Chicken Creole Soup
This Chicken Creole Soup features chicken simmered with tomatoes and vegetables. It’s a delicious and easy recipe for a winter night!
This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
Chicken Creole is one of my favorite comfort foods on a cold night. Think Cajun seasoned chicken simmered with tomatoes and spices and then served over white rice. Come to think of it, I’ve never made Chicken Creole for the blog – I could’ve sworn I had made it years ago, but I guess not.
This Chicken Creole Soup is also perfect on a winter night! It makes for some pretty fantastic leftovers the next day for lunch, too. Similar to traditional Chicken Creole, this Chicken Creole Soup relies on chicken simmered in tomatoes and spices.
Once all of the ingredients simmer for a bit, you’ll be left with a large pot of delicious soup. Just make sure to have a loaf of good, crusty bread nearby! I like to tear off chunks of bread caveman-style when I eat this soup. So good!
How to Make Chicken Creole Soup
This soup starts with the Cajun Holy Trinity of onions, celery and bell peppers. Those three ingredients form the base of so many Cajun and Creole recipes. Add in some diced chicken, sauté it all a bit and then layer in some canned diced tomatoes, frozen cut okra, chicken broth and seasonings. Finally, add a cup of rice and then let the whole pot simmer for about half an hour.
As this Chicken Creole Soup is simmering on the stovetop, your entire house will smell amazing. When this soup is fresh off the stovetop, it’s a bit thinner like a traditional soup. However, the next day, the rice and okra work their magic and thicken this soup into a stew of sorts.
If desired, you could always add more chicken broth to the leftovers, but I actually like the thicker version. It’s the kind of comfort food you want on a winter day!
Okra is often used to thicken gumbo, and it thickens this Chicken Creole Soup in much the same way. (In fact, the word gumbo itself is a west African word for okra.) If you’ve ever had boiled okra, you know that it can sometimes turn slimy – that’s just part of the science behind cooked okra.
Don’t worry. The okra in this soup isn’t slimy at all, and I suspect it’s because the other ingredients mask any slimy textures. I don’t actually know the science here – I just know that this Chicken Creole Soup gets noticeably thicker as leftovers. And I also know that this soup is noticeably delicious!
I love a good bowl of chicken and wild rice soup, but after a while I have to mix things up a bit. This Chicken Creole Soup is a great way to change up soup season! It’s easy and flavorful, and it’s a great way to warm up on a cold day. Enjoy!
How to Store Leftovers
Unless you’re feeding a large crowd, you’ll likely have leftovers of this Chicken Creole Soup. To store, let the soup cool to room temperature and then store it in the refrigerator in airtight containers for up to 5 days. To reheat, just put it back in a pot on the stovetop for several minutes – I recommend adding a splash of water when reheating.
This soup also freezes well, too. Just transfer the cooled soup into a freezer-safe container (I use a gallon-size ziploc bag) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, let bag rest in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat on the stovetop. (Tip: When thawing, put the bag in a large bowl just in case any soup wants to leak out!)
Did you make this Chicken Creole Soup at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Chicken Creole Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1” pieces
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 10-oz. package frozen cut okra
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp Creole seasoning
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- {for serving} crusty bread
Instructions
- Using a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add butter and place over medium heat.
- Once butter has melted, add onions, celery, bell pepper and chicken; stir until well combined. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes, or until onion has softened.
- Add garlic, stir and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add flour; stir until well combined. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often.
- Add remaining ingredients (diced tomatoes, okra, chicken broth, water, rice, bay leaves, Creole seasoning, black pepper, thyme and cayenne pepper); stir until well combined.
- Increase heat to medium-high heat and bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken and rice are both fully cooked. Remove bay leaves.
- Serve hot with crusty bread.
Notes
Looking for more tasty soup recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Cant wait to make this soon for me i never had chicken creole soup before perfect for raining days in Singapore and after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
This is a very tasty soup for rainy days, Ramya! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Super comforting, hearty and delicious! A soup that eats like a meal ! 😉
Exactly! I love a soup that eats like a meal…especially when Cajun and Creole flavors are involved! 🙂
A great soup. Great ingredients!
Thanks so much, Mimi – great soup is not hard to make at home if you start with the right ingredients! 🙂
Soups like this one are my jam! This is perfect for these inbetween winter and spring days we are having here. I think im going to have to make a pot of this next Monday and eat it all week-imo, leftovers of this soup tends to taste even better as it sits! And i just might have to pull a David and go all cavewoman on a hunk of crusty bread to pair with this AND sop up all of it from my bowl! Happy weekend to all of yall!
I do love leftover soup! Not only does it usually taste better by Day 2, but you have easy leftovers to warm up for lunch or dinner. And that chunk of crusty bread is an absolute requirement for getting every bit of that soup from the bowl!!
I’ve never had creole soup before, but I’d certainly love to give it a try! From the sounds and looks of it, I know it would be a hit! So tasty and hearty. And, like you, I’d love to pair it with bread. Perfect on this cold winter day. 🙂
This is just a solid soup, Dawn! It’s hearty and flavorful…perfect for chilly days! And of course a big hunk of crusty bread makes it even better. 🙂
Sounds like a real winner, David! I happen to be someone who actually likes okra fried or stewed in a gumbo it’s all good. Never knew gumbo meant okra!
Okra definitely plays an important role in gumbo and some soups! The flavors in this soup are pretty fantastic – it makes for a great meal on a chilly day. Thanks, Frank!
Okra? Not sure I can do it david. 🙂 But the soup sounds great, if a bit too hearty for our incredibly hot and humid and never ending summer!
Not an okra fan, Sherry?? I get it. Okra has a time and place for me…like in this soup. And, yes, I would recommend holding off and making this once the hot and humid summer has come to a close!
I love a good soup this time of year. Although I just heard that it’s supposed to go up to 70 tomorrow. In Chicago. In February! 70! Should I wear shorts to work? But you know what’s going to happen. As soon as we hit a month where it really should be 70, like May, we’ll have snow. So I’m happy to keep this soup recipe around regardless of the weird temperatures.
We hit 70 yesterday, too, Jeff! Of course that’s not as strange as Chicago hitting 70, but it was still a very welcome Spring day. I don’t think we’re out of the weeds yet, though. A good soup recipe is always helpful to hang on to!!
I’m not too familiar with Creole cuisine, so this chicken soup is a new dish to me (even though I do love chicken soup, and I have tried so many recipes!) Anyway, this soup looks utterly delicious and comforting. Okra is a fun ingredient!
Ah, you should absolutely spend some time getting acquainted with Creole cuisine, Ben. It’s fantastic! This chicken soup is quite tasty…and soup is always welcome on a cold winter day!
We are big fans of Creole food in our house, so I know we’d love this soup! Looks so warm and comforting.
This soup is indeed warm and comforting, Marissa – perfect for a chilly day!
This sounds like the perfect winter warmer! I can almost smell the aroma of the Cajun Holy Trinity sautéing in the pot. Nom nom nom
The smell of that Cajun Trinity in a pan always makes my mouth water, too!