Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Chowder

Perfect for a chilly weeknight meal, this creamy chicken and mushroom chowder is thick, savory, and loaded with plenty of chicken, mushrooms and potatoes!

Is there anything better on a cold Fall weeknight than a big comforting bowl of chowder?  This meal cooks in about 30 minutes, and reheats well for leftovers!

This soup is one of my favorites, since it uses pre-cooked chicken, so it comes together really quickly.

BUT WHAT IT I DON’T HAVE PRE-SHREDDED CHICKEN?

No worries, and honestly, I don’t always either!  I try to plan ahead, but life happens and come dinner time, I have no shredded chicken.

You could always grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, but sometimes those can be pretty pricey!  Another option is to use whatever leftover chicken you have from another meal, or even cook some chicken first… but all those details will be in the recipe section (right below the recipe itself).

CAN THIS CHOWDER BE MADE IN A SLOW COOKER?

I knew you’d ask!  And it can 🙂

• Saute vegetables (celery, onion, carrot, garlic and mushrooms) in a skillet as written in recipe (this develops some great flavor).
• Spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and add 2 chicken breasts to the bottom.  Top with cooked veggies, then stir in chicken stock, potatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Top with a bay leaf.
• Cover and cook on LOW 7-8 hours, or HIGH 3-4 hours.
• Whisk together flour and cream, then add to slow cooker during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
• Remove chicken breasts to a large mixing bowl, shred, then return to slow cooker to serve.

Alternately, if you’re watching your carbs, you could leave the potatoes out of this soup… it’s delicious both ways!

If you’re anything like me, you have to have something crunchy to top your soup or chowder with, and my personal favorite is some crunchy croutons.  I also like to serve some nice homemade crusty bread alongside to dip into the creamy chowder!

HELPFUL TOOLS:

• Dutch oven – my favorite pot to make soup in!

OTHER GREAT SOUP/CHOWDER RECIPES:

• Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup
• Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Soup
• 30 Minute Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Chowder

4.80 from 10 votes

Author: The Chunky Chef

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Calories: 348

Servings: 8 servings

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Perfect for a chilly weeknight meal, this creamy chicken and mushroom chowder is thick, savory, and loaded with plenty of chicken, mushrooms and potatoes!

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 Tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ▢ 8 oz cremini (baby portobello) mushrooms, sliced
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 yellow onion, diced
• ▢ 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
• ▢ 2 stalks celery, diced
• ▢ 1 tsp kosher salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• ▢ 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• ▢ 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• ▢ 4 cups chicken stock (reduced sodium)
• ▢ 4-5 medium red potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• ▢ 1 dried bay leaf
• ▢ 2/3 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
• ▢ 2 cups shredded chicken
• ▢ additional black pepper, for garnish
• ▢ minced fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

• Heat a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over MED heat.  Add olive oil and butter.  Add mushrooms, garlic, onion, carrots and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, until soft.  
• Stir in salt, pepper, and thyme.  Add flour and stir to coat, cooking 1 minute.  Stir in chicken stock, scraping bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits.
• Add potatoes and bay leaf, and bring to a low boil.  Boil for 12-15 minutes, until thickened and potatoes are fork tender.  If chowder is getting too thick, add additional chicken stock or water as needed.
• Stir in cream and shredded chicken and cook 2 minutes, or until heated through.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary, then serve.

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Chef Tips

SLOW COOKER VERSION:

• Saute vegetables (celery, onion, carrot, garlic and mushrooms) in a skillet as written in recipe (this develops some great flavor).
• Spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and add 2 chicken breasts to the bottom.  Top with cooked veggies, then stir in chicken stock, potatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Top with a bay leaf.
• Cover and cook on LOW 7-8 hours, or HIGH 3-4 hours.
• Whisk together flour and cream, then add to slow cooker during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
• Remove chicken breasts to a large mixing bowl, shred, then return to slow cooker to serve.

OTHER CHICKEN OPTIONS:

• Buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it
• Use leftover chicken from another meal 
• Before step 1 of the recipe, slice chicken breasts across horizontally, so you have two thinner chicken breasts.  Add a drizzle of olive oil to the dutch oven and add chicken breasts (or thighs) and cook until golden brown and cooked through.  Remove to plate, shred and set aside.  Start recipe as written (don't clean the pan out in between the chicken and the veggies - it'll add good flavor).

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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