Another year older, another year… wiser? Possibly. Or not. It’s my birthday!! ???? And since I’m 30, I decided it was only right that we celebrate with a vat of the creamiest, coziest, chicken pot pie soup. Of course, I doctored it up with lots of egg noodles because we love what they bring to the party. Noodles truly make everything better. This chicken pot pie soup has been on my mind on an endless loop for quite a few weeks now. So much so that I made it in 80 degrees weather and enjoyed it with the air conditioner on. And speaking of hot temperatures, this past weekend we hosted a little shindig for our friends, and it was seriously boiling! Close to 80 degrees in the middle of December. And then overnight, the temperature dipped into the low 30s. What? That’s like a 40-degree fluctuation. WHAT? Okay.. whatever, I’m not complaining. Hooray! It finally boot weather. I hear the rest of the US is under a mountain of snow. Tell me what’s it like in your area? Hope it’s not too bad. Let me warm you up. ??
So if you’re looking for a comforting and filling meal, this chicken pot pie soup is what you need. We enjoyed bowlfuls of this for dinner and I have got to say, the veggies, chicken, cheese, and noodles are such a filling combination. I know, you’re thinking egg noodles in chicken pot pie soup? YES. It’s a nice alternative to using biscuit dough and going in the direction of chicken and dumplings. And I’m from the school of thought where we believe egg noodles are mandatory if you’re calling something ‘comfort food’. This soup is thick, creamy – but not over the top rich, warm and cozy. My chicken pot pie soup is inspired by something my mom made for us growing up called chicken corn pie. I absolutely could not tell you where the recipe came from. Essentially, it’s a chicken pot pie topped with a layer of cheese and baked. So the ‘crust’ was actually cheese and nothing else. How amazing does that sound? Cheese to replace a crust? Could chicken pot pie get any better? This chicken soup is a smash-up of my childhood favorite, chicken corn pie, and a creamy chicken noodle soup recipe. And I’ve gotta say, it’s a welcoming change to the dinner rotation. Bonus points: it’s an all-in-one meal. This creamy chicken noodle soup calls for basic ingredients. Most of these ingredients are pantry and freezer staples so if you’re snowed in, I’m still hoping you’ve got these on hand to be able to pull this meal together. You can obviously adjust the onions//garlic//seasonings to your liking. But you can also swap the veggies I’ve used for others you’ve got on hand. Hey, last time I checked chicken pot pie soup wasn’t a real thing – so go ahead, there’s really no right or wrong here when it comes to the veggies. To start we’ll cook the onions in a little butter. Then we’ll add the celery and carrots followed by the garlic and mushrooms. You see, pretty basic soup-making here, right? You’ll add the flour next and let it cook up a little. The flour will help thicken the soup later. Once the flour deepens in color, add the cold milk and chicken broth. Continuously whisk the soup as you stream the liquids in to prevent lumps. I’m using a combination of whole milk and half and half in this chicken soup. You can swap the milk for all half and half or use all whole milk, it’s up to you. 2% will work for this recipe but I really don’t suggest making it with 1% or skim. This is a creamy soup after all. The flavors just won’t be the same and it would certainly be lacking in terms of taste. Keep in mind that the ‘cream’ factor really helps bring out all the other flavors in this recipe.
We’ll season the soup with a simple seasoning blend. Keep in mind that a seasoning blend is different from poultry seasoning. A seasoning blend usually contains, lemon peel or oil, celery seeds, herbs, onions, etc. I’ve used a salt-free version from Trader Joe’s called 21 seasoning salute. Mrs. Dash also makes one, it’s the original blend. Go with the salt-free version so you can control the sodium. And for the chicken. You can certainly use rotisserie chicken for this recipe. It’ll really save you a great deal of time. All you need to do is shred it and add it in towards the end with the frozen veggies. You can also roast or cook chicken breasts for this soup. I sometimes cook a large batch of chicken together, shred and keep them in individual portions in the freezer. This helps save a ton of time when I’m hoping to get dinner on the table FAST. I’ve also shared a one-hour roasted chicken recipe in case you’d like to serve it up for dinner one night and then turn the leftover chicken into this chicken pot pie soup. Knock out two meals with one bird, why dontcha. Psst. If you want to make your own chicken broth too, so much power to you. Here’s my quick 1-hour version here. Once the chicken broth and milk reach a gentle simmer, just add in the seasoning, frozen peas, corn, and chicken. Let the soup simmer for 10-12 minutes so the flavors have a chance to develop. Finally, stir in the cheese, one handful at a time until all the cheese is incorporated. I know, it sounds weird to add cheese to a chicken pot pie soup recipe, but it’s so good. It’s creamy, cheesy, loaded with veggies, and noodles. One thing to note, if you’re anticipating leftovers, it’s best to not add the noodles into the stock pot. Add them to individual bowls instead. In my opinion, cheesy chicken pot pie soup is better than the cookie-cutter pot pie version. Plus, you don’t need to make a crust!
No need to defrost the peas and corn, you can add them in directly from the freezer.
