Recipe for Cream of Chicken or Turkey Soup

By Peggy Trowbridge Filippone

Updated 11/26/18

Chicken soup
Foodcollection RF / Getty Images
Ratings (4)
  • Total: 25 mins
  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 15 mins
  • Yield: 4 portions (4 servings)
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
501 Calories
39g Fat
2g Carbs
35g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 portions (4 servings)
Amount per serving
Calories 501
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 39g 50%
Saturated Fat 19g 93%
Cholesterol 172mg 57%
Sodium 262mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Protein 35g
Calcium 60mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Sometimes a simple soup is most appealing on a chilly night. You cannot get more basic than this easy cream of chicken or turkey soup.

Whether you serve this soup as a first course to family or guests or as part of a casual pairing with sandwiches, it's a good option—and easy in the bargain.

This recipe can be found in "The New Doubleday Cookbook" by Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna. 

Ingredients

  • 1-quart chicken or turkey broth
  • 1 cup heavy cream​
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg or mace
  • 1 tablespoon minced parsley or chives

Steps to Make It

  1. Bring the broth to a simmer and slowly mix in the cream.

  2. Add salt to taste, pepper, and nutmeg.

  3. Cover and let mellow over lowest heat for about 10 minutes.

  4. Serve hot or icy cold, topped with minced parsley.

Variation

  • For homestyle, chunky cream of chicken or turkey soup, make a cream sauce, substituting a cup of half-and-half for the heavy cream, and add the broth. Cook until thickened, mix in the spices along with chopped, cooked chicken or turkey, potatoes, peas and/or carrots.

Sandwich Pairings

Serve cream of chicken or turkey soup for lunch on the weekend or for a casual weeknight dinner with a spectacular sandwich that complements its simple and subtle flavors.

A pesto chicken panini adds an Italian twist, while grilled cheese with turkey on sourdough turns it into a comfort meal. For something Southern, try grilled chicken and pimiento cheese sandwiches on crusty French bread. 

For some Mexican heat, put together a panini of chipotle, chicken, avocado and Monterey Jack cheese. Or stack sourdough bread with slices of avocado, tomato, bacon, and lettuce, topped with a nice dollop of mayonnaise.

Classic club sandwiches—slices of crispy bacon, tomatoes, lettuce and turkey with mayonnaise on country white bread—always go great with cream of chicken or turkey soup. You can also always fall back on chicken salad on country white or French bread or the simplest of all, cold chicken or turkey sandwiches with lettuce, salt and pepper and mayonnaise on soft white bread. Turn any of these classics into something a bit more sophisticated by changing up the bread to brioche rolls, asiago bread, sourdough, French or Italian.

You can, of course, substitute chicken for turkey or the other way around in any of these sandwich ideas.

Add pickles and potato chips (if they complement the sandwich), and you have yourself a meal of the best ingredients that just might make you remember that the simple things in life are just about always the best.