Creamy Buffalo Chicken Soup

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.

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 Buffalo wings.
• Make it vegetarian. Skip the chicken and use veggie stock to make your 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!

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

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.

• Garlic bread
• Homemade breadsticks
• Chopped salad
• Sweet potato fries
• Sheet pan veggies
• Buffalo chicken sweet potato

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.