Cream of Chicken Soup

Cream of Chicken Soup is richly indulgent. Perfect for a tasty, comforting lunch, impressive enough to serve as a special occasion starter.

But you might be surprised to learn that it contains relatively little cream.

Its wonderful flavour and silky texture is thanks largely to skin-on chicken pieces slowly simmered in stock and milk with onion, celery, potato and garlic.

Stripped from the bones, most of the meat is then pureed with the rest of the soup. Finally, the choicest morsels of meat are added along with 100 ml of double cream.

The result is a rich, full-flavoured broth with tender chicken.

No wonder that easy Cream of Chicken Soup is such a well-loved classic.

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Cream of Chicken Soup was one of those things I loved as a child.

Even though ours came dehydrated in a packet, it was still my absolute favourite soup.

Apparently very simple, I remember it as being tasty yet somehow soothing.

Mind you, the version I want to share with you here is a million miles away.

Yes, it’s an easy pureed soup with little morsels of chicken. But the flavour is through the stratosphere!

CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP

You’d be forgiven for thinking that any soup with the word ‘cream’ in it must contain loads of cream. Indeed, some of the recipes I’ve seen have double the amount of mine.

But I recall reading somewhere (although my recent searches have, so far, failed to re-find it) that soups named ‘cream of’ didn’t originally contain cream at all. Apparently, ‘cream’ simply referred to the texture of smooth soups which would have been passed through a sieve.

However, I do like to finish my Cream of Chicken Soup with a lick of double cream. I find that about a tablespoon and a half per portion is plenty in this already sensational-tasting soup.

So, how do we get such knockout flavour?

THE CHICKEN

The base of this soup is free-range chicken.

I use economical bone-in, skin-on leg pieces. Either thighs or a mixture of thighs and drumsticks, depending on what’s available. I don’t recommend breasts as they may end up dry.

You’ll need approximately 750 grams of chicken for the soup which serves four generously as a hearty lunch with bread. Served as an elegant starter, it could feed six.

If you really must cut down on fat, then use skinless pieces. But I think that leaving the skin on not only gives maximum flavour but adds a wonderfully silky texture.

To start developing those layers of flavour right away, I first brown the pieces in olive oil and butter.

Although the skin will be discarded later, this browning serves two purposes.

First, it releases tasty fat that we then saute the vegetables in. Second, it will add bags of flavour and give a lovely mouthfeel to the soup.

EASY CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP

The classic soup vegetables of onion, garlic and celery are sauteed in the fat until starting to soften and brown.

Then a medium diced potato is added. This will help to give body and thickness to the Cream of Chicken Soup.

The browned chicken pieces then go back into the pot.

Liquid goes in next. I like one part chicken stock to one part whole milk.

If you have homemade chicken stock, that’s wonderful. If using stock cubes, I’d recommend three in 500 ml of boiling water.

Just add some salt and pepper and you’re ready to simmer the soup.

To extract as much flavour as possible and to get the chicken perfectly tender, low and slow is best.

You want the meat to be falling off the bones and I find this takes 45-55 minutes.

You’ll then need a slotted spoon or tongs to fish out the chicken pieces and set aside to cool a little.

Have a good poke around to make sure no bits of skin or bone are left in the pot.

Strip the meat from the chicken pieces, discarding the skin and bones.

I like to separate around 100-120 grams of the choicest, white meat. Chop or shred it then set aside.

The remaining meat gets put back into the pot and is whizzed up to create a beautiful, velvety soup.

Doesn’t that look delicious already?

FINAL TOUCHES

To finish the Cream of Chicken Soup, the reserved meat is stirred into the silky broth.

All that’s left to do then is stir in the double cream plus a little more seasoning if it needs it.

Gently heat just to warm the chicken through and you’re ready to serve.

SERVING & STORING

I love the apparent simplicity of this soup.

It’s pale, creamy gold colour belies the fantastic flavour you’ll find when you dig in.

Good crusty bread for dipping is all you really need to add for a satisfying lunch.

If you prefer your bowl not quite so minimalist, scatter over finely chopped parsley, chives or tarragon plus a grind of black pepper.

With or without these embellishments, I guarantee this soup will have you mmm…ing and ahh…ing about just how good it is!

If you can bear to share it, then Cream of Chicken Soup makes an elegant starter for entertaining.

It can be made in advance and chilled after you’ve pureed it. Store the soup and chicken pieces in a container in the fridge or freezer.

To serve, reheat the soup on the stove then add the chicken and cream as per the recipe.

Whether eating alone, having an informal family lunch or serving guests, I think this soup is perfect for Autumn and Winter.

To me its rich flavour always feels like a treat. But, with easily available ingredients and simple method, it’s one you can enjoy with relatively little effort.

HAVE YOU MADE CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP?

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Cream of Chicken Soup

Richly indulgent and perfect for a tasty, comforting lunch, this soup is also impressive enough to serve as a special occasion starter.

Course Soup, Main Course, Starter, Light Meal

Cuisine British, World

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 4 at least

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 750 g free-range chicken pieces (bone-in, skin on) e.g. whole legs, thighs and/or drumsticks
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 15 g butter
• 3 medium onions roughly chopped
• 2 sticks celery finely chopped
• 4-6 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 medium potato peeled, cut into small dice
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 250 ml milk
• 100 ml double cream
• fresh herbs to serve e.g. parsley, chives or tarragon

Instructions

1. Add the olive oil to a large casserole or saucepan and put over medium high heat.

   Meanwhile, lightly season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

   When the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces (skin side down first) and cook until browned all over. Do this in batches if necessary and transfer the pieces to a plate when browned.

2. Discard all but 1 tbsp of the fat in the pan, turn the heat down to medium, and add the butter.

   When melted, add the onion, celery and garlic plus a little salt and pepper. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan and cook, stirring often, until the onion is starting to colour and soften (5-6 min).

   Stir in the potato and cook for 1 min.

3. Return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices that have collected on the plate.

   Stir in the stock and milk. Put on a lid and bring to a boil.

   Turn down the heat so you have a gentle simmer and cook until the meat is very soft and almost falling off the bone (45-55 min).

4. Take the pan off the heat, remove the chicken pieces and leave until cool enough to handle.

   Take off the meat, discarding the skin and bones.

   Set aside 100-120 g of the choicest meat and roughly chop it.

   Put the rest of the meat back into the pan.

   Using an immersion/stick blender, whizz the soup until smooth.

   The soup and the reserved chicken can be set aside in the fridge at this point if necessary and finished later.

5. To serve: reheat the pureed soup if necessary and add the reserved chopped chicken along with the double cream.

   Simmer very gently until the chicken is warmed through.

   Taste and add more seasoning if needed.

   Serve sprinkled with the fresh herbs.

Recipe Notes

Soup can be frozen, ideally before adding the cream.

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