Creamy Chicken Potato Soup
A rich and simple one-pot chicken potato soup that thickens itself with Yukon gold potatoes and finishes with cream, sharp cheddar, and crispy bacon for a bowl that stays creamy, never pasty.
Equipment
- Dutch oven - or heavy 6-quart soup pot, for even heat
- Chef's knife - for dicing aromatics and potatoes
- Wooden spoon - for scraping up browned bits
- Soup Ladle - for serving
- Slotted spoon - to lift crisp bacon out
- Box grater - for shredding cheddar off the block
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts - 680 g; or thighs; or about 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon - chopped
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter - 55 g
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion - diced
- 2 medium carrots - peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery - diced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour - 40 g
- 6 cups chicken broth - 1.4 L; preferably low-sodium
- 2 lb Yukon gold potatoes - 900 g; peeled and cut into 1/2-inch (1.5 cm) cubes
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup heavy cream - 240 ml; or half-and-half for a lighter pot
- 1.5 cups sharp cheddar cheese - 170 g; freshly shredded
- salt and black pepper - to taste
- 3 green onions - sliced, for garnish
- sour cream - optional, for serving
Instructions
- Rub chicken with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast at 425°F (220°C) for about 25 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C). Rest 5 minutes, shred with two forks, and set aside. Skip this step if using rotisserie chicken.
- Chop bacon into small pieces and add to a cold Dutch oven set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and fat is rendered, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, leaving the fat in the pot.
- Add butter to the bacon fat and melt over medium heat. Stir in onion, carrots, and celery; cook 6 to 7 minutes until softened and onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute until fragrant.
- Sprinkle flour evenly over the vegetables and stir constantly for about 1 minute to cook off the raw flour taste and coat everything in a light paste.
- Pour in chicken broth about 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition to break up any flour clumps. Add cubed potatoes, dried thyme, smoked paprika, and bay leaves. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Bring soup to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 18 to 22 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are fork-tender. For a thicker broth, press a few potato cubes against the side of the pot and stir the released starch back in.
- Remove pot from heat and discard bay leaves. Stir in shredded chicken, then pour in heavy cream while stirring. Add shredded cheddar a handful at a time, stirring until each addition melts before adding the next.
- Return pot to low heat for 2 to 3 minutes to warm through, but do not let it boil. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with crumbled bacon, sliced green onions, and a spoonful of sour cream if desired.
Notes
- Choose waxy potatoes: Yukon gold holds its shape far better than russets here, which tend to turn to mush by the time the chicken is warmed through.
- Keep the dairy off the boil: Boiling hard right after adding the cream will break it into greasy curds. Drop to low heat before adding dairy and never let a cream-based soup come back to a rolling boil.
- Cut everything the same size: Uniform potato cubes cook at the same rate, so you avoid a mix of crunchy centers and collapsed edges.
- Do not drain the bacon fat: That rendered fat is the flavor base for the whole soup, so sauté your vegetables right in it.
- Grate cheese from a block: Block cheddar melts cleaner and avoids the slightly gritty texture that bagged shreds can leave behind.
- Season in stages: Salt lightly with the broth, then adjust at the very end after the cheese and bacon have added their own saltiness.
- Reach for low-sodium broth: It gives you full control of the seasoning, which matters once salty cheese and bacon join the pot.
- Rotisserie shortcut: Shred about 3 cups of store-bought rotisserie chicken and stir it in during the final step to trim roughly 20 minutes off the total time.
- Storage: Cool fully and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stove over low to medium heat, adding a splash of broth or milk to loosen as needed.
- Freezing: Cream-based soups can separate when frozen. For best results, freeze the batch before adding the cream and cheese, then stir those in fresh after thawing overnight in the fridge.
- Make it thicker: Mash a few cooked potato cubes against the side of the pot and stir the starch back in, or blend a cup of the finished soup smooth and stir it back in.
- Make it gluten-free: Swap the flour for 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed into a slurry, stirred in near the end.
Nutrition
Serving: 1BowlCalories: 430kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 28gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 760mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4g
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