If you’re trying to eat healthy and hit your protein goals, it can often feel like you need to make sacrifices when it comes to eating the foods you love, but this High-Protein Chicken Pot Pie Soup proves otherwise.
It has all the cozy, creamy, and indulgent flavors of the original but with 51 grams of protein and under 500 calories per servings. And that even includes delicious golden biscuits!
I’ve used the culmination of many years of developing high-protein recipes to create something truly delicious that tastes totally indulgent but in a much healthier, more macro-balanced form.
One hour to make it, four servings in total, under 500 calories and 51 grams of protein per serving.
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Why You’ll Love It
- 51 grams of protein per serving. If you’re trying to reach a protein target, this high-protein chicken pot pie soup is a heavy hitter. For most women this will be a third to half of your daily goal.
- Calorie conscious. I’m gunna guess that if you’re being mindful of your protein, you’re also looking for healthier versions of recipes. This recipe is under 500 calories and macro-balanced.
- Doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. This isn’t the kind of recipe that tastes “healthy”. It’s cozy, indulgent, creamy, and packed with flavor.
- The biscuits. These are actually wild. Full stop. Don’t be fooled into thinking they taste like they’re made from cottage cheese, they are ridiculously good.
If you’re looking for more high-protein soups, try my High-Protein Tomato Soup with Cottage Cheese next. Simple, veggie-filled, and packed with flavor.
Key Ingredients
You’ll need a couple of ingredients here (mostly veggies) but it’s well worth the grocery trip.
- Chicken breast: The chicken breast poaches directly in the broth making it even more flavorful as it cooks. And the result is super tender shredded chicken. You can also swap for rotisserie chicken to save 10 minutes.
- Bone broth: This is one of the high-protein heros of this chicken pot pie soup. It’s much higher in protein and more flavorful than classic chicken broth. Plus it has all kinds of additional health benefits.
- Veggies: There are lots in this. The classic aromatics: onion, celery, and carrots. Then cauliflower and potato help make it creamy. And finally it gets finished with green peas.
- Evaporated skim milk: I use this in place of cream for a similarly creamy finish but with more protein and less fat.
- Cottage cheese & self-raising flour: These are the main ingredients in the biscuits. If you’ve tried a cottage cheese bagel, we’re using a similar method and it’s surprisingly delicious.
If you liked this one, try my Birria Soup with Sweet Corn & Crispy Tortilla Strips. It’s one of my favorite recipes on my site.
How To Add Protein To Chicken Pot Pie Soup
A classic chicken pot pie soup already has around 20 grams of protein per serving (thanks to the chicken!)
To make it even higher protein, we amp up the chicken quantity, swap regular broth for bone broth, cream for evaporated milk, and add cottage cheese biscuits for over 50 grams of protein per serving.
And if you’re watching your protein, then I’m going to assume you’re going for healthier options in general. I’ve also made a couple of easy changes to bring down the calories like relying on blended veggies for some of the creaminess, using low-fat evaporated milk instead of cream, and minimizing unnecessary oils and fats.
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How to Make It
Alright, this recipe does take a coupe of steps but it really is simple. The soup comes together in one pot and the biscuits get made on the side while everything simmers.
Start with the aromatics
Dice up your aromatics (onion, celery, and carrot) and sauté in a small amount of oil until softened. Add garlic, thyme, and black pepper.
Poach your chicken
To the same pot, add bone broth, cauliflower, potato, bay leaves, and your chicken breasts. Bring to a low simmer for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove and shred.
Make your biscuits
Blend cottage cheese and egg white until smooth than combine with flour, thyme, and salt until you get a sticky dough. Divide into 8 equal balls and bake until golden brown.
Thicken and finish your soup
With the chicken removed, blend up about half of your soup until perfectly smooth then return to the pot along with the evaporated milk. Thicken with a cornstarch slurry if desired then add you shredded chicken and peas. Divide into 4 bowl and top each with 2 biscuits.
For another indulgent soup, try my Creamy High-Protein Lasagna Soup. It’s one of the most popular recipes on my site. And my sister’s personal favorite.
Swaps & Substitutions
Many elements of this soup can be customized to your liking. Here are a couple of my suggestions.
Victoria’s Tips
Here are a couple of my tips to ensure you get the best possible result.
- Use a high-speed blender. I know this one from experience, a high-speed blender really does make all the difference here. A lower quality blender or immersion blender will still make a delicious soup but it won’t be quite as creamy.
