This Creamy Chicken Potato Soup is quick, hearty, and incredibly easy. It’s the perfect chicken soup for busy weeknights.
Feeling a little bored with classic chicken noodle soup? You should try out one of my favorite chicken soup variations, creamy chicken and potato soup.
It’s everything we all love about chicken noodle soup, but we swap out noodles for hearty chunks of potato and add a generous amount of heavy cream, which makes this soup extra filling and satisfying.
I make this soup all the time for family and guests when the weather turns chilly, and it always gets rave reviews and requests for the recipe.
Ingredient Notes
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts: For a richer soup, feel free to swap in chicken thighs here. You’ll just need to reduce the time the chicken cooks. You can also save time by using 2-3 cups of shredded or chopped rotisserie chicken.
- Chicken broth: This soup tastes fantastic with store-bought chicken broth, but for a real show-stopper, try making it with homemade chicken stock.
- Heavy cream: Half and half can be substituted for the heavy cream, but you may need to increase the amount depending on how creamy you want your soup. I do not recommend substituting with milk.
- Red potatoes: For this soup, I prefer the texture of red potatoes. However, you can also use Russet potatoes if that is what you have in your pantry.
How to Make Creamy Chicken and Potato Soup
Brown your chicken in a large pot with a lid.
Add water to the pot, bring to a simmer, and cover with a lid.
Remove the chicken from the pot once it is fully cooked, and set aside.
Cook onion and minced garlic in oil in the large pot.
Add carrots and celery, being sure to stir often while they are cooking.
Stir in broth, bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.
Add potatoes, oregano, and basil, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
Add chicken and heavy cream, and simmer for 1 minute until the chicken is reheated.
Serve, and enjoy!
Variations
- Creamy chicken noodle soup: You can replace the potatoes with 4-6 ounces of the pasta of your choice.
- Creamy tortellini soup: Replace the potatoes with 9 ounces of cheese tortellini, cooked.
- Add more vegetables: Corn, green beans, peas, and even a few handfuls of spinach (stirred in at the end of the cooking time) are all great additions.
- Skip the cream: You can leave out the cream for a dairy-free chicken and potato soup.
FAQ
How to store your creamy chicken potato soup leftovers?
- Refrigerator: This soup can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: If you don’t mind the texture of frozen and re-heated potatoes, you can freeze the soup as-is in an airtight container (I love 2-cup deli containers for individual portions) or freezer bag(s) for up to 3 months.
If, like me, you don’t like to freeze potatoes, you can still freeze this soup, but you will need to modify the recipe slightly for optimal results.
Omit the potatoes when cooking and let the soup simmer until the veggies are just tender. Then freeze the soup in individual-sized portions in airtight containers or quart freezer bags.
Once you are ready to eat, defrost the soup in the refrigerator or on the stovetop and reheat in either the microwave or on the stove.
Cook your chopped potatoes separately, about 1 medium red potato per serving, and then drain and add the cooked potato to the heated soup. This will give you delicious soup from the freezer, without grainy potatoes!
More Warming Soup Recipes
Creamy Chicken Potato Soup
Equipment
- Large pot with a lid
Ingredients
- 2 medium (about 1 pound) boneless skinless chicken breasts *
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- Filtered water
- ½ large white or yellow onion diced
- 3 large cloves garlic minced or pressed with a garlic press
- 3 large carrots peeled and sliced ¼ inch
- 3 celery ribs sliced ¼ inch
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 6 medium (about 1.5 to 2 pounds) red potatoes scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- ¼ heaping teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ heaping teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup heavy cream *
Instructions
- To optimize cooking time, before prepping the rest of your ingredients, start cooking your chicken, and then you can finish your prep while the chicken cooks. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts.
- In a large pot with a lid, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts to the pot and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until browned. Flip the chicken and repeat. Once both sides are browned, add filtered water to the pot until it comes about halfway up the sides of the chicken pieces (it doesn’t need to be exact). Bring the water to a simmer, cover the pot and turn the heat down to medium.
- Cook for 8 to 12 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat reads 165°F (170°F if you’re going to shred the chicken). Check occasionally and add more water if the majority has evaporated. (Do not allow all the water to evaporate!) Larger chicken breasts will take longer to cook, so be sure to check for doneness before removing from heat.
- While your chicken cooks, prep the rest of your ingredients for the soup.
- Transfer the chicken and any liquid left in the pot to a clean plate or bowl.
- Return the pot to the stove and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Heat over medium heat and add the onions and minced garlic. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the edges of the onions begin to turn translucent, stirring well to remove any cooked-on bits of chicken from the bottom of the pot.
- Add carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the broth, bring everything to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, basil, and oregano, bring soup back to a simmer and continue to cook for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- While your soup cooks, dice or shred the chicken. Once the potatoes are tender, add chicken and any of their juices back to the pot along with the heavy cream. Salt generously and pepper to taste.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, until chicken is reheated.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
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