Macaroni & Cheese Chicken Soup
Best of both worlds. Macaroni & Cheese and Chicken Soup combined. A delicious soup for Fall or Winter. Creamy, cheesy, One pot soup recipe.
Equipment
- large Dutch Oven or soup pot
- cutting boards
- sharp knife
Ingredients
- 2 TBS cooking oil, DIVIDED
- 2 TBS butter, DIVIDED
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut thin into cutlets
- salt & pepper
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced small
- 2 celery ribs, diced small
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 TBS mustard (I use Dijon)
- 1/2 lb dry elbow macaroni pasta
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 TBS fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or soup pot heat 1 TBS cooking oil & 1 TBS butter until it sizzles. Sprinkle salt & pepper on both sides of the chicken breasts.
- Place chicken breasts into hot Dutch oven or soup pot in one layer. (May do chicken in 2 batches.) Cook chicken 3 minutes until golden brown on bottom side. Flip chicken over and cook an additional 3 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside. Complete 2nd batch of chicken if needed.NOTE: chicken will finish cooking at the end of recipe.
- Add carrots, celery, and onion to the still hot Dutch oven or soup pot, season with salt & pepper. Add additional oil & butter if needed. Saute for 3 minutes until vegetables are softened.
- Add in chicken broth or vegetable broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Then stir in nutmeg, thyme and mustard. Lower heat to medium low. Stir in pasta and cover pot with a lid. Simmer for 20 minutes. Chop or dice partially cooked chicken.
- Remove lid and stir in milk, and partially cooked chopped chicken. Place lid back on and cook an additional 15 -20 minutes to fully cook chicken. Remove lid and stir in cheese until melted. Turn off heat. Garnish bowls of soup with parsley.NOTE: this is a thick soup, you can add additional broth to make it a thinner soup.