North Country Cabin Buffalo Chicken Soup Recipe

This easy Buffalo Chicken Soup recipe combines tender chicken, creamy cheese, and your favorite hot sauce for a comforting twist on classic buffalo chicken flavor. Made with Frontier Soups North Country Cabin Buffalo Chicken Soup Mix, it’s a hearty meal that's ready in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

You Will Need

Instructions

Here's What You Do

  • In a 4-quart pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add soup mix and stir 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
  • Add broth, increase heat, and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to medium-low, add raw chicken, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes (add 5 minutes for XL chicken breasts). Remove chicken to a cutting board to cool. Cover pot and continue to simmer for 10 minutes
  • Meanwhile, shred (or dice) chicken with two forks & cut cream cheese into 5-6 pieces.
  • Add chicken & cream cheese to pot, cover, simmer for 10 minutes
  • Stir soup until cream cheese is fully melted. Remove from heat, add red hot sauce.
  • Serve with tortilla chips or crunchy bread.

If using pre-cooked chicken, simmer soup mix in broth for 25 minutes, then add 3 cups of shredded (or diced) chicken with the cream cheese step above and continue.

Got leftovers? Learn how to cool, store, and reheat soup safely in our guide to soup storage and food safety.

Cooking & Nutrition Tips

Use the tips below to customize nutrition, boost flavor, or stretch the soup to fit your needs.

Reducing Sodium

Broth:

To reduce sodium, use an alternative broth such as: low-sodium, organic, stock, bone broth, unsalted, or try making a homemade broth.  See chart below to compare.

All our mixes contain no added salt, only what occurs naturally in the ingredients.  In the interest of transparency, we use regular (full-sodium) store-bought broth to create our recipes and calculate the nutrition panels — which is why the sodium levels may appear higher than you desire. 

While we don’t like it from a health standpoint, salt is a major flavor booster.  If you are using reduced sodium broth and looking to enhance flavor, try adding these depending on your preferences: fresh ground pepper, herbs & spices, lemon juice, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, hot-sauce, flavored vinegar.

Cream Cheese:

While not very high in sodium (only ~ 70mg sodium per cup of soup), if you are really on a low-sodium diet try using 6 oz. of Mascarpone cheese (only ~ 11mg sodium per cup of soup).  Add a tsp. of white vinegar or squeeze of lime/lemon to if you are missing the cream cheese tang.  

Red Hot Sauce:

First, make sure you are using a red hot sauce, not a buffalo sauce (more than 2x the sodium).  Per cup of finished soup per our recipe, there is about 213mg sodium from the red hot sauce.  To take that down to 0mg from the red hot sauce, replace with 3 Tbsp. white vinegar and 1-1.5 tsp. Cayenne Pepper powder. 

Variety (1 cup) Sodium (mg) % Daily Value
Standard Broth 860 mg 37%
Low-Sodium Broth 570 mg 25%
Organic Broth 550 mg 24%
Stock 510 mg 22%
Bone Broth 400 mg 17%
Organic Low-Sodium Broth 100 mg 4%
Unsalted Broth 35 mg 2%

Boosting Protein

  • Add ½ cup – 2 cups 4% cottage cheese instead of the cream cheese (or in addition to cream cheese). If using cottage cheese, we highly recommend you: 1) liquify/smooth entirely in blender or with immersion blender before adding, and 2) turn off the heat and let the soup cool slightly before adding so it does not curdle and/or lose its silky texture. See chart below for nutritional info.
  • Add a can of your favorite bean such as black, white/cannellini, lentil, chickpea, navy, etc.
  • Add additional chicken. You can add another ~ 10 oz. to the recipe’s called for amount of 12-20 oz.
  • Swap standard broth for bone broth.
  • Add additional broth or water, if necessary, to thin to desired consistency.
Nutrient Full-Fat 4% Cottage Cheese per 1 cup
Protein ~23 – 25 g
Calories ~220 – 240 kcal
Total Fat ~9 – 10 g
Sodium ~820 – 850 mg

Nutritious Options/Swaps

  • Try the “skinny” version by simply omitting the cream cheese. You’ll still get great flavor with a lighter finish.
  • Instead of cream cheese use cottage cheese (ideally full fat 4%) or plain Greek yogurt (ideally full fat).
  • Add diced onion, carrots, and celery for flavor and texture.
  • To enhance the creamy texture and add substance, add cauliflower florets and/or diced Yukon gold potatoes.
  • Top with sliced avocado.
  • Toss in whatever vegetables you have in the fridge and simmer with soup mix.

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Soup With Cooked Chicken

Already have cooked or rotisserie chicken on hand? Simmer the soup mix in broth for 25 minutes, then add 3–4 cups of shredded or diced chicken along with the cream cheese and continue cooking as directed.

Buffalo Chicken Soup Variations

Turn Buffalo Chicken Soup Into a Meal:

Prepare your favorite grain/pasta/starch (white/brown rice, farro, quinoa, mashed/boiled potatoes, or your favorite pasta) and ladle soup on top! 

Ultimate Baked Potato Topper:

Bake potato.  Slice open the top lengthwise. Liberally ladle soup inside. 

Have a favorite twist of your own? Send us an email or leave a review on the product page.

Dietary Adaptations

Vegan/Vegetarian

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  • Check preparation steps for your preferred chicken substitute and edit recipe below as needed.
  • In a 4-quart pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add soup mix and stir 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
  • Add broth, increase heat, and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Add chicken substitute option, cover pot, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Cut cream cheese into 5-6 pieces and add to pot, cover, simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Stir soup until cream cheese is fully melted. Remove from heat, add red hot sauce.
  • Serve with tortilla chips or crunchy bread.
Substitute Best Mimic Style Texture Hold-Up in Broth Cooking Tip Ratio to Replace 1 lb Cooked Chicken
Commercial Chick'n
(Daring, Beyond, Gardein, etc)		 Diced or Shredded (varies by product) Good to Very Good (if unbreaded) Add during the last 10–15 minutes of cooking so the starches holding it together don't break down into the broth 1:1 by Weight
(16 oz ready-to-use)
Soy Curls Shredded Excellent
(Stays chewy & fibrous)		 Rehydrate in warm vegetable or "no-chicken" broth for 10 minutes before adding to the soup so they absorb maximum flavor. 1:3 Ratio (Dry to Wet)
(~5.5 oz / 3.5 cups dry expands to 16 oz)
Seitan
(Wheat Meat)		 Diced Excellent
(Stays firm & dense)		 Cut into ½-inch cubes; can be simmered from the very beginning of the cook time without getting soft or soggy. 1:1 by Weight
(16 oz ready-to-use)
Extra-Firm Tofu Diced Very Good
(If pre-treated)		 Press out water, dice, and bake at 400°F for 15 mins before adding to soup to create a firm "skin" that won't absorb too much liquid. 1:1 by Weight
(16 oz pressed tofu / ~1 standard block)
Young Green Jackfruit Shredded Moderate
(Softens over time)		 Rinse well, cut off the hard triangular core pieces, and add near the end of cooking so it retains a bit of chew. 1.5:1 Ratio (Raw Canned to Yield)
(28 oz / two 14 oz cans trims down to ~16 oz)

Gluten Free

This soup is naturally gluten free when prepared as directed. No special substitutions are needed.

Dairy Free

Use about 8 ounces of non-dairy cream cheese in place of regular cream cheese. You can also omit cream cheese entirely.

Cooking Methods

Slow Cooker

We do not recommend using a slow cooker due to the short cooking time on the stovetop.

Pressure Cooker

We do not recommend using a pressure cooker due to the short cooking time on the stovetop.