Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Can’t decide between Cream of Chicken and Chicken Noodle Soup? No need to! Get the best of both worlds with this rich and creamy Chicken Noodle Soup…

The decision is really easy to make, especially when you know that the creamy version is not only equally good for you, it’s in fact even more nutritious, too! I kid you not!

For sure, you’d think there’s no way in hell that this bowl of deliciousness could actually be good for you, right? You’d never guess that a soup this thick, this rich looking, doesn’t contain tons of flour, butter or cream, right? What if I told you that this heavenly chicken soup right here contains absolutely, positively none of the above?

Ha! Well, it doesn’t! To achieve such creaminess, I called once again to one of my favorite ingredients in the world: cauliflower!

That’s right, cauliflower! A whole head of it, along with a cup of whole milk and a mere tablespoon of cornstarch are responsible for making this beautiful soup so utterly rich and creamy. And the best part is, the illusion is so perfect, no one will ever be able to tell what evil trick you’ve been playing on them. Even the kids, or cauliflower non-fans, will go crazy for this soup, I can guarantee it.

Don’t believe me? Try it, you’ll see! Your satisfaction is guaranteed, or you get your money back!

Since we’ll be needing cauliflower to thicken up the soup, we’ll start by getting it going so it gets a chance to cook until it’s really super soft and tender. My favorite way to do that is in a steam basket, which takes about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the cauliflower is steaming, heat some olive oil (or whichever oil you prefer to cook with) in a large stock pot set over medium heat. Add a diced yellow onion, some sliced carrots, sliced celery ribs, some salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

At that point, crank up the heat, add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil.

Notice how rich and beautiful that chicken broth is? That’s because I used my very own homemade chicken bone broth… Of course, if you didn’t have any of that on hand, you could very well use store-bough; I couldn’t recommend Kettle & Fire’s Chicken Bone Broth enough! It definitely is my go-o broth for when I’m all out of homemade!

Boil the veggies in the broth for 2-3 minutes and then add the dry rotini (or any other short pasta of your choice) and continue cooking until the pasta is al dente, about 6-7 minutes.

When the pasta is cooked to your liking, lower the heat and stir in the cooked chicken and frozen corn kernels.

No need to thaw those corn kernels before adding them, this will happen in no time as soon as they hit the hot soup! And if you didn’t care for corn much, feel free to sub green peas, or cut green beans!

Now that your cauliflower is nice and tender, take it off the heat and carefully transfer it to your blender or food processor. Add the milk and cornstarch and process on high speed until super smooth and silky.

Now pour that cauliflower mixture right into the soup and stir until it’s fully incorporated.

Bring the soup back to a simmer and let it simmer for a full minute, which will ensure that the starch if fully cooked and has reached its full thickening potential, then stir in a handful of chopped parsley.

Serve your soup immediately, while it’s still piping hot.

While this soup does reheat fairly well, keep in mind that those noodles will continue to absorb a fair amount of liquid, even long after you’ve taken them off the heat… this will make them become much softer and will also result in that broth getting much thicker. You might want to add a little bit of liquid, such as water, milk or chicken broth, at the time of reheating.

Unless you were in the mood for a super creamy pasta dish, which would make for a completely different, but not at all unpleasant, experience!

Print Recipe Rate this Recipe

4.75 from 4 votes

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Can't decide between Cream of Chicken and Chicken Noodle Soup? No need to! Get the best of both worlds with this rich and creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Servings: 4

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 medium carrots, sliced
• 2 medium celery stalks, sliced
• 1 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups dry rotini pasta, (or other short pasta of your choice)
• 1 lb leftover cooked chicken, diced
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2-3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

---

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 600g | 1.3lb)
• 1 cup whole milk, (or non-dairy milk of choice)
• 1 tbsp corn starch

Instructions

• Cook the cauliflower in a steam basket until super tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large stock pot set over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Crank up the heat, add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil; cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the dry rotini and continue cooking until the pasta is al dente, about 6-7 minutes; lower the heat and stir in the cooked chicken and frozen corn kernels.
• When the cauliflower is nice and tender, take it off the heat and carefully transfer it to your blender or food processor. Add the milk and cornstarch and process on high speed until super smooth and silky; pour that right into the soup and stir until well incorporated.
• Bring the soup back to a simmer and simmer for a full minute, then stir in chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 520kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 46g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 102mg, Sodium: 1733mg, Potassium: 1370mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 8035IU, Vitamin C: 95.9mg, Calcium: 176mg, Iron: 3.2mg

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Author: Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!

You can also FOLLOW ME on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and TWITTER for more delicious, healthy recipes!