Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Soup is a spicy warm-you-up cheddar cheese soup with chicken breast and carrots, inspired by everyone’s favorite buffalo chicken wings.
Buffalo chicken recipes are a favorite of mine. After all, I’ve made buffalo mac and cheese, buffalo chicken chili, and more with the famous duo of hot sauce and chicken.
They’re especially great to make in the winter because hot sauce will warm you up from the snow and ice outside. Novembers in Pennsylvania result in bundling up and cranking the heat on high.
Soup is one of my favorite go-to dinners because they are one pot, comforting, and combat any crazy winter weather going on outside.
Naturally my mind wandered to buffalo chicken dip. Is there a way to turn this into dinner? Since it uses cheddar cheese, I thought why not make a cheese soup with chicken and hot sauce? And that’s how Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Soup was born. Spicy, cheesy, flavorful. All that you want in a soup (and more).
A quick cheese tip – shredded cheese melts a lot quicker than cubed cheese. I just bought pre-shredded cheese because it was on sale, but if you use a block of cheese, grate it before adding.
For the chicken I prefer dark meat, so in the photos you see shredded chicken quarters. However in the recipe below, I made it with boneless skinless chicken breast because it’s the fastest way to make this soup.
Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
- 1 small boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch pieces, patted dry, and lightly salted
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 2-4 tablespoons hot sauce
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the oil. Once hot, add the chicken in a single layer. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until brown then flip and cook until no longer pink in the middle, another 3-4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and keep warm.
- Add the butter to any meat drippings left in the pan. Once melted, add onion, carrot, and a big pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in the flour until everything is coated and a roux (paste) is formed. Slowly whisk in the broth, scraping up any brown bits left on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer until the soup slightly thickens, about 3-5 minutes.
- Taste and add salt as necessary. Depending on how salty the broth is, you may need to add up to 1 teaspoon. Turn off the heat.
- Add soup to a blender then pulse a few times to ensure it doesn't explode out of the blender (hot liquid expands when blended). Blend until smooth.
- Pour the soup back into the pot. Stir in the cheese until melted then stir in the milk, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, and chicken. Taste and add additional hot sauce and salt as necessary.
Renee says
What a great soup Carla and how nice of you to make something for your whole family to enjoy.
Tammi @ Momma's Meals says
I love how easy but delicious this sounds! Who doesn’t like a good kick with their soup!!!
Lane @ Supper for a Steal says
I know a lot of people who would be drooling over this soup Can’t wait to try it.
Cindys Recipes and Writings says
Carla, I’m not a spicy gal but my daughter will go wild for this soup!
Family Foodie says
Oh my goodness… this soup is out of this world! I can’t wait to try this fabulous recipe.
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
The spice lovers in my house are going to have this one for dinner! I might make it mild, and then let the spice-heads amp up their own bowls. Great recipe!
Susan says
Love the color of this and I can see Braden just dumping the hot sauce on like he always does. He’s not a dasher!
Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips says
Carla, this is brilliant!!
Liz says
Your soup looks amazing, Carla! And I love the idea of a cheesy spicy soup…YUM!
Shannon @VillageGirlBlog says
Oooo, I love the carrots with the buffalo chicken. This sounds like a perfect soup! Comfort food all wrapped up in a pretty bowl. Love it!
Heather @girlichef says
Oh, my family of wing-lovers would adore this soup. And I think I’d take you up on that suggestion of adding a little crumbled blue cheese to the top (with my bowl, at least – everybody else would freak out if I put in on theirs). ;)
Amanda @ Marocmama says
Oh this looks dangerous! I could eat the whole pot! Love it!
Shaina says
The color is so pretty! Very fall-ish and great way to highlight cheese
Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen says
OH yes!! Soup is another of my favorite dishes in the fall/winter. This is so original and sounds so good! I pinned it so I can make it SOON!!
DB-The Foodie Stuntman @ Crazy Foodie Stunts says
Yeah, I don’t blame you for not using celery. I buy it only to ground up and use it in my mirepoix, but this soup looks fantastic!
Anne @ Webicurean says
This looks like the perfect soup to warm you up on a cold day!
Jen @JuanitasCocina says
Yes! Wonder if this would mail??
The Ninja Baker says
You are oh, so clever, Carla. Wish I could dip my spoon into the cheesy / spicy goodness right now! Your family are very lucky and will undoubtedly be very happy campers =)
Alida says
This soup combines two of my favorite things, buffalo chicken and cheese….brilliant!
Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere says
I really like that you add carrots to the soup. Great way to sneak in those veggies!
Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons says
This is such a delicious looking, creative recipe! I can’t wait to try this and take it to a tailgate or game watching party. I’m sure it’ll be a huge hit!
Melissa says
This is so tasty! I used Franks Buffalo sauce instead of hot sauce. I added 1 tsp of chunky blue cheese dressing. I didn’t have a blender so I just made sure to chopped my veggies finely, and they cooked down nicely! Thanks for the new recipe!
Keisha@Mocha Baker Girl says
This is such an awesome soup. I really have to try this. Soup is my ultimate comfort food and this cheesy buffalo cheesy combo has my mouth watering right now.