Chicken, Mushroom & Leek Soup
This comforting bowl of soup is packed with chunks of chicken, bacon, mushrooms and leeks all cooked in a creamy soup base that you would never guess is dairy free! This soup takes just 30 minutes to make and is perfect for an easy winter meal. It’s Whole30, Paleo, Keto, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal.
This comforting bowl of soup is a healthy spin on something that I loved to order at the pub in London, Chicken, Leek and Bacon Pie. This soup version of the classic pie is packed with the same chunky filling, plus a deliciously creamy base, but skips the pastry topping. I used a trick from my chicken pot pie soup recipe, and used pureed cauliflower to give the soup a delicious creaminess, without the cream!
Why you are going to love this Chicken, Mushroom & Leek Soup
- It’s comfort in a bowl! This soup is so comforting and delicious, it’s perfect for winter. Plus its so creamy you would swear it’s packed with cream (but it’s actually dairy free!)
- It’s a really hearty soup packed with chunks of chicken, bacon, mushrooms and leeks. A bowl of this soup is a satisfying meal that won’t leave you feeling hungry.
- It takes just 30 minutes to make start to finish!
What’s in this soup?
- Chicken: You can use leftover roast chicken, or quickly poach chicken for this soup. To poach the chicken, place 2 chicken breasts in a pot and fill with enough water to cover the breasts. Bring the water to a gentle simmer and leave the chicken to cook for 15-18 minutes. To check if the chicken is done, remove a breast from the water and cut through the thickest part to ensure that it is no longer pink. Allow the chicken to cool slightly before cutting into small bite sized pieces or shredding.
- Mushrooms: chestnut or button mushrooms work well for this soup and add a nice earthiness.
- Bacon: Chopped bacon, pancetta or even ham are all options which add a nice saltiness to the soup.
- Leeks: I absolutely love leeks but if you aren’t a fan you can swap them for thinly sliced celery.
- Cauliflower: The secret ingredient that makes this soup so deliciously creamy.
Can I use cauliflower rice? What about frozen cauliflower?
Absolutely! I use cauliflower florets from a broken down head of cauliflower when making this soup, but frozen cauliflower florets would work just as well. Alternatively the cauliflower florets can be swapped for 2 cups fresh or frozen cauliflower rice.
Ways to modify this creamy Chicken, Mushroom & Leek Soup
- Make it vegetarian: skip the chicken and bacon and add extra mushrooms. Also be sure to use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock.
- Swap the chicken: This is a great way to use up leftover chicken, or alternatively turkey!
- Make it nut free: Swap the almond milk with coconut milk or any other type of milk you prefer to make this soup nut free.
How to store this soup
It will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Alternatively freeze the soup in ziploc bags or containers for up to 4 months. Place the frozen soup in a pot with a splash of almond milk and leave to thaw on medium heat.
Here are a few more hearty soups that you might enjoy…
- Whole30 Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Turkey Mulligatawny Soup
- Mexican Chicken Soup
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Roasted Cauliflower & Garlic Soup
- Thai Curry Noodle Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Chicken, Mushroom & Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cups cauliflower florets (1 medium head cauliflower)
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 5 ounces chopped bacon or pancetta
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 leeks cut in half lengthwise and then thinly sliced
- 9 ounces mushrooms cut into small pieces
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Instructions
- Place the cauliflower florets in a large pot with enough chicken stock to cover the florets (approximately 1 1/2 cups but you may need up to 2 cups). Leave the cauliflower to cook on medium high heat for approximately 8 minutes until the florets are tender and easily pierced with a fork.
- Once the cauliflower is tender, transfer the florets plus any excess liquid from the pot to a blender along with the remaining chicken stock and 1 cup almond milk and blender until smooth. Set aside
- Heat the olive oil on medium high heat in the pot and add in the bacon/pancetta. Cook for 2 minutes before adding in the diced onion and garlic. Leave everything to cook for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften and the bacon is crisp.
- Next add the chopped mushrooms, leeks, thyme, salt and pepper to the pot. Leave to cook for 5 minutes until the mushrooms have softened.
- Add the cooked chicken, bay leaves and cauliflower puree to the pot, stir to ensure everything is well mixed and then leave to simmer on medium low heat for 10 minutes. Depending on the soup consistency you prefer, feel free to add more chicken stock to the soup to thin it out.
- Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as desired. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
This was amazing! My whole family asked for this to be made often.
Soup is very good, but the prep time is about 3 times longer than stated on the recipe. That was with already cooked chicken. I added fresh baby spinach in the last 3 minutes of cooking.
Easy to make and a big hit with my whole family, will definitely make this one again.
I loved the soup. I added two chopped carrots to it, to give it some colour.
This was so delicious!! My only complaint is that there is NO WAY prep time is only 10 mins unless you are a “super chopper.” Took me nearly 30 mins but I might overthink my chops. The hubs went back for seconds AND finished off my scraps 🙂
This soup was amazing!! The only swap I did was some heavy cream in place of the almond milk (didn’t have any). The flavor was delicious from the sweetness of the leaks, and creamy base with the cauliflower. This is definitely a keeper!
This was really good. I did add more chicken broth, but that’s my preference. I’m sure it would be good thicker too. Worth the minutes to make it though.
Really loved the soup! Had leek to use up & so happy I came across this delicious recipe! Yummy! The hubby was happy with it too. Thanks for mentioning that you can use cauliflower rice as I had some in the freezer! Sweet! Mmmm…I’m full and happy!
We all really liked this soup! I used frozen cauliflower rice and used an emersion blender. Next time I’m going to reserve some of the bacon to sprinkle on top. It added a wonderful flavor to the soup, but we missed the crunch. I will make this again!
Simple and tasty. I liked the idea of using cauliflower as a thickener.
Really loved the soup! Had leek to use up & so happy I came across this delicious recipe! Yummy! The hubby was happy with it too. Thanks for mentioning that you can use cauliflower rice as I had some in the freezer! Sweet! Mmmm…I’m full and happy!
Love this! Will definitely keep it on the fall/winter rotation.
I liked the idea of this recipe but unfortunately it didn’t have much flavour, even when adding pancetta on top. Maybe coconut cream would help?
We all really liked this soup! I used frozen cauliflower rice and used an emersion blender. Next time I’m going to reserve some of the bacon to sprinkle on top. It added a wonderful flavor to the soup, but we missed the crunch. I will make this again!
SO yummy, easy to follow recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Love this recipe! So cozy, while also clean! I was wondering…what is a serving size? Is it a cup?