This creamy buffalo chicken soup is warm and cozy with all the familiar hot wing flavors you love. It’s heartier than the popular game day appetizer and is perfect for a weeknight meal.
More recipes with the flavor of buffalo include this Buffalo chicken Wrap, Buffalo chicken Dip and Buffalo chicken pasta salad.
Buffalo Chicken Soup Recipe
Are you addicted to Buffalo wings like I am? I can’t get enough of that delicious hot sauce flavor dipped in creamy ranch or blue cheese dressing, I even make buffalo cauliflower!
I have already developed a few recipes that are inspired by these awesome flavors like my easy recipe for Instant Pot Buffalo chicken or baked buffalo chicken dip. Now I’m coming to you with a Buffalo chicken soup recipe that is jam-packed with these amazing flavors.
Recipe Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Shredded chicken: You’ll need about 3 cups. I use a store-bought rotisserie or leftover shredded chicken. If you would rather cook breasts, simply add 4 to the soup in step 2 and cook for 15 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through. Remove the breasts and cut them into pieces before returning them to the pot to heat up.
- Veggies: I use onion, celery, and carrots as the base for this soup.
- Ranch seasoning: This is a prepackaged mix that usually contains onion powder, garlic powder, dill, and parsley among other things. I use the Hidden Valley brand but any brand will work.
- Chicken stock: You can use store-bought or homemade, whichever you have on hand.
- Gnocchi: These are little pasta dumplings usually made with flour, eggs, and potato. You can usually find them near the fresh pasta in your grocery store or along with the dried pasta in shelf-stable packages.
- Cream cheese: The creaminess of this soup comes from the addition of tangy cream cheese.
- Hot sauce: When you think of Buffalo chicken you probably think of hot sauce! I use Frank’s Red Hot Original Sauce but you can use your favorite one.
Substitutions and Variations
I love recipes that you can customize based on your tastes and what you currently have in your fridge and pantry at home. The basic recipe here is amazing, but feel free to switch it up with some of the suggestions below:
- Add extra veggies. Throw in what you have in the fridge. Pepper or mushrooms would make great additions.
- Use heavy cream. If you don’t have cream cheese, heavy cream will give you a smooth and creamy texture. I use it in this chicken gnocchi soup.
- Use noodles. Instead of gnocchi, add any pasta shape you like. Elbow macaroni, penne, or shells would be good substitutes. You could also omit to make it gluten free.
- Try potatoes. Instead of gnocchi add 2 cups diced Yukon gold potatoes. Keep some of the potato chunks larger and remove at the end, puree and place back into the soup to make it thick and creamy!
- Play with the heat. If you like your soup spicy, go ahead and add as much hot sauce to suit your tastes. If heat isn’t your thing, you can leave it out altogether, although the hot sauce is part of what makes this soup taste like my baked Buffalo wings.
- Make it vegetarian. Skip the chicken and use veggie stock to make your soup.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Soup
This soup comes together quickly on the stovetop for a quick weeknight meal. You’ll need about 30 minutes from start to finish to make Buffalo chicken wing soup.
- Sauté vegetables. Heat some olive oil in a large pot. Add the carrots, celery, and onions and sauté until tender.
- Simmer. Add the ranch seasoning and the stock to the pot and bring to a boil before lowering the heat and simmering for about 12 minutes.
- Cook. Throw in the chicken, cream cheese, hot sauce, and gnocchi, and cook for 5 minutes until the gnocchi is tender.
- Serve. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Make it in the Slow Cooker
Would you rather make crockpot buffalo chicken soup? No problem! Simply place all of the ingredients in the crock pot except for the cream cheese and toppings and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 4 – 5 hours. Then add softened cream cheese and stir through until fully incorporated.
Expert Tips
- Chop veggies the same size. Just like with chicken and rice soup, chop the onions, celery, and carrots as uniformly as possible so they all cook at the same rate.
- Adjust the spice level. This recipe isn’t too hot and spicy, but everyone has their own preference when it comes to hot sauce. Adjust how little or how much you use based on your family’s tastes.
- Soften the cream cheese. Remove the cream cheese from the fridge in advance so it has a chance to soften before adding it to the pot. Softened cream cheese will be easier to stir into your soup.
Topping Ideas
The soup is great as is or you can load on the toppings to give it more pizzazz! Play around with your favorites or set a selection out and let your family add their own. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Blue cheese crumbles
- Chopped green onions
- More hot sauce
- Crushed tortilla chips
- A drizzle of blue cheese or ranch dressing
- A dollop of sour cream
Recipe FAQs
If you prefer a thicker soup, let it simmer for a few minutes longer with the lid off, so it reduces even further.
Adding an extra dash of hot sauce and mixing in some fresh herbs will definitely add extra flavor.
If your soup is too thick, you can thin it out by adding a little bit more chicken stock.
I don’t recommend freezing this soup. Because it contains cream cheese, it’s not the best soup for freezing, as the cream cheese can separate from the soup when you reheat it.
Serving Suggestions
This creamy buffalo chicken soup recipe is really a one-pot meal on its own, but you might also like to serve it alongside some easy side dishes. You can even expand on the Buffalo chicken wing theme and pair it with other dishes that have similar flavors.
Storing
Keep your buffalo chicken soup in the fridge for a few days so you can enjoy leftovers throughout the week.
- Fridge instructions: Let the soup cool completely and then put it into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: Pour the soup into a pot and reheat over low heat on the stovetop until it’s warmed through. You can also use a microwave to warm the buffalo chicken soup for 1 – 2 minutes depending on your microwave.
Want more soup recipes? Try slow cooker chicken enchilada soup, leftover turkey soup, chicken tortilla soup and minestrone!
More Soup Recipes To Try
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Buffalo Chicken Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ medium onion , chopped
- 1 cup diced celery (about 3 sticks)
- 1 cup peeled and diced carrots (about 3 medium carrots)
- 1 Tablespoon ranch seasoning (like Hidden Valley)
- 32 ounces chicken stock
- 3 cups shredded chicken (I use rotisserie)
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
- 1 pound gnocchi
- 3-5 Tablespoons Frank's Red Hot Original Sauce , plus more to taste
- Kosher salt , to taste
- Ground black pepper , to taste
Optional toppings: Bleu cheese, Chopped green onions
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Stir in the onions, celery, and carrot and sauté 5 minutes, or until tender.
- Stir in the ranch seasoning and chicken stock. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 12 minutes.
- Add the chicken, cream cheese, gnocchi, and hot sauce and cook 5 minutes, or until the gnocchi are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
- Top with your favorite toppings to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
This is so, so good. I go a little bit heavier on the hot sauce (Frank’s Red Hot, of course!) because our family likes it that way. I follow the instructions to add raw chicken to step 2 and cook for 15 minutes and it works perfectly.
My kid wanted this for dinner one night and lunch in her Thermos the next day – sign of a big hit in our family!
We loved the flavor of this soup!! So delicious and creamy. Definitely will be making this again!
I loved this soup. Even more important- my picky son actually loved it too! That’s a huge win!