Creamy Chicken Soup is made with onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, and green beans, all in a rich and velvety broth seasoned with fresh thyme. This tasty soup comes together quickly and easily with already-cooked rotisserie chicken, making it doable on busy weeknights. Serve this comfort food with a simple garden salad or French baguettes with soft, creamy butter.
It is that time of the year when soup becomes a dominant part of our evening meals. If you enjoy this soup, you should try my Chicken Pot Pie Soup and Chicken and Dumpling Soup,
How to make Creamy Chicken Soup
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions, celery, and carrots, and cook until the onions and celery are soft. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, cooking for 1 minute while stirring. Sprinkle in the flour and continue cooking for 2 minutes while stirring.
Slowly pour in the chicken broth while stirring the soup. Add the green beans and potatoes and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cook until the green beans and potatoes are tender. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cooked chicken and half and half. Season with chopped fresh thyme, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Please see full directions in the recipe card.
Recipe Tips
Use any diced or shredded chicken for this recipe. I like to use an already-cooked rotisserie chicken that can be picked up from almost any warehouse or grocery store.
I like to use French-style (Haricots Verts) green beans with this recipe because they are more tender and flavorful, but you can use any fresh green beans. Just make sure you trim them and cut them into bite-size pieces.
Peel the carrots and let that bright orange color come through.
For best results, warm the half and half in the microwave, but do not boil. Use a reduced power to warm it to a little more than room temperature. Then, add it slowly to the soup over very low heat to prevent curdling.
For even more flavor, season with fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, parsley, or dill.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave.
How to Freeze Creamy Chicken Soup
To freeze this soup, do so before adding the half and half. Ladle the soup into freezer storage bags removing as much air as possible and leaving a little expansion room. Mark the contents and the date of preparation. Lay the soup bags flat on baking sheets and freeze. Once frozen, stack the soup bags on their side.
Thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the half and half.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup green beans cut into 1-inch segments
- 2 medium yellow potatoes peeled and chopped
- 2 ½ cups shredded or diced chicken breasts or chicken thighs
- 1 cup half n half or whole milk
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or fresh parsley
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
