Creamy Chicken Pot Pie Soup Recipe

What's even better than chicken pot pie? This creamy chicken pot pie soup, which takes the classic dish out of the oven and onto the stovetop for an even easier-to-prepare one-pot meal. Whether you don't feel like turning on the oven or are simply looking for a simpler way to indulge in a steaming bowl of warming comfort, this recipe is a natural contender for family gatherings and cozy weeknight dinners alike.

Developed by A.J. Forget, this chicken pot pie soup goes from cutting board to dinner table in less than an hour, without creating a pile of dishes in the sink or sacrificing an ounce of flavor. With all of the traditional elements of a chicken pot pie — tender chicken, mixed vegetables, creamy gravy, and even golden pastry batons on top — this recipe scratches all the same itches as the original and is the perfect fit for your comfort food repertoire.

This soup starts with butter and cubed chicken breast, followed by onion, carrot, celery, garlic, black pepper, dried thyme, and dried rosemary to create a flavorful vegetable base. You'll also need flour, chicken broth, and heavy cream to make things rich and soupy, as well as peas and waxy potatoes for bulk and lemon zest for freshness. Lastly, pick up a frozen store-bought pie crust and fresh parsley for the optional toppings.

Add 2 tablespoons butter to a large pot over medium-high heat and allow to melt.

Once butter has melted, add chicken breast and saute for 3-4 minutes, until just cooked. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pot along with the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, pepper, thyme, and rosemary. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.

Mix flour into the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes, until the flour begins to brown and stick to the bottom.

Pour in the broth, scraping up any fond from the bottom of the pot.

Add potatoes, return soup to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, until potatoes are just tender.

Remove lid, return chicken to the pot, and stir in the peas and lemon zest. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes.

Remove soup from heat, stir in the cream, and season with salt to taste.

If you are garnishing with pie crust, add ½ tablespoon butter to a large skillet, let melt, and fry the pastry for 2 minutes on each side, until browned and crisp.

Serve soup hot, garnished with more fresh black pepper, chopped parsley, and pieces of fried pie crust, if using.

Picking the right type of potato is an important part of any recipe. Each variety has its own unique characteristics, but they are generally divided into two categories: waxy and starchy.

Waxy potatoes include red potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, white potatoes, and fingerling potatoes, among others. They are defined by their smooth, thin skin and dense flesh, as well as their high moisture content and low starch content. What this means in the kitchen is that waxy potatoes hold their shape better when cooked. Unlike starchy potatoes, which crumble after cooking, waxy potatoes will come out of the soup pot looking just like they did when you diced them. The dense, fine-grained flesh of waxy potatoes also gives them a delightfully creamy texture, and the thin skin means that there is no need to peel them before cooking.

Whether you are looking to lighten things up or simply forgot to pick up that bottle of heavy cream at the store, there are a number of options available to replace it in a recipe. One good choice is half-and-half, which, as its name implies, is a 50/50 mixture of whole milk and light cream. Half-and-half has a lower fat content than heavy cream, but it still adds a nice, albeit less rich, creaminess to recipes when used as a 1:1 replacement.

Another option is to swap whole milk and butter for heavy cream, especially if you already have both cooking staples on hand. For each cup of heavy cream you wish to replace, use ¾ cup whole milk and ¼ cup melted butter, whisking them together in a bowl until thick and smooth. If these options don't suit your fancy (or what you have in your pantry right now), there are lots of other good substitutes for heavy cream out there, and many will work in this chicken pot pie soup.