Mise en PlaceEverything you need to prepare this delightful chicken chowder!

Equipment:

• Large Pot: Essential for cooking the chowder in a single batch, ensuring all ingredients are well combined and heated thoroughly. A Dutch oven also works beautifully.
• Vegetable Peeler: For quickly and efficiently preparing the carrots and potatoes.
• Chef’s Knife: A sharp, reliable chef’s knife is crucial for dicing onions, slicing carrots, cubing potatoes, and chopping cooked chicken with ease and precision.
• Instant Pot or a Saucepan: Needed if you’re cooking chicken from scratch. An Instant Pot significantly speeds up the process, while a saucepan is perfect for traditional poaching.
• Whisk: For making a smooth, lump-free flour and milk slurry.

Ingredients:

• Mirepoix: This classic aromatic base forms the flavor foundation of our chowder. It’s a simple yet powerful mixture of finely diced carrots and onions, gently sautéed in rich butter until translucent and fragrant. This step builds incredible depth of flavor.
• Chicken Broth: The liquid gold of any good soup! You can use your favorite high-quality store-bought chicken broth for convenience, or for an unparalleled depth of flavor and nutritional boost, make your own from scratch using the simple method provided in the notes below. Homemade broth adds an incredible richness that is hard to beat.
• Potatoes: While I often use whatever variety I have available, russet potatoes are highly recommended for this chowder. Their starchy texture breaks down slightly during cooking, helping to naturally thicken the soup and contribute to its luscious, creamy consistency. Dice them into consistent, bite-sized pieces for even cooking.
• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: Cooking your chicken at home ensures the freshest and most flavorful results. Typically, I poach them gently to keep them tender and juicy, then shred or chop them. However, for a quick and easy shortcut, you can absolutely use leftover rotisserie chicken or even drained canned chicken.
• Seasonings: The magic happens here! A foundational blend of salt and ground black pepper is enhanced by dried parsley for a touch of fresh herbaceousness. The star, however, is Paula Deen’s House Seasoning. This blend of simple spices truly elevates the chowder’s flavor profile. You can find Paula’s instructions for making it at the provided link.
• Slurry: This is our secret weapon for achieving that wonderfully thick and creamy texture. A slurry is a smooth mixture of all-purpose flour and milk, gradually whisked into the hot soup to prevent lumps and enrich its body.
• Cream Cheese: The ultimate secret ingredient! Adding cream cheese at the end of cooking transforms this chowder, giving it an unbelievably rich, velvety texture and a subtle tang that balances the savory flavors perfectly. It’s what makes this soup truly amazing and irresistibly decadent.

Crafting Your Own From-Scratch Chicken Broth: A Flavorful Hack

Elevate your chicken chowder with homemade broth – it makes an incredible difference in depth and richness. To make homemade chicken broth quickly and efficiently, simply place the bones of a roasted chicken (or any chicken scraps you have) and, for an extra boost of collagen and body, two chicken feet into your Instant Pot. Add a rough-chopped carrot stick, a quartered onion, a celery stalk, a couple of fragrant bay leaves, a splash of apple cider vinegar (which helps extract minerals from the bones), a few peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Pressure cook on high for a minimum of 4 hours. Once cooked, carefully strain the broth, discarding the solids. Allow it to cool slightly, then refrigerate in glass jars for up to 3 weeks. You’ll know your broth is high in collagen and gelatinous goodness if it sets into a beautiful jelly-like consistency when chilled – a sign of a truly nourishing and flavorful base for your chowder.

How To Make This Incredible Chicken Chowder

1. Prepare the Chicken: Begin by cooking your boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can poach them in a saucepan or, for speed and convenience, use an Instant Pot. For Alyona’s specific chef tip on preparing perfectly tender chicken breasts, see the detailed instructions below. Once cooked, allow the chicken to cool slightly, then shred or chop it into bite-sized pieces.
2. Build the Flavor Base: In a large, sturdy pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add your diced onion and sauté gently for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes beautifully translucent and fragrant, releasing its sweet aroma. Next, add the rich chicken broth, your expertly chopped carrots, and cubed potatoes. Bring this mixture to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the carrots and potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
3. Infuse with Seasoning: Once the vegetables are tender, stir in the prepared cooked chicken, the vibrant dried parsley, and your chosen seasonings. This includes salt, freshly ground black pepper, and, most importantly, a generous amount of Paula Deen’s House Seasoning. Allow the soup to heat through for a few minutes, letting the flavors meld together beautifully.
4. Create the Creamy Slurry: While the soup simmers and flavors deepen, prepare your creamy slurry. In a small bowl, gradually whisk the milk into the all-purpose flour. It’s crucial to do this slowly and thoroughly to prevent any lumps, ensuring a silky-smooth addition to your chowder. Once smooth, slowly pour this slurry into the simmering soup, stirring continuously. Let it heat and thicken for another 2 minutes, creating a luxurious base.
5. Add the Secret Ingredient and Serve: Finally, the magic touch! Add the cream cheese, cut into chunks, to the hot soup. Stir gently until the cream cheese is completely melted and fully incorporated, enriching the chowder with its unparalleled creaminess and subtle tang. Serve this incredibly comforting chicken chowder warm, perhaps alongside a crusty loaf of bread or baguettes for dipping. Enjoy every savory, velvety spoonful!

