Stir up a batch of my favorite chicken chowder to keep you warm and full all weekend long!

This Chicken Chowder is one of those recipes I find myself making almost once a month once the weather starts to get cold. Besides being so easy to make, there’s just something nostalgic about a warm bowl of soup for dinner as the days get shorter. Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to dip crusty bread into a bowl of creamy, savory goodness?

The first time I made this soup was December 2014 a few days after Bryan proposed. One of our good friends helped Bry organize the surprise dinner that followed immediately after the proposal. So as a thank you, we had him over for dinner and I made this soup. Man was it so good! In fact, Bry and I loved it so much we easily made it at least four more times that winter.

As with most soups, this recipe is a great way to use up any leftovers in your fridge. In fact, that’s where the cream in the recipe came from. I can’t remember why I had a small carton of leftover light cream, but I figured I replace half of the milk with it, and it added such a wonderful richness that I now buy cream just to make this recipe. The same goes for vegetables. I prefer to use a bag of frozen mixed veggies, but it also works well with any leftover ones you may already have.

To make this a quick dinner, I usually use a rotisserie chicken, but you can also buy raw chicken breasts and just poach or bake them ahead of time.

Now lets get to cream soup vs chowder. Growing up out west, if someone said “chowder” it was assumed they meant clam chowder. Otherwise everything else was a soup. So I initially called this recipe “chicken soup”. However, Bry argued that it is actually a chowder due to having chunks of potato in it. So to settle this debate I went to the food experts. According to Food Network, a chowder is a thick, milk or cream-based soup, that contains chunks of vegetables and/or fish. A cream soup, on the other hand, contains pureed vegetables with no visible chunks. Looks like another win for Bry :/.

Whether you call this a soup or a chowder, I highly recommend making a big batch and inviting friends or family over to share!

So here’s a toast to our first bowl of chowder as now a married, not just engaged, couple!

Print Recipe

My Favorite Chicken Chowder

Stir up a batch of my favorite chicken chowder to keep you warm and full all weekend long!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chicken, Healthy

Servings: 9

Author: The Healthy Toast

Ingredients

• 2 cups water separated
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk could also use soy or cows milk
• 2 cups light cream could also use a non-dairy light creamer
• 2 tsp Better than Bouillon Chicken Base or 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 10- oz bag mixed vegetables I prefer to use one with broccoli, peppers, and cauliflower in it
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
• Pinch of salt to taste
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 small yellow potatoes washed and cut into small cubes
• 1 rotisserie chicken cut into bite-sized pieces*

Instructions

• Bring almond milk, light cream, and 1.5 cups of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.
• Once boiling, add chicken bouillon, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt (optional) to pot. Stir in frozen vegetables and return to a boil.
• Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and partially cover pot with lid. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
• White the soup is simmering, prepare a slurry by whisking flour with 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl. Set aside.
• After 20 minutes, add potato cubes and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes soften.
• Finally, add cooked chicken and slurry to pot and stir well. Allow to cook another 5-10 minutes to warm the chicken. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Enjoy!

Notes

*Or a 1.33 lb raw chicken breast, cooked.

Adapted from Skinny Taste