This healthy chicken pot pie soup marries the coziness of soup with the comfort of chicken pot pie. Perfect for those cool fall and winter evenings, you can pull this soup together quickly from leftover chicken (or turkey!) and fresh or frozen vegetables. Variations for GAPS, Whole 30, dairy free, and gluten free!
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Chicken pot pie is a consoling meal.
The filling is actually very easy to make, especially when you have leftover chicken. It can even be a meal in itself, as in my creamy chicken casserole recipe. A crust requires more effort, and even more if you make a gluten-or-grain-free crust. It can be done, but there are a lot of days where we need simpler meal ideas. No crust.
Thankfully, it is not only possible, but also simple to concoct a filling, delicious, and comforting soup variation of chicken pot pie! Frugal and fast, you can make this soup all winter long!
While chicken soup lacks luster, the creaminess of this healthy chicken pot pie soup somehow changes the profile of plain old chicken soup. You don’t need to fiddle with pie crust, and it is more appealing than chicken soup. Regular chicken soup is sick-people-food!
Actually, chicken soup is a great plan when someone is sick or recovering. The rest of the time, gussy it up!
If you are on the GAPS diet, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, or just trying to avoid processed food, you realize that many recipes for chicken pot pie soup don’t really work for you. Not to worry! You don’t need any cans of questionable cream soup, dairy, grain-based thickeners, or even potatoes to make this soup. I will offer several variations so you can eat your soup and feel good, too.
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How to Make Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Start with chicken. You could also use turkey– ideal after Thanksgiving! Leftover chicken, a rotisserie chicken, or chicken left from making GAPS chicken stock are good. You could poach some chicken on the stove or in a slow cooker if you don’t have cooked chicken on hand. You want 3-4 cups of chopped or shredded chicken. More is also fine.
Chop and sauté 1-2 onions in your preferred cooking fat. I like to cook it low and slow while I chop all the other veggies so that the onions caramelize, but you can just cook to soften if you are in a hurry. Add minced garlic, celery ,and carrots once the onions are about ready and cook a few more minutes.
Once your vegetables are soft, add the chicken and chicken broth to your pot. Stir, and simmer for a few minutes until the mixture is warmed through. Season with salt, pepper, and any dried herbs you prefer.
If you want to thicken the soup, cook a couple cups of cauliflower separately in a little broth or water until very soft. Purée that and stir it into the soup. (If you aren’t on the GAPS diet, you could use potatoes instead of cauliflower.)
When your soup tastes the way you want and is hot, turn off the heat. Stir in some frozen peas or green beans until they are thawed but still bright green. Then add 2 cups of GAPS sour cream (or store bought if not on GAPS– see below for dairy free variations.)
Stir or whisk until smooth and add any additional flavor you want– fresh herbs, bacon, cheese, etc.
What if I can’t have dairy?
If you can’t use dairy products, you have several options:
- skip the dairy entirely– you will end up with slightly less soup, but it will still be good.
- use a sour cream substitute that fits your diet– there are several on the market
- use a non-dairy yogurt you like– coconut, almond, cashew, etc.
- use a can of coconut milk or coconut cream– add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice if you want it to be a little more sour
- if you aren’t on the GAPS diet, you can easily thicken some nondairy milk with arrowroot or cornstarch– to a cup or two of your milk, add 1/4 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch, whisk until smooth, then stir it into your simmering soup until it thickens.
- you could use even more cauliflower (or potatoes) with very little liquid to thicken the soup more
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Equipment
- 1 soup pot
- 1 blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 4 C cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
- 1 quart chicken broth for GAPS, use chicken stock
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3-4 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3-4 stalks celery, sliced
- 2 C cauliflower or 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 C frozen peas or green beans
- 1/4 C butter, ghee, coconut oil or other preferred cooking fat
- 2 C sour cream (GAPS version, store bought, or non-dairy variation of choice)
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh herbs, chopped bacon, cheese, green onions, or other toppings, if desired
Instructions
- Melt butter or other fat in soup pot. When the fat is bubbling, add the onions. cook until soft (ideally, cook long enough for the onions to caramelize, but you don't have to).
- In a separate pot, bring part of the broth and all of the cauliflower (or potato) to a boil. When the cauliflower is soft, cool slightly and purée with am immersion blender or with a regualr blender or food processor.
- To the onions, add the garlic, celery, and carrots. Stir and allow to cook until they are soft.
- Add the chicken and broth and bring to a gently bubbling simmer. Stir in the puréed cauliflower (or potato) and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Turn off heat and stir in frozen peas or green beans. When they have thawed and warmed, stir in the sour cream.
- Serve as is, or add toppings like more sour cream, chopped bacon, sliced green onions, cheese, etc.
Make Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup Your Way
Soups are marvelously adaptable! You can tilt this recipe many different ways, make substitutions, exclude ingredients, use up leftover bits of this or that…
- Meat– Use leftover turkey or even try other meat. Use fish for fish chowder– different yet delicious!
- Broth– GAPS meat stock is the gold standard for health and taste, but bone broth, purchased broth, or even water will work.
- Vegetables– the options are legion. Use more or less of anything included in the recipe, leave one out entirely, or add other vegetables. Bell peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms are delicious, or you could try diced butternut squash, chopped cabbage, chopped spinach, chard, or kale at the end, or corn if you can. Shorten your prep time by using chopped frozen bags of carrot, onion, and celery.
- Sour cream– I lean toward sour cream (GAPS version), but plain yogurt (dairy or not), coconut milk or cream, cashew cream, or nondairy sour cream substitutes can also work well. You can even use cream cheese (dairy or not)!
- Potatoes– GAPS people won’t use potatoes, but they work wonderfully well in this soup if potatoes are in your life. Either mashed to thicken the soup or diced, or both!
- Herbs– you don’t strictly need any herbs, but they furnish a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. Dried herbes de Provence, or some dried parsley, sage, rosemary, and/ or thyme work beautifully in chicken soup. Any or all of them, chopped and stirred in or sprinkled atop the soup before serving, will add flavor.
- If you have bacon or ham that suit your diet, dice and stir in or pile on top of each serving bowl.
There you have it– comfort food in a nourishing and filling bowl that is ready in half an hour! Make enough for leftovers!
Want bread with your soup?
Biscuits are perfect for this soup! If you need gluten free but can use grains and starches, try these. If you need GAPS, grain free, or low starch/carbs, these coconut flour biscuits or these made with almond flour are what I usually go with.
