This Creamy Chicken Pot Pie Soup is made without canned soup from scratch using simple ingredients I bet you already have in your pantry! It is hearty, rich, and soul-warming – not to mention EASY to make. Depending on your skill level, this soup can be ready anywhere from 30-minutes to just under an hour. Don’t skip the secret ingredient! It’s what sets this soup apart; the flavor is absolutely amazing!
I love a good hearty bowl of soup in the fall and winter months and this soup almost makes me look forward to another cold winter.
This soup is so creamy and flavorful and together with the puff pastry sticks, it is divine – truly the BEST chicken Pot Pie Soup my friends and family have tasted. You really have to try it. Don’t omit the nutmeg, though, it really makes this dish sing! If you need more reassurance, check out the dozens of comments below and on Pinterest! It’s a favorite for sure.
Ingredients and Tools Needed to Make Pot Pie Soup?
Ingredients:
- Chicken – alternatively you could use leftover turkey for a deliciously creamy Turkey Pot Pie Soup
- Cooking oil – I use olive oil but you may also use any other light cooking oil like canola, corn, or vegetable oil.
- Butter – I use unsalted sweet cream butter, if you use salted butter, lower your added salt by 1/2 tsp.
- All-purpose flour – Do not use cornstarch, this would completely change the taste of the roux.
- Heavy cream – A mixture of heavy cream and whole or 2% milk would work if you prefer to lessen the calories. Skim milk will work but drastically alter the texture of this recipe.
- Chicken base – similar to chicken bouillon found near the bouillon in the grocery store or online.
- Chicken Stock – water may be substituted but there will be a loss of flavor over the chicken stock. I use unsalted chicken stock.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic is the most flavorful over pre-packaged minced garlic.
- Onion – I typically use yellow or sweet Vidalia onions.
- Green peas – frozen green peas work fine. Canned peas are not optimal for their texture.
- Carrots – fresh or frozen both work great. A bag of peas and carrots works well in this recipe.
- Nutmeg – freshly grated tasted the best. I strongly advise trying the nutmeg. The flavor is phenomenal and only needs a tiny pinch.
Tools:
- Dutch Oven or heavy-bottomed stockpot – for cooking the soup.
- Rimmed Baking Sheet – for baking the puff pastry strips.
- Silicone Baking Mat, parchment sheets, or parchment paper – optional.
How to Make Chicken Pot Pie Soup from Scratch – Step by Step:
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Saute until cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside. See photo 1 below.
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Then into the same large skillet, melt butter. See Photo 2.
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Add the onions and saute until they soften; about 3 minutes. See photo 3 below.
- Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Then sprinkle the flour over the onions and garlic, stir until consistency of peanut butter, but do not brown like a roux — you want it to remain a light golden color. See photo 4 below.
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Add the chicken base, chicken stock (or water), and heavy cream. Stir until combined. See photo 5 below.
- Add the chicken and any collected juice back into the soup. See photo 6 below.
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Add peas, carrots. continue to cook on low until heated through. See photo 7 below.
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Prepare puff pastry by cutting the dough into 1-inch wide strips. See photo 8 below.
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Bake puff pastry in the oven on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking oil or a silicone baking mat for 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. See photo 9 below.
What are some variations on this Easy Chicken Pot Pie Soup?
Turkey Pot Pie Soup:
Wondering what to do with Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey? Simply omit the chicken in this recipe and substitute an equal amount of leftover shredded turkey. Ladle hot soup over of leftover stuffing or mashed potatoes!
Chicken Corn Chowder:
Omit the peas and carrots, add cooked, diced potatoes, and two cups of canned or frozen corn.
Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup:
Omit the peas, add 1 lb package of potato gnocchi, and 1 cup of spinach leaves coarsely chopped.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Biscuits:
Omit the puff pastry and add your favorite (raw) biscuits to the top of the soup and bake in the oven.
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Soup Recipe FAQs
What is Chicken Base?
Chicken Base is similar to bouillon but not all chicken bases and bouillons are created equally. I use Better than Bouillon brand bases. They have several types to choose from.
Be sure when you select one that you look at the amount of sodium in each teaspoon of granules. Some brands have double or even triple the amount of sodium when compared to other brands. No matter which brand you choose, follow the directions on the label for reconstitution.
How to Store Leftover Chicken Pot Pie Soup?
