Slow Cooker Cream of Chicken Soup

Meghan Splawn
Meghan Splawn
Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the…read more
Jan Valdez
Jan ValdezAssistant Recipe Producer at The Kitchn
I cover recipe content on The Kitchn, write and update recipes and recipe roundups, and test recipes for the team. I have 10 years of experience working in R&D test kitchens, testing products and recipes, and at publishers including Serious Eats and EatingWell.
updated Sep 4, 2024
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Credit: Joe Lingeman

This creamy, dreamy slow cooker soup has all the comforts of chicken pot pie without any of the effort.

Serves6 to 8

Makes9 cups

Prep20 minutes

Cook6 hours

Jump to Recipe
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Post Image
Credit: Joe Lingeman

Editor’s Note: If you’ve cooked this beloved recipe before, it might look a little different these days! We recently improved it to make it even easier to follow and more delicious.

From here on out, creamy chicken soup from the slow cooker shall be known as change-your-life chicken soup. Try to imagine all the goodness of chicken soup — moist, tender chicken, bites of sweet carrot and peas — but wrapped in a creamy broth flecked with black pepper.

This creamy chicken soup is how you do comfort food from the slow cooker. It’s perfect for weeknights or cozy weekends at home. All you need on the side is a spoon for slurping and a few buttered biscuits for dunking.

Credit: Joe Lingeman

Why You’ll Love It

  • Creamy chicken soup from the slow cooker is easy and flavorful. This low-and-slow-cooking soup isn’t fussy, and yet it still makes for a bowl you won’t soon forget.
  • It’s rich and creamy. To turn this into a rich and creamy soup, we add a little flour at the right moment and finish the soup with heavy cream.
Credit: Joe Lingeman

Key Ingredients in Slow Cooker Cream of Chicken Soup

  • Boneless, skinless chicken: You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs.
  • Vegetables: Use combination of onion, carrots, and celery, plus frozen peas are added at the end.
  • All-purpose flour: Flour is sprinkled over the chicken and veggies to help thicken the soup.
  • Low-sodium chicken broth: Use low-sodium chicken broth for the base of the soup.
  • Heavy cream: Heavy cream is stirred in at the end for some richness.

How to Thicken Slow Cooker Cream of Chicken Soup

This thickening trick comes from a family-favorite pot pie recipe: Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and vegetables before adding the broth, stir the flour to coat the chicken and vegetables, and then do not stir again. As the soup cooks, it might look like the flour is clumping, but as soon as you give it a stir after its long, slow cook, it will be velvety smooth.

While other creamy chicken soup recipes are thickened with a slurry of cornstarch or flour and broth at the end, this recipe cuts out that step entirely, so you don’t have an extra dish to wash.

How to Make Slow Cooker Cream of Chicken Soup

  1. Add the chicken and vegetables first. Add the chopped vegetables and chicken in the slow cooker first.
  2. Sprinkle on the flour before adding the broth. Coating the chicken and vegetables with flour before adding the broth helps the flour thicken without clumping during the long, slow cooking process.
  3. Cook low and slow. This recipe is best cooked on LOW for 6 hours.
  4. Stir in the heavy cream and peas. Give the soup a couple of really good stirs while you add the heavy cream and frozen peas (no need to thaw). Cover again and cook until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Storage Tips

Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

What to Serve with Slow Cooker Cream of Chicken Soup

Slow Cooker Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe

This creamy, dreamy slow cooker soup has all the comforts of chicken pot pie without any of the effort.

Prep time 20 minutes

Cook time 6 hours

Makes 9 cups

Serves 6 to 8

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 1 medium

    yellow onion

  • 4 medium

    carrots

  • 4 medium stalks

    celery

  • 1 1/2 pounds

    boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs

  • 1/2 cup

    all-purpose flour

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons

    kosher salt, plus more as needed

  • 1 (32-ounce)

    carton low-sodium chicken broth (scant 4 cups)

  • 1 cup

    heavy cream

  • 1 cup

    frozen peas (do not thaw)

  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Prepare the following, adding each to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker as you complete it: Dice 1 medium yellow onion (about 1 1/2 cups). Peel and halve 4 medium carrots lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups). Halve 4 medium celery stalks lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups). Cut 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken into 1-inch pieces.

  2. Sprinkle 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt over the chicken mixture and stir gently to coat.

  3. Slowly pour the 1 (32-ounce) carton low-sodium chicken broth over the chicken mixture. Cover and cook on the LOW setting until the chicken and carrots are cooked through and tender, about 6 hours.

  4. When you uncover the slow cooker, it might look as though the flour has separated or the broth is cloudy. Give everything a good stir. Add 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup frozen frozen peas and stir to combine. Cover again and cook until heated through, about 10 minutes. Taste and season with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.