Give yourself the ultimate comfort food hug with this homemade cream of chicken soup - it's the cure for almost almost everything.
Of course you could buy a tin on your way home and heat it up on the hob, but freshly homemade is always going to beat anything out of a packet. The extra time it takes is time for pouring love and care into the bowl and you get it back in spades when it's done. This soup is easy to make and ready in about 40 minutes. It serves four - great for a light family dinner. Alternatively you can double all the quantities and cook a batch for freezing, so you always have some for blue Monday (or any day) emergencies.
Ingredients
- ½ tbsp oil
- 500g skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 1 small onion, roughly chopped
- 350g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
- 350g cauliflower, roughly chopped
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 75ml whipping cream
- 175ml milk
For the topping:
- 150g cauliflower florets, sliced to ¾-1cm thick
- 40g Parmesan, finely grated
- 1tbsp breadcrumbs
- 40g pancetta slices
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Heat the oil in a pan and lightly brown the chicken on both sides; set aside. Add the onion, potato and cauliflower to the pan. Turn down the heat and mix well. Cover and leave to sweat for 10 mins.
- Add the thyme, stock and chicken to the pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 12 mins or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan, then blitz the soup with a stick blender and season well. Shred the chicken and add the meat back to the pan along with the cream and milk, and heat through.
- Put the cauliflower florets in a bowl with a little water, cover with clingfilm and microwave for 2 mins or until cooked through. Heat the grill to high, spread the florets over a baking tray lined with foil, sprinkle each piece with Parmesan and breadcrumbs, and top with pancetta. Grill until browned, then sprinkle over the soup.
Top tip for making cream of chicken soup
For a speedier topping, grill one slice of garlic baguette for each bowl and break it into four (we use scissors for ease, depending on how crunchy it is) to make easy garlic croutons.
You might also like
Octavia Lillywhite is an award-winning food and lifestyle journalist with over 15 years of experience. With a passion for creating beautiful, tasty family meals that don’t use hundreds of ingredients or anything you have to source from obscure websites, she’s a champion of local and seasonal foods, using up leftovers and composting, which, she maintains, is probably the most important thing we all can do to protect the environment.
-
Gordon Ramsay's cream of cauliflower soup
This velvety smooth cauliflower soup is by celeb chef Gordon Ramsay. Read in just 30 minutes...
By Gordon Ramsay Published
-
Herby chicken with Romesco sauce
Herby chicken flavoured simply with oregano with a rich Romesco sauce - which makes a great dip.
By Jessica Ransom Published
-
Chicken with cannellini beany mash
Our chicken with cannellini beany mash costs £3.50 for two portions and takes just 5 minutes to prep
By Rose Fooks Published
-
Feta and spinach stuffed chicken
This feta and spinach stuffed chicken is cooked in 25 minutes and only has four steps in the method
By Jessica Ransom Published
-
Sweet potato and courgette fish cakes
These sweet potato and courgette fish cakes take 30 minutes to make and can be served with chips, salad, or steamed veg on the side...
By Rose Fooks Published
-
Chicken and spinach lasagne
This chicken and spinach lasagne is a great new take on the family favourite and it’s easy to prepare during the day to cook come dinner time...
By Jessica Ransom Published
-
Prince William and Prince Harry’s ‘favourite’ childhood meals are surprisingly ‘normal’ and easy to recreate for family dinners
The brother's enjoyed "traditional, English food"
By Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse Published
-
Compromising may be killing your relationship - here are 5 ways to reach healthy compromises, according to relationship expert
Compromising isn't always the best way to keep the peace in a relationship
By Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse Published
-
Child psychologist unveils 'the grandparent code', a list of 12 grandparenting rules to keep family relationships strong and healthy
Some are common sense, others may be a little harder to follow...
By Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse Published