Listen up chicken pot pie lovers, this soup was made for you! <3
This recipe was one of those throw together weeknight soups that turned out to be so ridiculously delicious I was practically licking the bowl clean. Since my husband Tony LOVES my lightened up chicken pot pie recipe, I decided to recreate it but in soup form and of course, with a few healthy twists.
Ever since I made my creamy lightened up cauliflower broccoli cheddar soup last year, I’ve been obsessed with pureeing cauliflower in soups to create a creamy base that adds additional veggies — plus it just so happens to eliminate the need for dairy!
Therefore, this chicken pot pie soup has become one of my ‘accidentally whole30’ recipes. I say accidentally because I never really set out with the intention of making a Whole30 recipe. One of the reasons being that I don’t subscribe to diet culture or trends that eliminate entire food groups and put food groups into ‘failures’. I think you can still achieve a healthy, balanced lifestyle without following a restrictive diet for 30 days. (Food sensitivities and allergies are a much different subject.)
That being said, there are a lot of people who seem to love Whole30, and if done correctly it can be challenging, a way to reset your eating habits and does include plenty of fruits, veggies and lean meats.
Just remember that temporary diets aren’t the way to begin a healthy, balanced lifestyle. You have to find what works for you for long-term success, and a way of life that is beneficial for your mental health. That answer is different for everyone. At the end of the day, food is food and flexibility is essential to living a life you can enjoy. The bottom line, is do what makes you healthy AND happy.
What’s in this healthy chicken pot pie soup?
This chicken pot pie soup is one of those recipes you can throw together in just about 30 minutes. Everything cooks in one pot, including the chicken, making it an easy weeknight dinner to meal prep, make for your family or simply slurp up the entire pot yourself. It’s made with plenty of veggies and no cream, making it perfect for just about anyone to enjoy — especially when you come down with a cold, or if you’re just craving a cozy bowl of soup. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Chicken breast
- Onion
- Carrots
- Yukon gold potatoes (the best for buttery, creamy texture)
- Cauliflower florets
- Dried or fresh thyme
- Unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk (or dairy milk if you prefer!)
- Low sodium chicken broth
- Frozen peas
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
What to serve with chicken pot pie soup
We normally serve our soup with classic buttery crackers or saltines, but you can also serve with biscuits or perhaps even some delicious honey pumpkin cornbread muffins.
Want some extra veggies?
If you’d like some more veggies in this soup, I suggest adding 8 ounces of baby bella mushrooms, which you can saute with the onion, carrots and potatoes. Fresh or frozen sweet corn is also another great option that can be stirred in with the peas. Yum.
I hope you enjoy this easy to make chicken pot pie soup. If you make it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe — I really appreciate it! xo.
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, diced
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, sliced
- 2 ½ cups diced yukon gold potatoes
- 2 ½ cups finely chopped cauliflower florets
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme)
- 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk, cashew milk, skim milk, 2% (if you want a richer soup, you can use whole milk)
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
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Place a large dutch oven or pot over medium high heat. Add in olive oil. Once oil it hot, add in diced chicken breast and generously season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken for 4-6 minutes or until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink. Remove chicken from pot and transfer to a large bowl; set aside for later.
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In the same pot, add in 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, chopped onion, sliced carrots, diced gold potatoes, diced cauliflower and thyme. Saute for a few minutes until onion begins to soften, then add in milk, chicken broth and salt and pepper. Allow mixture to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
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Next remove 2 1/2 cups of the mixture from the pot and add to a blender. Blend until completely smooth (be careful while you do this!), then transfer puree back to the pot. Stir in cooked chicken and frozen peas. Allow mixture to simmer for 5-10 more minutes to thicken up a bit. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Garnish with extra black pepper and fresh thyme, if desired. Great with biscuits or crackers, if you’d like.
Recipe Notes
To make this recipe vegan: if you want to make this recipe vegan or vegetarian, you can use chickpeas instead of chicken, and also be sure to use vegetarian broth and a dairy free milk.
Optional: Feel free to add ¾ cup of corn if not doing whole 30. If you'd like some more veggies in this soup, I suggest adding 8 ounces of baby bella mushrooms, which you can saute with the onion, carrots and potatoes.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by Eat Love Eat
30 comments
This looks SO good! I love soup all the time, but it’s still hot-ish here so I am bookmarking this for when Fall finally comes. Ooo, this would be great using leftover turkey, too!
Perfect for fall & winter! Great idea with leftover turkey.
So glad I came across this! I’m making it up tonight using leftover rotisserie chicken. Going to add the mushrooms as well. Can’t wait! Thank you for sharing.
Perfect! Hope you love this one!
Unfortunately, it won’t let me rate it a 5 star. Totally deserves it though! This was absolutely fabulous!! It was flavorful, creamy & hearty – without being too heavy. I highly recommend it! Thank you again for sharing.
We’re working on a fix for the stars, but so happy to hear you loved this one! Perfect for fall & winter 🙂
When it stops being 80 degrees (cries) in Boston you know this is going DOWN!
YES you’ll have to give it a try! Let me know when you make it 🙂
I’m definitely making this ….cool weather or not. (and it’s in high 70’s here)
Hope you love it!!
Unfortunately, peas are NOT allowed on Whole30 but that would be easily omitted I suspect. Looks great!
Great catch! But yes, very easy to omit 🙂 and so delicious!
I cannot wait to make this!! Right up our alley!! All soup, all the time, now through April 🙂
Absolutely! Perfect for fall 🙂 Hope you guys love it!
Looks great! Do you think I could substitute with Oat milk?
Oh my gosh this is yummmmmy!!!! Added the extra mushrooms at the end and I think they gave the dish a nice rich earthiness.
Love it!! Such a great dinner for fall!
Could this work in the crockpot?
I had started this recipe before I realized all I had was unsweetened vanilla almond milk but i persisted anyway. Nothing a bit extra salt couldn’t fix. It was delicious i used shredded rotisserie chicken.
Made this last night and we really enjoyed it! One question though, the instructions say to add the frozen corn and peas, but I don’t see corn in the ingredient list.
So happy to hear that! You’ll find 1 cup frozen peas at the end of the ingredient list, and then the frozen corn is an optional add-in that I included in the notes section. Both are great in the recipe!
So glad I came across this! I’m making it up tonight using leftover rotisserie chicken. Going to add the mushrooms as well. Can’t wait! Thank you for sharing.
If trying to stay low carb, do you have any recommendations on a swap for the potatoes?
Dear Ambitious Kitchen;
Hi and good morning.I am going to copy down your healthier chicken pot pie soup recipe so that I can make it for my mom,niece and I in november.
All of the nutrictional information is fine and ok but the carbohydrates is high.Is that because of the russet potatoes?Can this soup be doubled and frozen after it has been cooled completely?What do you recommend the safest way to freeze this soup and how long can this soup be frozen before it expires?Are there any stickable stickers that I can use on the lid to mark on it ?
Kim
Made this tonight and it was delicious! However, my potatoes definitely took longer to cook than the instructed time (probably my fault for the size of my dice). I think if I did this again, I might sauté the onions and carrots first, then add the potatoes and cauliflower w the chicken broth and let them come to a boil and cook at a higher temp to get nice and soft, and then add the milk afterwards with the chicken and peas so it doesn’t curdle.
Glad you enjoyed and good tip with cooking the potatoes – if you dice them a bit larger they will tend to cook longer. Let me know how your method goes next time, too!
Outstanding! The only thing different is I had a pound of chicken breast instead of 1.5 pounds. Used unsweetened almond milk. One of the tastiest soups I’ve ever made.
Great! So happy you liked this one 🙂