My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner, besides the time spent with my family, is the bread dressing. I love the flavor combinations of onion, celery, bread, and sage. It’s homey and earthy and just so comforting. The moment I saw the Chicken and Dressing Soup recipe, I knew I had to try it. This creamy soup is super satisfying and an easy way to enjoy the tastes of Thanksgiving any time of year!
Chicken and Dressing Soup Recipe…
I found this recipe in an old copy of our electric coop’s monthly newsletter. And when I say old, I mean 10 years old. Why I still had the newsletter, I have no idea! Really, I’m working on cleaning up my house and my life…sometimes in the cleaning process, though, I find some really great things! Chicken and Dressing Soup is one of those treasures! I modified a few ingredients for my tastes, and the result is a definite winner.
One of the things I love most about Chicken and Dressing Soup is that I get to make the soup base. Nothing crazy or fake here. I simple cook chicken breast tenders (which I always have) in water. I threw in a little dehydrated onion flakes and bay leaves and voila! An easy beginning to a great soup!
While the chicken cooks, the next step is to make the dressing. Cooking chopped onions and celery gently in butter (yum!) makes them tender. Fresh bread cubes are then added to the mix and tossed until everything is nicely coated with the butter. Just like Thanksgiving!
The chicken is chopped or shredded when it finishes cooking, and then the rest of the ingredients get combined in the pot. The soup simmers for 15 minutes to blend the flavors. I don’t keep poultry seasoning on hand, so for Chicken and Dressing Soup, I had to create my own with spices in my cabinet. Here’s my creation, if you’re interested.
The creamy richness of Chicken and Dressing Soup comes from evaporated milk. The soup is finished after pouring in two cans. Time to dish up a large bowl!
As a busy mom, I’m always looking for recipes that I can easily fix after a day at work. Chicken and Dressing Soup is a wonderful one-dish meal. I could shorten the process by having the chicken cook all day in the slow cooker and prechopping the celery and onion the night before. I would highly recommend adding Chicken and Dressing Soup to your soup rotation. You’ll be glad you did, and it reheats for leftovers wonderfully!
Notes
To save time, cook chicken, dried onion, and bay leaves in slow cooker on low all day. Dice celery and onions the evening before and finish recipe when arriving home from work.
Ingredients
- 2 qts. water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 T. dried onion flakes
- 6 chicken breast tenderloins
- 1 1/2 c. diced celery
- 1 c. diced onion
- 4 T. butter
- 6 c. cubed fresh white bread
- 2 t. poultry seasoning (see recipe in post)
- 2 (12 oz.) cans evaporated milk
- 1 t. black pepper
Instructions
- Cook chicken in water with bay leaf and dried onion.
- Remove chicken and chop or shred.
- Reserve liquid.
- Saute celery and onion in butter until soft. Add bread cubes and stir until well coated.
- Combine with reserved liquid.
- Add poultry seasoning, chicken, and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add evaporated milk and stir. Heat to simmer.
- If the soup is too thick, add water.