Pro-Chef Tip: To ensure your cream cheese melts quickly and evenly into the hot soup, preventing any stubborn lumps, always cut it into small, manageable cubes before adding. This maximizes the surface area, allowing it to dissolve smoothly into the rich chowder base.

From-Scratch Chicken Hack: Maximize Flavor & Yield

For those who, like us, raise our own chicken broilers or simply want to maximize the flavor and meat yield from a whole chicken, here’s a fantastic from-scratch hack. The quickest and most efficient way to get tender, pull-apart meat from a whole bird is by using a pressure cooker. To do this, I’ll pour about 1/2 cup of water into a 6-quart Instant Pot. Generously season the entire whole chicken on all sides with Paula Deen’s Seasoning (the homemade version is truly superior here!). Carefully place the seasoned chicken into the Instant Pot, then pressure cook on high for 45 minutes. Once the cooking cycle is complete, allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes before manually releasing any remaining pressure. Let the bird cool slightly, then it will be incredibly easy to pull all the tender meat off the bones. A homegrown chicken prepared this way typically yields a generous 3 cups of delicious shredded meat, perfect for your chowder and other recipes.

Alyona’s Chef Tip on Perfect Chicken Breasts: Achieving perfectly cooked, juicy chicken breasts for your chowder is simple with these methods. For the Instant Pot, season boneless, skinless chicken breasts generously on both sides with Paula Deen’s house seasoning. Add 1/2 cup of water to the Instant Pot, place the seasoned chicken breasts inside, and pressure-cook on high for 15 minutes. For a traditional poaching method in a small saucepan, bring the chicken breasts to a boil in approximately 1 1/4 cups of water (just enough to cover). Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the saucepan, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. In both methods, it’s essential to rest the cooked chicken on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes before slicing or shredding. This allows the juices to redistribute, ensuring incredibly tender and flavorful chicken for your chowder.

Helpful Tips for the Best Chicken Chowder

• Homemade Chicken for Superior Flavor: While rotisserie chicken is convenient, cooking the chicken yourself by either roasting a whole chicken or poaching chicken breasts to shred the meat yields a significantly richer flavor and texture. It’s often more economical too!
• Invest in a Good Knife: Use a sharp Chef’s knife for all your chopping needs. This chef’s secret makes dicing onions, slicing carrots, cubing potatoes, and chopping cooked chicken much easier, safer, and more efficient.
• Consistent Potato Size: Dice your potatoes into uniform, bite-sized pieces. This ensures they cook evenly at the same rate, preventing some pieces from being undercooked while others are mushy.
• Time-Saving Shortcuts: If you’re short on time but still crave this delicious chowder, don’t hesitate to use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Alternatively, two cans of drained canned chicken meat can also be a quick substitute.
• Explore Other Seasoning Blends: While Paula Deen’s House Seasoning is our top recommendation, you can experiment with other fantastic flavor profiles. Consider using a good quality Greek seasoning for a Mediterranean twist or a robust Complete seasoning for a savory depth.
• Make Your Own House Seasoning: Seriously, set aside just 5 minutes of your time to whip up a batch of Paula Deen’s House Seasoning. You’ll thank me later for this versatile, flavor-packed blend that will become a staple in your pantry.
• Serving Suggestions: This creamy chicken chowder is hearty enough to be a meal on its own, but it truly shines when served with a crusty accompaniment. Pair it with a slice of warm no-knead sourdough bread or a crisp sourdough baguette for dipping, perfect for soaking up every last drop of that rich, savory broth.
• Storage and Reheating: Leftover chicken chowder stores wonderfully in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, gently warm it on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally. You might need to add a splash of milk or broth to restore its original creamy consistency. Freezing is not recommended as the cream cheese and potatoes can change texture upon thawing.

More Comforting From-Scratch Soup Recipes Perfect for Chilly Weather

Soup recipes are the epitome of cozy, providing unparalleled comfort on a cold, chilly day. There’s nothing quite like a warm bowl to chase away the winter blues. Here are some of our family’s favorite, soul-warming soup creations that we’ve lovingly prepared in our kitchen to help you warm up from the inside out!

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