Rooster Pot Pie Soup

Rooster pot pie at all times hits the spot for me, however let’s be actual, making the crust from scratch isn’t at all times within the playing cards. This soup model provides you all that basic, comfort-food taste with rather less work. It’s wealthy, creamy, full of tender hen and veggies, and each chew tastes like hen soup for the soul.

If you’re up for it, you may at all times make an entire chicken pot pie. It’s nonetheless fairly straightforward.

Lots of recipes use potatoes for the “pie crust” aspect or canned biscuit dough, however that’s simply not my model in any respect. I thought of including some home made biscuit dough to behave as dumplings, however a good higher thought got here to thoughts: Gnocchi! These little potato dumplings are bought dry within the pasta aisle in most grocery shops. You get that very same mushy, doughy “pie crust” goodness, and actually, it may be even higher.

Ingredient Notes

• Boneless Skinless Rooster Breast: You’ll want about 1 1/2 kilos. Rooster thighs work too should you favor darkish meat. Simply trim off any extra fats.
• Olive Oil: Only a bit to brown the hen. You possibly can sub in avocado oil or any impartial oil you’ve obtained readily available.
• Salted Butter: When you solely have unsalted, that’ll work simply fantastic.
• White Onion: A medium onion is ideal right here. Yellow onion works too if that’s what you’ve obtained.
• Carrots: Use 4 medium carrots. You possibly can cube or slice them, no matter texture you favor in your soup.
• Celery Ribs: Go for 4 ribs, sliced.
• All-Function Flour: This thickens the soup and provides it that creamy pot pie texture. Don’t skip the cooking time, it removes the uncooked flour style.
• Minced Garlic: About 2 tablespoons, which is roughly 6 cloves. Use recent if potential, however jarred garlic works too. It simply has a barely extra bitter taste.
• Rooster Broth: Go together with low sodium if you need extra management over the salt. Retailer-bought or home made each work nice. I additionally love Higher Than Boullioun.
• Dried Thyme: Only a contact goes a great distance so as to add that signature pot pie taste.
• Heavy Cream: This makes the soup wealthy and silky. You may swap in half-and-half, however it gained’t be fairly as thick.
• Frozen Peas: Toss them in straight from the freezer. No have to thaw. Canned peas will work too, however they’re a lot softer.
• Gnocchi: That is your pie crust stand-in! Search for it within the pasta aisle, sometimes vacuum-packed.

Rotisserie Rooster Shortcut

Rotisserie hen makes this soup even faster to get on the desk, plus it’s what’s often called a “loss chief” that means grocery shops promote it at a loss so it’s the most effective bargains yow will discover.

You’ll skip the browning step originally. As an alternative, go forward and begin by sautéing the veggies in butter, then proceed on with the recipe. Stir in about 3 cups of shredded rotisserie hen when the recipe requires including the cooked hen again in.

For the reason that hen’s already executed, you’ll simply need to simmer the soup lengthy sufficient to warmth all the pieces via and let the flavors come collectively.

Gnocchi Choices

Gnocchi is the key ingredient that offers this soup that “pie crust” vibe with none baking. You’ll often discover gnocchi in vacuum-sealed packages within the pasta aisle, however refrigerated or frozen gnocchi works too. Shelf-stable gnocchi is tremendous handy and cooks proper within the soup in about 5 minutes.

When you’re utilizing frozen gnocchi, there’s no have to thaw it. Simply toss it into the simmering soup and provides it a few further minutes. You’ll realize it’s prepared when the gnocchi float to the highest and are mushy and pillowy.

You may as well discover gluten-free gnocchi at many grocery shops. With gluten-free, you simply need to prepare dinner it in accordance with the bundle instructions earlier than including it in on the very finish.

Vegetable Add-Ins

This soup is tremendous versatile in the case of veggies. When you’ve obtained extras readily available or simply need to increase the vitamin, listed below are some straightforward add-in choices:

Mushrooms: Add 1 cup of sliced mushrooms with the carrots and celery. Sauté till softened and calmly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Corn: Stir in 1 cup of frozen or canned corn while you add the peas and gnocchi. No further prepare dinner time wanted.

Child Spinach: Add 2 cups of recent child spinach on the very finish, proper earlier than serving. It’ll wilt in only a minute or two.

Diced Potatoes: Peel and cube 1 medium russet or Yukon gold potato into small cubes. Add it in with the broth so it has time to melt, about quarter-hour of simmering ought to do it.

Inexperienced Beans: Use 1 cup of chopped recent or frozen inexperienced beans. Add them with the carrots and celery in order that they prepare dinner via and keep tender-crisp.

Simply watch out to not overload the pot. About 2 cups of additional veggies complete is an efficient rule of thumb to maintain the steadiness proper.

Adjusting Thickness

This soup is designed to be creamy and hearty, however you may completely tweak the feel based mostly on the way you prefer it:

To Make It Thicker: If you need a thicker soup, whisk collectively 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of chilly water. Stir it into the soup after including the cream and gnocchi, and simmer for an additional 2 to three minutes till thickened. You may as well cut back the broth by 1 cup initially for a naturally thicker consequence.

To Make It Thinner: In case your soup seems thicker than you’d like (particularly if it sat for a bit), simply stir in an additional 1 to 2 cups of hen broth or water. Add a little bit at a time till it’s the consistency you need, then heat it via earlier than serving.