Creamy Chicken Mushroom Soup
Low carb, sugar-free and ready in 30 minutes — shredded chicken and deeply seared mushrooms in a silky cream broth
This creamy chicken mushroom soup keeps every promise on the cover: low carb, sugar-free, ready in 30 minutes — with 28g protein, 5g net carbs and 260 calories per serving. Mushrooms are seared until deeply browned, then simmered with shredded chicken in a silky cream broth with thyme and parsley, like the ladleful in the photo.
Per serving: 260 calories, 28g protein and 5g net carbs. Ready in 30 minutes.
Why you’ll love this chicken mushroom soup
- 28g protein per bowl for just 260 calories
- Low carb and sugar-free — exactly as promised on the cover
- On the table in a genuine 30 minutes
- Deeply browned mushrooms — real, savoury depth
- Silky cream broth, never split or grainy
- One pot, cosy and filling
Health notes
- Chicken breast: Lean and protein-dense — poached gently or rotisserie-shredded.
- Mushrooms: Searing them dry first concentrates their flavour — no watery soup.
- Cream cheese and cream: The silky body, with no flour or starch thickeners.
- Thyme and parsley: Classic, fresh and zero sugar.
- Locked from the cover: The photo supplied the title, claims, time and macros, so they are kept consistent throughout the block.
Key element — sear the mushrooms in a single layer
Mushrooms dumped in a crowded pot steam in their own liquid and turn grey. Sear them in batches, in a single layer with space between the slices, and leave them undisturbed until deeply browned on one side before flipping. That crust is the soup’s entire depth of flavour — it is what makes the ladleful in the photo look so rich.
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 lb mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme (or 1 Tbsp fresh)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1½ lb cooked chicken breast, shredded (rotisserie works)
- 4 oz cream cheese, cubed and softened
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Swaps
- Poach your own: Simmer raw chicken breasts in the broth for 12 minutes, shred, return.
- Extra earthy: Mixed wild mushrooms instead of one kind.
- Dairy-light: Half-and-half instead of cream — slightly thinner, still silky.
- Spinach: A handful of baby spinach stirred in at the end.
Instructions
| 1 | Sear the mushrooms. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sear the mushrooms in a single layer, in batches, for 3–4 minutes per side until deeply browned. Remove to a plate. |
| 2 | Soften the aromatics. In the same pot, cook the onion for 4–5 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic and thyme for 30 seconds. |
| 3 | Build the broth. Pour in the chicken broth, scraping up every browned bit from the base. Simmer for 5 minutes. |
| 4 | Add the chicken. Stir in the shredded chicken and simmer for 3–4 minutes until heated through. |
| 5 | Make it creamy. Lower the heat right down. Whisk in the cream cheese until melted and smooth, then stir in the cream. Never let it boil from here — the cream will split. |
| 6 | Finish and serve. Return the mushrooms to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley. Ladle into bowls with extra mushrooms and parsley on top, like the photo. |
Pro tips
- Space between the mushroom slices — crowding means steaming, not searing.
- Do not stir the mushrooms for the first 2 minutes; the crust needs stillness.
- Those browned bits in the pot are flavour — scrape them all into the broth.
- Cream goes in at the end, off the boil, always.
- A squeeze of lemon at serving lifts the whole pot.
Nutrition
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 260 |
| Protein | 28g |
| Net carbohydrates | 5g |
| Total carbohydrates | 7g |
| Fiber | 2g |
| Total fat | 12g |
| Sodium | 640mg |
Per serving (6 bowls), locked from the cover: 28g protein, 5g net carbs, 260 calories. Exact macros vary slightly with chicken cut and cream brand.
Variations
Chicken wild rice style
Cauliflower rice stirred in for the wild-rice feel, low carb.
Garlic Parmesan
Extra garlic and a handful of Parmesan melted in at the end.
Herb garden
Tarragon and chives alongside the parsley.
Spicy
A pinch of chilli flakes and smoked paprika in the broth.
Storage
| Method | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | Up to 4 days | Airtight container; the broth thickens slightly as it chills |
| Freezer | Up to 2 months | Freeze before adding the cream if you can; thaw overnight |
| Reheat | — | Low heat, stirring often — never boil, or the cream splits |
