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Creamy Chicken Soup

A creamy chicken soup to warm you right through to the bone.

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homemade creamy chicken soup in a bowl with a spoon served with crusty bread

One Chicken Soup Recipe To Rule All Chicken Soup Recipes

Why is this chicken soup so very excellent? Because it’s creamy! And a little bit dill-y! And, because it’s a TMP chicken soup recipe, it’s Parmesan-y and garlicky! Therefore, it’s extremely extra lovable. Chicken soup is great. We love it. We make it all the time in all of its various forms—classic with noodles, or coconut-y, or with rice, or with white beans—and we love it any which way it’s made. But this creamy chicken soup recipe is our current obsession. The added richness of the milk and butter are just too fantastic. In the colder months, we want things that feel like they’ll really stay with us—warm bowls of creamy, hearty soups we can wrap our cold hands around, bring to our frozen blue lips and sip deeply from to warm from the inside out. This soup hasn’t just been showing up on repeat, it’s on auto-play—it’s easy, comes together quickly and its belovedness is near-universal. Pair it with some crusty bread and hey—dinner’s done.

Shredded chicken, stock, green onions, rice, garlic, carrots and celery for creamy chicken soup in bowls on the counter

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Everything You’ll Need To Make This Creamy Chicken Soup Recipe

Just the basics, here! Classic chicken soup ingredient, plus creamy things equals deliciousness. When we say “cooked chicken” we mean all of the meat from a rotisserie chicken OR chicken that you’ve made ahead of time (poached chicken, for example). Here’s everything you’ll need:

  • Onion

  • Carrot

  • Celery

  • Garlic

  • Butter

  • Flour

  • Chicken stock

  • Whole milk

  • Dill

  • Cooked chicken

  • Parmesan

onions, carrots, celery and garlic being cooked in a pot
onions, carrots, celery, garlic butter and flour being cooked in a pot
onions, carrots, celery, garlic butter, flour and chicken broth being stirred in a pot with a wooden spoon
Chicken parmesan cheese, dill, vegetables, for creamy chicken soup in a pot

How Do You Add Richness to Chicken Soup?

That very question is how we ended up here, with this fabulously creamy chicken soup. We wanted to give our favorite soup a little punch-up, and so we turned to the classic, cream-ifying power of a roux! A roux is a classic technique for thickening soups and sauces, and simply refers to the use of fat and flour together—in this case, butter and flour! Whole milk adds plenty of creaminess, too, and voila! A lovely rich and creamy chicken soup.

homemade creamy chicken soup in a pot
homemade creamy chicken soup in a bowl

How To Make Creamy Chicken Soup

Four simple steps and this easy chicken soup is ready to go!

  1. Sauté onions, carrots, celery. Then, after a few minutes, add the garlic.

  2. Roux time! Stir in the butter and flour, then slowly pour in the stock.

  3. Bring the soup base to a boil and simmer for a few minutes until it has thickened a bit.

  4. Stir in the milk, salt, pepper, dill, chicken and Parmesan.

homemade creamy chicken soup in a bowl with a spoon served with crusty bread

Tools You’ll Need

More Chicken Soup Recipes to Try

homemade creamy chicken soup in a pot with a wooden spoon
homemade creamy chicken soup in a bowl with a spoon served with crusty bread

Chicken Soup For The Coldest Days

The homey comfort of a bowl of chicken soup is a must for these wintery days, and this chicken soup recipe is just one of many that we cycle through this time of year. If you give it a try, we’d love to know how you and your family enjoyed it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!

Creamy Chicken Soup

  • Serves: 6
  • Prep Time:  20 min
  • Cook Time:  25 min
  • Calories: 324

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced, about 1 cup
  • 1 medium carrot, diced, 3/4 cup
  • 2 celery ribs diced, ¾ cup
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, 4 Tbsp
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups chicken stock or broth
  • 1 cup milk (whole milk, preferably)
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp minced fresh dill
  • 3 cups shredded cooked chicken, from a rotisserie or 2 large chicken breasts, poached in water
  • 1/3 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
  • 4 green onions, chopped, for garnish

Method

  1. Add the olive oil to a large stockpot set over medium heat. Once the oil is glistening, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until the carrots and celery are beginning to soften, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.

  2. Add the butter to the pan. Once the butter is bubbling, sprinkle in the flour and stir until a thick paste is formed, cooking for about 1 minute. Slowly add the chicken stock, stirring and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the soup is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer until the carrots and celery are tender, and the soup has thickened about 5 more minutes.

  3. Add the milk, salt, pepper, dill, chicken and Parmesan cheese, stir to combine. Let simmer for a few minutes longer until the chicken is warmed through and the parmesan is fully incorporated.

  4. Serve the soup topped with green onions, extra Parmesan if desired.

NOTE: This soup will keep well in the fridge for a few days and you can definitely freeze it if you’d like to! It’ll keep in the freezer for up to three months. Simply thaw it out in the fridge and gently warm it in a pot on the stove stirring often so that the broth doesn’t separate.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories324
  • Protein22 g
  • Carbohydrates13 g
  • Total Fat19 g
  • Dietary Fiber2 g
  • Cholesterol84 mg
  • sodium416 mg
  • Total Sugars4 g

Creamy Chicken Soup

Questions & Reviews

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  • Joyce Feske

    Can I use Heavy Whipping cream instead of the milk?

    That might make it a bit too thick.

  • Jessica

    Can you use raw chicken instead of already cooked, I have 3 chicken breast I would like to cut into bite size and add in.

    We recommend poaching the chicken in broth or water before adding it into this soup.

  • Jackson

    I’ve tried doubling this a couple times and it always ends up with a layer of oil/fat settling on top. Wondering if it’s from using a full stick of butter for the roux.. any suggestions?

    I'm not sure what the oil is coming from. You could try using a little less butter if you'd like, if you do, I'd also cut down a little on the flour.

  • Gail Dodge

    What cheese other than Parmesan might I use in this soup?

    Romano or Asiago would work.

  • Megan

    Would this be okay to freeze?

    We haven't' tried but sure it will be fine!

  • Hilary Hedwig

    About to make for the third time. I always follows exactly as is and pour over rice (mainly so we can stretch it out a bit longer in our house because we love so much!) Thank you! This is my fav blog to find recipes.

    Thanks Hilary, we are so happy you love it!

  • Miska

    Perfect cuddle soup…. Got COVID and craved some good comfort food this was the best

    Thanks Miska, we are so happy you loved it! Hope you are feeling better!

  • Troy Gudorf

    this was so darn good. i made it exactly as-is in the recipe and it turned out perfect. new favorite chicken soup.

    Thanks Troy, we are so happy you loved it!

  • Kay

    I used this recipe as a base, I didn’t have some of the ingredients on hand so changed it up a bit. I had heavy cream in the fridge so I added 1/2 c milk & 1/2 cup cream. I had mushrooms so added a few of those sliced up, didn’t have fresh dill so added 1 tsp. of dried. Had left over rice from previous meal, so I added about a cup & 1/2 of that. I had a lemon on hand so added 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice. It’s simmering on the stove right now, but the sample I tried was delicious.

    Glad you like it Kay and glad to hear your subs worked out nicely!

  • Syidah R

    The recipe is pretty easy and taste good. But next time maybe I would blend the onions and garlics instead of dicing them. Thanks for the recipe!

    Thanks Syidah, glad you enjoyed it!