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Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup is a low calorie soup recipe made without cream or dairy. A lighter chicken pot pie recipe that's delicious and gluten free! Low Calorie + Gluten Free + Paleo
I love a hearty chicken pot pie soup. Growing up in Wisconsin, it was always a winter staple. Don't get me wrong, I love the crunchy crust of pot pie soup but it's not the healthiest way to eat for your hormones and weight loss goals.
If you have weight loss goals or just want to eat better nutritionally, then this healthier version of chicken pot pie soup is one you will want to try!
What Makes This Chicken Pot Pie Soup Healthy
This chicken pot pie soup is a healthier version because it replaces flour and heavy cream with steamed cauliflower. Cauliflower is low in calories and acts as the perfect thickener for soups when it has been steamed and blended. It makes soups super thick and creamy, but without all the calories. It's one of my best weight loss secrets to lightening up recipes!
The healthy soup recipe omits the calorie heavy pie on top, is completely dairy free, gluten free, Paleo and Whole30 friendly. There's no nuts or coconut in this either.
Ingredients For Low Calorie Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Chicken Breasts (we get ours from ButcherBox)
- Cauliflower
- Unsweetened Almond Milk or milk of choice
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onion
- Yukon Potatoes
- Chicken Broth, low sodium
- Thyme
- Garlic Powder
- Salt, Pepper
How To Make Chicken Pot Pie Soup On The Stovetop
Making chicken pot pie soup on the stovetop is actually very easy. I recommend prepping and chopping all the ingredients before you start. Cooking the shredded chicken ahead of time is helpful too!
My favorite way to cook shredded chicken is in an Instant Pot, but it can be done in a slow cooker too. And... if you're really short on time you can buy pre-cooked chicken breast and shred it or a Rotisserie chicken would work too!
When you're ready to make your soup, start by steaming the cauliflower in a pot with boiling water then draining and setting the cauliflower aside.
The next step is adding the olive oil, carrots, celery and onion. Once the veggies have softened, add the chicken broth, potatoes, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper, cover and bring to a boil. Boil the ingredients 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
While the pot boils, blend the steamed cauliflower with milk until smooth. Add the shredded chicken and cauliflower to the pot. Stir to combine and serve!
Can Chicken Pot Pie Soup Be Made In A Slow Cooker Or Instant Pot?
Yes! You can make this healthy chicken pot pie soup in the Instant Pot or slow cooker. I've included the directions in the recipe for you so that you can make this recipe on the stovetop, slow cooker or Instant Pot.
It takes longer to make this soup in a slow cooker, but if you're going for convenience this is the method to go for. The Instant Pot and stovetop methods take about the same amount of time after you factor in the time needed for the Instant Pot to pressurize.
Substitutions for Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Here are some substitutions you can make for the recipe. Note that when you make substitutions it will change the nutritional values and calories.
- Chicken - Turkey can be swapped for chicken. You could omit the meat; however, the recipe would be deficient in protein if you
- Peas/Corn - You can certainly add peas or corn to this recipe or swap the potatoes for them. I did not add peas or corn to the recipe to keep the carbohydrates at a moderate level in the recipe. Potatoes are high in fiber which is important for weight loss.
- Veggies - Adding veggies or swapping veggies can be done with this recipe. Kale, spinach or parsnips would be wonderful swaps or adds!
- Milk - Any milk can be used in the recipe including coconut milk OR you can swap the milk for broth.
- Broth - I used no sodium added chicken broth for this recipe. Chicken or vegetable broth or stock can be used in this recipe.
- Crockpot/Instant Pot - This soup can be made in a crockpot or Instant pot. I've included the directions for those methods in the recipe for you.
How To Store Chicken Pot Pie Soup
This soup can be stored in the refrigerator in a container up to five days. After five days, I recommend freezing the soup. It can be kept frozen up to 60 days.
If you freeze your soup, remove from the freezer 24 hours before you plan to eat it and place in the refrigerator to thaw. You can reheat on the stovetop in a pot at a medium heat for 30 minutes or in the microwave in a bowl heating on high for about 2 minutes.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Turmeric Chicken Rice Soup
- Skinny Zuppa Toscana
- Turkey Kale Enchilada Soup
- Healthy Chicken Dumpling Soup
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Ingredients
- 12 oz cauliflower florets
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1/2 cup white onion diced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups Yukon gold potatoes diced with skin on
- 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Stovetop
- Cook the chicken by placing in an Instant Pot to make shredded chicken (omit the spices) or by placing in a slow cooker and cooking the chicken on high for 4 hours with 1 cup of chicken broth. Alternatively, you can cook the chicken another way that you prefer or by purchasing pre-cooked chicken.
- Add the cauliflower to a large pot and add water to cover the cauliflower. Bring to a boil. Boil 5-7 minutes or until cauliflower is soft. The smaller your florets, the faster this will be. Drain the cauliflower and set aside.
- Place the olive oil in the large pot with the onions, celery and carrots. Bring to a medium heat and cook 5-6 minutes or until the vegetables have softened.
- While the veggies cook, shredded the chicken breasts that you cooked and set aside.
- Add the potatoes, chicken broth, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the pot. Stir to combine, cover and bring to a boil. Boil 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
- While the pot boils, add the cauliflower to a blender with the milk. Blend until smooth. Add the blended cauliflower to the pot with the shredded chicken. Stir then reduce to a low simmer and simmer 5 minutes. Serve immediatey!
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 60 days.
Instant Pot
- Add the cauliflower to a large pot and add water to cover the cauliflower. Bring to a boil. Boil 5-7 minutes or until cauliflower is soft. The smaller your florets, the faster this will be. Drain the cauliflower and set aside.
- Place the remaining ingredients except the milk in the Instant Pot including the chicken breasts. Cover then set the valve to sealing and set to steam for 30 minutes. Note, it will take the pot time to pressurize.
- As the pot cooks, add the cauliflower to a blender with the milk. Blend until smooth.
- After the 30 minutes of pressure cooking, carefully move the valve to release. Release the steam then remove the cover. Stir in the blended cauliflower then shred the chicken with two forks. Serve immediately!
Slow Cooker
- Add the cauliflower to a large pot and add water to cover the cauliflower. Bring to a boil. Boil 5-7 minutes or until cauliflower is soft. The smaller your florets, the faster this will be. Drain the cauliflower and set aside.
- Place the remaining ingredients except the milk in a slow cooker including the chicken breasts. Cover and cook 8 hours on high.
- A few minutes before the slow cooker is done cooking, add the cauliflower to a blender with the milk. Blend until smooth.
- Stir in the blended cauliflower then shred the chicken with two forks. Serve immediately!
Notes
- Serving size is 1/4 of the recipe or approximately 2 cups. Serving sizes may vary.
- My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my weight loss clients.
- If you enjoy this recipe, check out my cookbook for more delicious recipes!
Nutrition
What I Used For The Recipe
I’m reading the last part and it says blend the cauliflower with the milk, was I not supposed to put the almond milk in the slow cooker? :/
Thank you for alerting me to this! It's not a big deal to add the milk to the slow cooker, but in terms of blending the cauliflower it is much easier to do it with the milk. I updated the instructions to be clear.
Best chicken soup I've ever had. You can't even tell there is cauliflower in it. It does thicken the soup so well!
This recipe was fantastic. Will definitely be making it again!
Can I leave out the milk in the chicken pot pie soup?
Yes, you could swap the milk for broth.