Leftovers should be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Can leftovers Chicken Pot Pie Soup Be Frozen?
The short answer is No.
Soups that contain milk or cream, like chowders and bisques, do not do well in the freezer. They generally take on a grainy texture and the milk and fats separate once defrosted.
How are Leftovers Reheated?
Reheat leftovers on the stove over medium to medium-low heat as to not scald the cream.
For the microwave, place soup in a microwave-safe bowl and reheat of 50% power in 1-minute intervals stirring the soup between each additional interval of time.
If the soup is too thick, add a splash of cream, milk or water to thin it out to your desired consistency.
Can Leftovers be repurposed?
Try serving leftovers over mashed potatoes and top with shredded cheddar cheese. It’s comfort food in a bowl!
How to Thicken Chicken Pot Pie Soup:
Look at step 4 in the instructions above, but I thicken my soup by sprinkling flour over the onions and garlic and stirring until it gets the consistency of peanut butter. Do not brown like a roux brown through, you want it to remain a light golden color. See photo 4 above.
Looking For More Soup Recipes?
Pub Style Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
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Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Video
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 4 (2 lbs) chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces or 2 to 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 ground pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil/Canola Oil/Vegetable Oil
- 1/3 cup butter unsalted
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups heavy cream [See Note 2]
- 4 teaspoons chicken base (bouillon) [See Notes 5]
- 1 cup Chicken Stock [See Notes 5]
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- ½ small yellow onion diced
- 1 cup frozen green peas thawed [See Note 3]
- 1 cup frozen carrots thawed [See Note 3]
- Pinch nutmeg freshly grated, optional
For the Pastry Sticks
- 2 Sheets Puff Pastry Thawed per package instructions; [See Note 4]
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Then into the same large Dutch oven, melt butter and saute the onions until they soften; about 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Then sprinkle the flour over the onions and garlic, stir until consistency of peanut butter, but do not brown like a roux — you want it to remain a light golden color.
- Add the chicken base, chicken stock (or water), and heavy cream. Stir until combined.
- Add the chicken and any collected juice back into the soup. Add peas, carrots. continue to cook on low until heated through. Stir in the nutmeg.
- Prepare puff pastry by cutting the dough into 1-inch wide strips. Bake puff pastry in the oven on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking oil or a silicone baking mat for 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.
Notes
- Quicken the preparation. start with shredded leftover or rotisserie chicken. Swap in leftover turkey and create a wonderful turkey pot pie soup.
- Lighten it up. swap out the heavy cream for low-fat (2%) milk.
- Keep it family-friendly. Swap out the peas and carrots for vegetables your family enjoys.
- Swap up the bread. We serve this soup with puff pastry sticks but it's equally as good with garlic-cheddar biscuits. Bake them off while the soup comes together in the stove! Easy-breezy.
- Not all chicken bases and bouillons are created equally. Be sure when you select one that you look at the amount of sodium in each teaspoon of granules or paste. Some brands have double or even triple the amount of sodium than others.
- What can I do with Leftovers? This soup will last covered in the refrigerator for up to 7 days but should not be frozen. Cream-based soups tend to turn grainy and separate after freezing resulting in a poor taste and texture quality.
- Reheating the Soup: Soup may be reheated on the stove or in the Microwave.
- Stove Top: In a saucepan over medium to medium-low heat, slowly heat the soup stirring occasionally. If the soup had become too thick, add a splash of milk or water to thin to desired consistency.
- Microwave: In a microwave safe bowl, heat the soup at half-power until the desired temperature is reached. Stir at 30-second intervals. If the soup had become too thick, add a splash of milk or water to thin it to your desired consistency.
EXPERT TIPS:
- Do Not let the soup come to a rolling boil once you've added the cream. This can cause the cream to split.
- "Split" is the term used for dairy when it curdles and separates into curds and weigh.
- The flour added in step 6 goes a long way to combat this, however, this is still something to watch out for.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy, and is sourced from the USDA Food Database.
Made this tonight. We loved it. Great comfort food.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. We were in dire need of comfort food with the virus/election stress. This was perfect!
Can I just dump everything in the crockpot and cook it that way? Should I wait until almost ready to serve to add the cream? What’s the best way to do it? Thanks!!
This soup is incredible and has quickly become a family favorite. It is such a comforting dish that warms your soul.
Thank you Dina. It’s so rich. More like a chowder than a pot pie but amazing none the less.
