Creamy Chicken & Vegetable Soup
Tender shredded chicken, carrots, peas and celery in a golden creamy broth — a hug in a bowl
This creamy chicken and vegetable soup is comfort done properly — tender shredded chicken with carrots, peas and celery in a golden, herby cream broth, with fresh parsley scattered over, just like the big bowl in the photo.
Estimated per serving: 320 calories, 28g protein and 8g net carbs. Ready in about 45 minutes.
Why you'll love this creamy chicken soup
- 28g protein in a genuinely comforting bowl
- Just 8g net carbs — creamy soups rarely sit this light
- Big shreds of chicken, not little cubes
- Colourful carrots, peas and celery in every spoonful
- One pot, about 45 minutes, mostly simmering
- Freezes and reheats like a dream
Health notes
- Chicken breast: Lean protein poached right in the broth, so nothing is wasted.
- Plenty of vegetables: Carrots, celery, onion and peas bring fibre and colour.
- Cream added off the boil: All the richness with no flour or roux needed.
- Real stock and herbs: Flavour from the pot, not from packets.
- Estimated macros: No nutrition card came with this one, so values are estimated and kept consistent throughout.
Key element — cream in at the end, off the boil
Stir the cream in after the chicken is back in and the pot is off a rolling boil. Boiling cream can split and turn grainy; added at the end and just heated through, the broth stays silky and golden like the photo.
Diabetic-Friendly
Creamy Chicken & Vegetable Soup
Servings
6
Tap or hover to scale
- Prep15 min
- Cook30 min
- Total45 min
- Servings6 bowls
- Calories320 kcal
Ingredients
Instructions
- Soften the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrots and celery for 6–7 minutes until softening. Add the garlic, thyme and oregano for 1 minute.
- Poach the chicken. Add the stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Sit the chicken breasts in the broth, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Do not boil hard.
- Shred it big. Lift the chicken out with tongs onto a board. Shred into hearty, bite-size pieces with two forks — big shreds are the look in the photo. Remove the bay leaf.
- Return and warm. Return the chicken to the pot and simmer gently for 3 minutes so it drinks up the broth.
- Add the cream, off the boil. Take the pot off a rolling boil. Whisk a ladle of hot broth into the cream cheese (if using) until smooth, then stir it into the pot with the heavy cream. Heat gently for 2–3 minutes without boiling.
- Peas, parsley, serve. Stir in the frozen peas for the last 2–3 minutes so they stay bright green. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, scatter with parsley and ladle into warm bowls with tongs for the chicken shreds.
Notes & Tips
- Gentle poaching keeps chicken silky; a hard boil makes it stringy.
- Cream off the boil — that is the whole silky-broth secret.
- Peas go in last so they stay green and pop.
- For a thicker soup, mash a few carrot slices against the side and stir back in.
- A squeeze of lemon at the table lifts the cream beautifully.
Variations & serving ideas
- Rotisserie shortcut: Use 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken and simmer the vegetables 15 minutes first — done in 25 minutes.
- Lighter: Half-and-half instead of heavy cream and skip the cream cheese.
- More veg: Sweetcorn, green beans or spinach stirred in with the peas.
- Herby: Tarragon or dill instead of parsley for a different finish.
- Chicken pot pie soup: Serve with a low-carb biscuit or cheesy dumpling on top.
- Curried: 1 tablespoon of curry powder with the garlic and coconut cream instead of dairy cream.
- Wild rice (classic): Add cooked wild rice for a heartier, non-low-carb version.
- Slow cooker: Everything except cream, peas and parsley on LOW for 4–5 hours; finish as written.
Storage
- Refrigerator: Up to 4 days (Airtight container; the broth thickens a little as it chills)
- Freezer: Up to 3 months (Cool fully; cream soups can separate slightly — whisk while reheating)
- Reheat: — (Gentle heat, stirring, without boiling; add a splash of stock if thick)
Nutrition Facts
Per serving · recipe makes 6 bowls
| Nutrient | Amount per serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 320 kcal |
| Total fat | 18 g |
| Sodium | 740 mg |
| Total carbohydrate | 11 g |
| Fibre | 3 g |
| Protein | 28 g |
Nutrition values are approximate and vary with brands and portion sizes.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!