Homemade Creamy Chicken Soup

Fall and soups go together like mittens and scarves.

Mani’s and Pedi’s.

Cat hair and dark wash denim.

And other than my usual rotation of Chicken Tortilla Soup, Potato soup, and Chili (not really soup but I throw it in that category anyway), I had yet to find a homemade chicken soup that I loved.

So, I did what every normal person does and scoured Pinterest. As it turns out, there are a lot of recipes for chicken soup out in the world. So I took a few notes from various recipes, made my own tweaks and changes, and I managed to make a pretty darn delicious creamy chicken soup.

The recipe I stuck closest to was this one from The Cookie Rookie, but I made a few changes like I mentioned above.

Creamy Chicken Soup

(inspired by this recipe)

Roux ingredients: 4 T flour, 2 T buter, 2 T olive oil (made separately then added to soup)

Soup ingredients:

2 T butter

2 T olive oil

3 stalks celery (chopped)

3 carrots (chopped)

1 small yellow onion (diced)

4 C chicken stock

2 cups 1% milk

1 1/2 cups half & half

2 T chicken base granules (I like better than bouillon)

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

1 T parsley flakes

3 bay leaves

2 t Herbs of Provence

1/4 t turmeric

1/4 t garlic

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie or chicken breast)

1 package original Rice Pilaf (I like this one)

Directions:

1. Make the Roux first in a separate pan. Melt olive oil and butter in a saucepan. Sprinkle flour over top and whisk together until smooth and bubbly. It should only take a few minutes. Set aside.

1.5 Make the Rice Pilaf in a separate pot. Set aside. You’ll add the rice in at the end.

2. In a dutch oven, or large soup pot, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat.

3. Add vegetables and sauté until softened.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients (not rice), including the roux, and bring to a boil. Make sure to stir every few minutes to keep the milk from scalding.

5. Once boiling, turn down to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Taste test and add more salt or seasonings. Remember flavors develop over time, so don’t over do it!

7. Once you’ve adjusted any seasonings, stir in cooked rice pilaf. I added about 3/4 of the rice so the soup didn’t become too heavy. Add less or more depending on your preference.

8. Serve and enjoy!