This creamy chicken soup is a healthy and hearty way to enjoy a favorite! It’s packed full of veggies and protein-rich chicken and makes a satisfying meal.
Despite the fact that it’s in the 90s here in Tucson, I’m making soup, ha!
This one is worth sweating for, I promise. It’s rich and hearty, made with veggies like carrots, celery, and potatoes, and it’s packed full of chicken.
The trick to making this creamy is blending the cooked potatoes with a little bit of half and half and some of the warm broth. It creates a lovely base without having to make a roux, and it’s delicious!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil
- Vegetables – Onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and yellow potatoes
- Herbs and spices – Dried thyme, turmeric, bay leaf, parsley, salt, and pepper
- Chicken thighs – Breasts also work, but the thighs add a lot of flavor! A combination of the two is good.
- Water – Broth can be substituted.
- Half and half – Try full-fat coconut milk if you’re dairy-free.
Recipe steps
In a large pot, add the oil, onion, garlic, carrots, and celery, along with the spices, and cook until the vegetables are soft.
Submerge the chicken and potatoes in the water and bring the pot to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and let everything cook on medium low, uncovered, for 30 minutes. The potatoes should be fork tender.
Remove the bay leaf.
Remove the chicken thighs and chop them into small pieces.
Add the half and half to a blender, along with all of the potato halves and 4-5 ladles of broth. Do this carefully, as the soup is obviously hot.
Blend until smooth.
Add the chopped chicken and blended broth back into the remaining soup. Stir it all together with fresh parsley.
Recipe notes
The addition of turmeric may seem odd, but I love that it gives the soup a lovely golden color!
Serve this with some Pumpkin Biscuits or Spinach Tortillas to sneak in even more veggies!
Healthy Creamy Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ cup yellow onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- ¾ cup celery chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- few dashes turmeric
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 large chicken thighs left whole
- ¾ pound yellow (gold) potatoes sliced in half (or quarters if you have larger potatoes)
- 4 cups water
- ½ cup half and half
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot.
- Add in the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, turmeric, and bay leaf, and cook for 5-10 minutes until vegetables are soft.
- Pour in the water.
- Add in the chicken thighs (whole, no need to chop) and potatoes making sure to submerge them.
- Bring the soup to a low boil, then reduce it to medium low and cook for 30 minutes, uncovered, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Remove the bay leaf.
- Remove the chicken thighs and chop them into bite-size pieces.
- Let the soup cool a bit, then remove the potatoes and add them, along with the half and half and a few ladles of soup broth, to a high speed blender.
- Blend until smooth and pour the mixture back into the soup pot, along with the chopped chicken.
- Add in the fresh parsley, and stir everything to combine.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have a chance to try this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below letting me know how you liked it!
