked and some ridiculously delicious homemade noodles. I had to pack it up for the refrigerator quickly since it is just me and I could see myself eating the entire recipe. It’s that good .
It also ended up being a bit too heavy on the onion for me (and I’m an onion lover!) I think next time I make it I’ll use half an onion instead. But over all very delicious! Definitely a recipe I’ll revisit in the future!
This soup is delicious. Even though I omitted the chicken it still turned out great! I’ve seen others mention it, but just a heads up to anyone who might be wanting to try it, if you follow the recipe exactly as is, your carrots WILL NOT be tender unless you dice them very tiny. But if you’re like me and like the veggies in your soup more bite-sized, just boil the soup for an extra 10 minutes or so before adding the half and half. Turned out great!
Thanks for sharing, Shannon!
If you’re looking to “lighten” this soup up for a healthier meal I suggest leaving out the half and half. I was eager to taste my soup and scooped some out before adding the half and half and although its obviously not creamy it is still so flavorful and delicious!