Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Puff Pastry Croutons

If you love chicken pot pie but don't quite have the time to make it on a weeknight, this chicken pot pie soup is the answer. It's creamy, filling, comforting and packed with vegetables and chicken. The puff pastry croutons are so easy to make and they're crisp, buttery and absolutely delicious!

People often ask us about recipe fails. We don't have complete failures often – usually recipes just require several rounds of testing until we're 100% sure anyone at home could reproduce the same results.

But when we were developing a pot pie recipe for our cookbook, we just couldn't get the puff pastry topping quite right! No matter which brand we used or how long we chilled it, we had issues with the filling bubbling over and the puff pastry staying soggy on the bottom.

We ended up going with a biscuit topping instead (to be honest, I totally prefer that!) but puff pastry croutons? The PERFECT hack for this soup-ified pot pie.

They stay super crispy, they're so easy to make, and you get a little bit in every bite. We top them with everything seasoning for extra flavor, but a sprinkle of salt and pepper is perfect, too.

This soup is peak comfort food, made easier. It's ideal for a busy January weeknight, especially if you have a rotisserie chicken sitting in the fridge!

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• What You'll Need to Make This Recipe
• How to Make This Recipe
• Storage
• Lexi & Beth's Top Recipe Tips
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What You'll Need to Make This Recipe

• Butter: We use a good amount, which makes this soup extra creamy and rich. Feel free to reduce to ¼ cup. You can also use olive oil.
• Leeks: We love the milder, sweeter flavor of leeks in pot pie, but you can also use yellow onion or shallots if that's easier. Use the white and light green parts of the leek (they cook much faster than the dark green parts) and make sure to wash them well!
• Carrot, celery and peas: The quintessential pot pie veggies! Frozen peas are easiest, but you can use fresh if preferred.
• Dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
• Flour: This is what thickens the soup, giving it that creamy pot pie consistency.
• Salt and pepper: We always use Diamond Crystal kosher salt unless otherwise noted. If using fine sea salt or table salt, start with half and taste before adding more.
• Thyme: Dried is easiest, but if you want to use fresh, use 1 tablespoon.
• Chicken broth: low sodium works best here, otherwise the soup may be too salty.
• Dijon mustard: Essential for flavor!
• Heavy cream: Most recipes call for more heavy cream, but we found ½ cup was plenty for creaminess without making it too rich.
• Potatoes: We use unpeeled yellow or Yukon gold potatoes. If you're using russets, you may want to peel them.
• Chicken: Any cooked chicken (grilled, baked, poached) will do, but store-bought rotisserie chicken is easiest.
• Parsley: Adds a pop of freshness and color just before serving.
• Puff pastry: If you use an entire package of puff pastry, you'll have quite a few croutons, but we strongly suggest doing so because you'll probably eat half the batch before they make it onto the soup!
• Everything seasoning: Totally optional, but this is what we use for topping the puff pastry. You can substitute with salt and pepper.

How to Make This Recipe

STEP 1: To a large pot over medium heat, add the butter. Once melted, add the leek and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until softened and translucent.

STEP 2: Add in the garlic, celery and carrots and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften. Add in the white wine and let it simmer for a minute or two until it reduces.

STEP 3: Reduce heat to low, then sprinkle the flour, thyme, salt and pepper over the vegetables and stir for 1 minute, then slowly pour in about 1 cup of the vegetable broth, stirring or whisking well until no flour lumps remain. Add in the remaining broth, potatoes and dijon mustard.

STEP 4: Increase heat to high and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.

STEP 5: Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry until it's about ⅛ inch thick. You can leave it thicker, but keep in mind that they will puff up quite a bit in the oven. Cut the puff pastry into ½ inch squares, then brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with everything seasoning (or salt and pepper to taste).

STEP 6: Transfer the puff pastry squares to the prepared sheet pans, spacing them slightly apart. Bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on how thin you rolled the pastry), until the bottoms are golden brown and the tops are light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the sheet pan.

STEP 7: Once the potatoes are fork tender, stir in the heavy cream, chicken, parsley and frozen peas and continue cooking for 5-10 more minutes. Serve hot topped with puff pastry croutons.

Storage

Store the soup and puff pastry croutons separately. The croutons can be placed in a zip-top bag or container and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days. If they lose crispness, you can reheat them for a few minutes in a 350˚F air fryer or oven.

Let the soup cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months – defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Lexi & Beth's Top Recipe Tips

This soup is fairly thick and creamy, but if you want an even thicker soup, you can add up to an additional 2 tablespoons of flour when you add it to the vegetables. If you want to thicken the soup after it's done, stir together 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1-2 tablespoons of water and stir it into the soup, letting it cook for several minutes to thicken.

If you want to make this soup dairy free, substitute butter with your favorite nondairy butter (or olive oil) and substitute heavy cream with a nondairy alternative. Make sure your puff pastry is also dairy free. You can make it entirely vegan by subbing chicken for beans and vegetable broth instead of chicken.

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