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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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!
the finished product was great. the process was an hour total even with my husband slicing mushrooms, celery and carrots! I will say that I am looking forward to having leftovers tomorrow. I expect it to be much better the next day. I will make it again for sure.
Wonderful combination of veggies. Before I added the mushrooms, I cooked the other diced veg for about 10 minutes to make sure they were softened. Only other differences was I made a bouquet garni of fresh thyme and rosemary and added about of 1/4 c. of marsala wine. Everyone loved it! Such a nice comforting bowl of goodness to eat on a cold winter’s night.
I doubled this recipe, except for the broth (I make real bone broth at home). I used both Baby Bella/Crimini fresh mushrooms as well as dried Black Fungus (hydrated in hot bone broth) and mashed fresh juicey garlic cloves in sea salt (add at the very end if you care to preserve enzymes). Instead of bovine dairy, I made fresh organic almond milk (add at the very end if you care to preserve enzymes).
Best chicken soup I’ve made in a while. It’s definitely going to be a regular around here
Just made this soup this afternoon. Excellent! and so easy to make. The only change I made was to use 3 chicken tenders diced instead of the chicken thighs. Thank you for this recipe. I’ll be making this one again. I may make it into a corn chowder also.
I’m thinking of making this to keep in the fridge and use for my lunches this week. Do you think this would keep a week in the fridge or should it be kept in the freezer?
Unfortunately, soups that contain milk or cream, like chowders and bisques, do not hold up well in the freezer as they tend to take on a grainy texture and separate when defrosted and rewarmed. 🙁
Hello,
I’m lactose intolerant so can i just substitute the heavy cream for almond milk? Thank you!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
You can also use lactose free cream which I also use 🙂
I am not a chef, but I dabble in recipes from all over the world (it’s a hobby). You could use almond milk, sure. Or you could substitute coconut milk and a small splash of lemon juice and give it a Thai twist. Recipes are made to be broken ;o)
If you want to preserve soup, make soup up to point of adding dairy. Before adding dairy, separate out portion of soup that you will have left over, place in single or dual serving storage containers, and freeze. Then, when you want to serve, defrost the frozen soup, add in dairy at the end, heat and serve. Works like a charm for all manner of soups that contain dairy.
Turned out great, I added grean beans, substituted half n half for buttermilk, & also garnished with green onion. Thanks for the recipe.
I made this last night and it was delicious! It did take more than 30 minutes though. It took about 20 minutes to chop all the veggies. I also sauteed the onion, carrots and celery first for 4 minutes, then added garlic for 1 minute, then added the mushrooms until their liquid released. I also used two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It was Damn Delicious!
Made this last night. It 8s a keeper. Great for a cold, rainy night!
Absolutely Delicious!!
Would button mushrooms be okay?
Yes, of course!
This is one of my favorite soup recipes. I make it several times during the winter. So yummy!
Excellent recipe. I doubled up because I always make enough to store a second or third batch vacuum bagged in the freezer. I had confidence that this would be good. I used a bit more than double the chicken and double the mushrooms. I might even add more next time. The only real change I mad to this recipe was that I used tapioca flour and I used a bit less. Next time I’ll use more just to make it a bit thicker. I may experiment with some more exotic mushrooms too. Fantastic idea, and the fresh thyme kicks it up a lot!
A family favorite!
Easy and delicious! I used thighs and breast but otherwise followed the recipe, and my family loved it.
F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S recipe!! It is 43 degrees and it was time for a “stick to your ribs” type dinner. My husband loved it!! I have to admit that I loved it too! It was wonderful!! Thank you so much for posting this wonderful, delicious meal!! I love home made. Home made is so much better than canned or even fast food by a long shot. I have a habit of eating in restaurants and then trying to figure the recipe out. This recipe is restaurant quality!! Thank you so much!! You ROCKED this one!!
This is easy and delicious!
Made this soup for a pot luck lunch. Used a 1 for 1 flour replacement due to gluten intolerance. And I added about a cup of pre-cooked wild rice. Delicious!
This is our go-to recipe every time! I do drop the Rosemary in for a few minutes before serving because we love the flavor and fragrance. Other than that, it’s a perfect recipie!