- Don’t boil the chicken. If you like super tender chicken, make sure that you’re keeping it at a low simmer while poaching. A rolling boil will lead to a rubbery tight chicken texture.
- Be mindful of the temperature. Like most dairy-products, evaporated milk can curdle at high temperatures. That’s why you want a warm but not scorching hot liquid before you add it.
- Salt at the end. Different brands of bone broths have different sodium levels. Taste your soup towards the end and salt to your preference.
Storage & Meal Prep
This high-protein chicken pot pie soup can easily be doubled or tripled for meal prep. Simply store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
It will thicken as it sits so feel free to add a splash of water when reheating.
Gently warm on the stove but don’t let it boil to avoid curdling.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a great recipe to freeze as it may separate when thawed.
FAQ
I’ve used a couple of swaps and strategies here to make these soup way higher in protein than the original. Firstly, we amp up the quantity of chicken. Easy win. Then we swap chicken stock of chicken bone broth. This adds roughly 6ish extra grams per serving depending on the brand you use. The cream is replaced with evaporated milk for a couple of extra grams. Then finally the cottage cheese biscuits are the final addition.
Not at all. They are fluffy on the inside, golden and crisp on the outside and taste just like a biscuit or bread roll, but just a little bit healthier. (And easier to make!)
This is a temperature issue. Likely the evaporated milk got curdled or cooked. Keep the soup at a lower temp when adding the dairy and reheat slowly if needed.
This recipe’s great for meal prep. Simply double or triple depending on how many servings you want to make. Store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
High-Protein Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Cottage Cheese Biscuits
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Ingredients
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Instructions
- Make the biscuit dough first. Blend 1 cup cottage cheese and 1 large egg white until completely smooth and no curds remain. Add to a bowl with 1 cup self-raising flour, 1 tsp thyme, and a small pinch of salt. Stir with a fork or your hands until it comes together into a soft, sticky dough. Cover and chill while you start the soup.
- Soften the aromatics. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 small yellow onion, finely diced, 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced small, and 2 celery stalks, diced small, and cook until softened and just starting to colour, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in 3 garlic cloves, minced, 1 tsp thyme and freshly ground black pepper.
- Poach the chicken. Pour in 4 cups chicken bone broth and add 2 bay leaves, 4 oz yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced small, and 3 cups cauliflower florets, roughly chopped. Nestle in 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts. Bring to a low simmer, cover, and cook until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) and the vegetables are completely tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
- Bake the biscuits while the soup simmers. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet. With well-floured hands, roll the chilled dough into 8 equal balls, about the size of a walnut, and space them out on the sheet. The dough is meant to be sticky, so keep re-flouring your hands rather than working extra flour into it. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until puffed and golden.
- Shred & blend. Remove the chicken from the soup and shred with two forks. Fish out and discard the 2 bay leaves. Scoop about 3 cups of the cooked vegetables and broth into a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour it back into the pot with the heat turned off and add ½ cup evaporated skim milk.
- Thicken and finish. Whisk 1 tbsp cornstarch into 3 tbsp cold water until no lumps remain, then stir it through the pot. Return to low heat, add the shredded chicken and 1 cup frozen peas, and cook gently for 5 minutes, until glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt, to taste.
- Serve. Ladle into 4 bowls, top with 2 cottage cheese biscuits on each.
Nutrition
Notes
- Do not boil after blending. The soup is finished with dairy, so keep it at a gentle simmer from step 6 onward. On reheat, warm it slowly over low heat or at low power in the microwave; otherwise, you risk curdling.
- Rotisserie shortcut. Swap the raw chicken for 3 cups shredded cooked chicken, simmer the vegetables alone for 15 minutes, and stir the chicken in at step 6. Cuts about 10 minutes.
- Gluten-free. Use a 1-to-1 gluten-free self-raising blend in the biscuits. The dough will be softer, so chill it a full 20 minutes before shaping.
- Crockpot method. Add the broth, bay leaves, potatoes, cauliflower, chicken, thyme and pepper straight to the crockpot, skipping the sauté if you like. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Shred the chicken, blend 3 cups of the vegetables and broth with the evaporated skim milk, return it to the pot, stir in the cornstarch slurry and peas, and cook on high for 15 minutes. Bake the biscuits separately.
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More Recipes To Try
- 27 Easy High-Protein Soup Ideas for Healthy, Lazy Dinners
- 11 Healthy & High-Protein Crockpot Chicken Recipe Ideas
- 57 Healthy High-Protein Dinner Ideas
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Really dang good.