If I made this soup in my dutch oven and then moved it to the crockpot with a setting of warm, do you think it would be ok?
That sounds perfect.
Wow! This is an incredible soup recipe and exactly what I was looking for. My only change was that I used a 12oz bag of frozen mixed veggies in it so it had corn/peas/carrots and green beans. We couldn’t stop eating it – it was that good and a prefect fall/winter soup to warm you up on chilly days/nights. It’s a real winner.
Hi Julie! That sounds wonderful – this soup base is very chowder-esque so you could easily omit the nutmeg and add corn and have chicken corn chowder!
This is my second time making this. I made it for Sunday dinner and my whole family loved it! I just made the single recipe and ran out and both my son-in-laws asked me “where’s the soup?” They wanted more! So, this time I doubled the recipe! We will see how much is left this time!
Excellent! I’m so glad you and the sons-in-law enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to come back by and let me know.
Really delicious. Super easy to make, hearty and filling. I used some leftover chicken and half and half instead of cream and it was awesome.
Is there a way to make this in a crockpot
Hi Maggie,
I’m sure this can be made in the crockpot but I do not have a recipe developed (yet) for that variation.
When is the nutmeg added to the dish?
Hi Joseph,
This gets stirred in right at the end. I’ve updated the recipe card to reflect that omission. Thanks for taking the time to ask. I hope you enjoy it.
This soup was fantastic! Thank you for sharing – this will definitely be a regular in our home. I doubled the flour and used a precooked chicken to make it even easier. Turned out PERFECT.
Hi Kristin,
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for sharing your experience with our readers. I appreciate it. Happy Holidays.
This might be the best meal I ever made….or it’s def in the top 5
Thank you, Gala! That means so much to me and I’m thrilled that you loved this dish.
I’m making this soup now, and it looks and smells great, but I’ve found the recipe difficult to follow. The instructions are incomplete on the main recipe, and I had to scroll up to find out when to add the garlic, chicken, and veggies.
Hi Nan,
Thanks for your feedback. This was the first recipe I set out to edit after a recent post updates. I appreciate that you took the time to let me know I had made some errors. I have updated the card accordingly and you should find that it now reads just like the step by step text above it in the post text.
I had to leave the pastry in the oven for 15 minutes extra at 350 degrees. Just an FYI…
Hi Susan! Thanks for your feedback. I will check into this and update the recipe. I happen to be making this tomorrow! ;)
Hi Susan, I have updated the recipe, that needs to be 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.
I made this and it was amazing. The whole family loved it. I used 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 3 cups half and half. I used a bag of mixed vegetables and served over biscuits. Yummy. Will make again.
What a great soup! My family and I couldn’t get enough of it.
Delicious. This soup was absolutely divine.
This really is the best chicken pot pie soup. It’s thick and creamy like a chowder. Yummy!
Thanks, Cory! So glad you enjoyed it.
So fattening with the heavy cream but so good! My husbnad asked for this again which is a real compliment!
Thanks, Asha! So glad you both enjoyed it.
So creamy. I doubled the vegetables to bulk it up. Family loved it.
Thanks, Anderson! So glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks very nice blog! This soup is so rich and creamy. By far the best chicken pot pie soup I’ve ever tried!
Thanks, Dennis! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. :)
the Weather in Wisconsin is already getting cooler so I can’t wait to make this soup for my family.
Thanks! Let us know if you enjoyed it!!
I joined your newsletter and can’t wait to see what other fabulous recipes you share. The nutmeg to finish this creamy sauce is the perfect touch.
Thanks, Jenny! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
This is fantastic! I doubled the veggies and chicken to make it heartier. My kid and my niblings loved this soup so much that it has become a favorite of theirs and they’re ALL picky eaters!
Hi Enid!
That sounds wonderful. I’m so glad this recipe passed the taste test with your family!
This soup was amazing. Wondering if you have a skinny version so i can enjoy it more often
This is definitely several levels above even a good soup. My family all commented on how great it was. In my opinion, don’t “skinny” it down unless you would actually drop dead if you take in one calorie too many, because it’s great as it is! Everyone (well, almost everyone) loves the flavors of chicken pot pie, and this is the most successful transition of them to a soup I have come across. Keep this one at the top of your soup list, everyone! I’m going to print off the recipe for the casserole version now.
Beth! Thank you so much. I am so happy you enjoyed it.