Creamy Chicken and Potato Soup

On the lookout for a comfort food recipe that’s sure to warm you up? Try my creamy chicken and potato soup recipe! This classic South American soup recipe has hatch green chiles, corn, peas and cotija cheese.

There are so many different directions that you can take with soup. I love serving recipes like my famous lobster bisque, and this Pozole Verde shrimp soup, and you can never go wrong with French onion.

On my hunt for the perfect chicken soup recipe, I started experimenting with unique flavors. This is my take on the Peruvian/Ecuadorian Potato Cheese Soup with Chicken, known as Locro de Papa. It’s hearty, filling and is loaded with fresh corn, potatoes and melting cheese that elevates this easy-to-make soup into something you’d think took a long time to make, but doesn’t. No one needs know but us.

This creamy chicken and potato soup is made with green chiles! It features hatch green chiles, rotisserie chicken, and vegetables, plus a secret ingredient that makes it extra special.

Another secret to creating the perfect soup recipe is to add the ingredients in layers. Yes, it does take longer, but the overall flavor of a dish is always going to be better for it. I’m referring to slow-roasted meals like birria de res, pork mole, and authentic chicken adobo.

That said, I completely understand that life is busy. So, I’m going to show you how to build a flavor-packed green chile chicken soup in just 40 minutes!

INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS

• Cooked Chicken – I personally prefer to use rotisserie chicken for my chicken and potato soup. Because the chicken is already seasoned and cooked, the deep layers of flavor are ready to use. Of course, you could also use leftover cooked chicken, or quickly grill a couple of chicken breasts or thighs.
• Hatch Green Chiles – These flavorful chiles are slightly similar to a white onion in taste, but with sweet, spicy, and smoky notes. If you can’t find canned Hatch green chiles other substitutes can be any mild green chile: Green Bell Peppers, Anaheim Peppers, Poblano Peppers.
• Garlic – I like to start my soup by satuéeing fresh garlic in order to bring out its flavor.
• White Onion – Onions work wonderfully with the other ingredients, mainly the vegetables and garlic!
• Corn kernels and green peas – round out the vegetables.
• Cotija cheese – Cotija is a Mexican cheese made from cow’s milk that’s salty in flavor and crumbly in texture. I think of it as Mexico’s feta cheese.
• Salt & Pepper – To taste.

HOW TO MAKE CREAMY CHICKEN AND POTATO SOUP

1. Prep The Chicken & Veggies. Shred the chicken and cut the vegetables.
2. Get cooking. Add the potatoes and salt. Cook until the edges of the potatoes are beginning to soften and turn a golden brown, about another 5 minutes. Add the green chiles, garlic, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the stock to the pan and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the soup until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Add the corn kernels, peas, cheese, milk and shredded chicken to the soup. Stir and bring back to a simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste and season with black pepper and additional salt, as needed.

What To Serve With Green Chile Chicken Soup?

As mentioned, this is a hearty, filling soup that covers the food groups pretty well. All you really need to round off the meal is a nice loaf of crusty bread to sop up the broth. Or, you could take the Southwest route and serve Mexican cornbread. If you want to serve something else, make a Mexican Caesar salad.

What Makes A Soup Creamy?

There are many ways to make chicken and potato soup creamy! The first and most obvious way is to add milk or cream. But, if you don’t want to weigh your recipe down with added dairy products, you can always add a bit of flour as a thickening agent or mash some of the ingredients (like potatoes). It works like a charm every time!

Do You Cook Chicken Before Adding It To Soup?

It makes the process a whole lot quicker and easier! Plus, when you use precooked chicken like a rotisserie, it comes already packed with even more flavor. It’s a win-win!

This recipe post, originally published on Kevin Is Cooking May, 2016, and was updated with new content, photos and/or video in December, 2022.

Creamy Chicken and Potato Soup

This creamy chicken and potato soup is made with sweet and smoky hatch green chiles, tender chicken, hearty potatoes, and tons of veggies!

4.80 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soups

Cuisine: Melting Pot

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 585kcal

Author: Kevin Is Cooking

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 4 medium white potatoes diced
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 oz can Hatch green chiles diced (See Note 1)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano or traditional oregano
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 4 ears sweet corn kernels sliced off (See Note 2)
• 1 cup peas fresh or frozen
• 6 ounces Cotija cheese cubed (See Note 3)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups shredded chicken
• Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Set a large stock pot (at least 5 quarts) over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When oil is hot, add onion and cook until translucent, 6 minutes.
• Add the potatoes and salt. Cook until the edges of the potatoes are beginning to soften and turn a golden brown, about another 5 minutes.
• Add the green chiles, garlic, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the stock to the pan and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the soup until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the corn kernels, peas, cheese, milk and shredded chicken to the soup. Stir and bring back to a simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste and season with black pepper and additional salt, as needed.

Notes

1. If you can’t find canned Hatch green chiles other substitutes can be any mild green chile: Green Bell Peppers, Anaheim Peppers, Poblano Peppers.
2. Using fresh sweet corn adds corn milk to the broth for a nuanced flavor. 3 cups frozen corn can be substituted if fresh is unavailable though.
3. Mexican Cotija cheese is a moister, fattier, and less salty version of feta. Queso fresco is a good substitute, if needed.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Nutrition

Calories: 585kcal | Carbohydrates: 68.4g | Protein: 27.5g | Fat: 22.5g | Saturated Fat: 7.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9.3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 61.4mg | Sodium: 554.7mg | Fiber: 8.3g | Sugar: 12.9g

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