North Country Cabin Buffalo Chicken Soup - Standard Recipe

You Will Need

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?

Increase the chicken quantity, swap standard broth for bone broth, and incorporate high-protein dairy like Greek yogurt or cottage cheese

More Veggies?

Add diced onion, carrots, and celery for flavor and texture. To enhance the creamy texture and add substance, add cauliflower florets, diced Yukon gold potatoes

Cutting Calories/Fat?

Try the “skinny” version by simply omitting the cream cheese. You’ll still get great flavor with a lighter finish.

Interested in whole grains or extra fiber?

Add nutrient-dense ingredients like riced cauliflower, quinoa, or black beans.

Serving and Garnish Ideas

Serve with blue corn tortilla chips for a flavorful crunch, or finish with blue cheese crumbles and celery sticks for a classic pairing.

Dietary Adaptations

These mixes are flexible by design. Use the adaptations below to meet your dietary needs or cooking preferences.

Vegan

We are working on a dedicated vegan recipe, in the meantime, use vegetable broth and your favorite plant-based chicken substitute, vegan cream cheese or omit cream cheese entirely. 

Vegetarian

We are working on a dedicated vegetarian recipe, in the meantime, use vegetable broth and your favorite plant-based chicken substitutes. 

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.

Recipe Variations

Looking to switch things up? This recipe doesn’t have a featured variation yet, but we’d love to hear yours. Send us an email or leave a review on the product page.