Spicy Chicken Potato Soup

This Spicy Chicken Potato Soup is a hearty meal with so many layers of flavor! Spicy, creamy gochujang infused potato soup loaded with shredded chicken breast, bacon, cheese, and green onions! Chicken potato soup has a bit more nutritional value than classic potato soup, and the chicken helps to balance this comforting dish.

Korean gochujang paste is my favorite way to make spicy soups, inspired by all the delicious spicy soups found in Korean cuisine. I use a similar recipe for my Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup, and this recipe is sort of like that recipe combined with my favorite Loaded Potato Soup!

How to make Spicy Chicken Potato Soup:

See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full recipe!

• Cover the chicken breast with plastic wrap and gently pound it to an even thickness. Season all over with salt and pepper. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes about 1 cm in size.
• Heat a large, wide pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-low heat. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until it reaches your desired level of doneness. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and leave the drippings in the pan.
• Increase the heat to medium-high, ensure you have enough bacon grease to full coat the bottom of the pot. If not, supplement with a little bit of olive oil.Once hot, add the chicken breast and sear on both sides until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate, but do not wipe the pan clean. (The chicken does not need to be cooked through)
• Evaluate how much bacon grease remains in the pot. If it doesn't fully coat the bottom of the pot, supplement with a little bit of olive oil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the onions in the bacon drippings until they soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add potatoes, garlic, gochujang paste, salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Dust the flour over the mixture in the pot and stir until the ingredients are well-mixed and starting to take on more color, ~2-3 minutes.
• Add the half-and-half and water and stir until well-mixed. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer. Add the chicken breast back into the soup once simmering to finish cooking.
• The outsides of the potatoes will dissolve into the liquid, creating the rich creamy texture with small chunks of potato remaining. The longer you simmer, the more the potatoes will dissolve into the soup. I simmer for at least 30 minutes but sometimes longer. Stir occasionally to prevent potatoes from sticking to the pan's bottom.
• Let the chicken breast simmer in the soup until it's completely cooked through, about 15 minutes. Then remove it to a cutting board and shred (I do this using two forks). Tent with foil to keep warm.If you have a meat thermometer, you can check to make sure the internal temp of the chicken has hit <em>165</em> °F.
• Before serving, add more salt and pepper to taste. Potatoes absorb a ton of salt, so it may feel like you are over-salting, but you probably aren’t. Add the shredded chicken back into the soup, mix, then remove from heat. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with shredded cheddar, green onion, and bacon bits.

Key Tips - Spicy Chicken Potato Soup

Do not sub another kind of potato.

• This recipe relies on the russet potatoes partially dissolving into the soup, which gives it the rich, creamy texture. Other varieties of potatoes may not dissolve in the same way, especially waxy potato varieties.

Stop by an Asian grocery store for the best gochujang options.

• While you can find one or two options for gochujang in many major grocery stores in the US, you will find the best prices and selection at Asian grocery stores. Korean grocery stores often have nearly a whole aisle dedicated to gochujang, with varying spice levels and many brands to choose from.

Control the spice level to your preference.

• You can make this spicy chicken potato soup extra hot or nice and mild, just change how much gochujang paste you use! You can also customize the spice level of each bowl by adding red pepper flakes at the end.
• I like to make this recipe with 3 tablespoon gochujang per batch, which results in what I would consider medium-hot. For people that are very sensitive to spicy foods, it will likely be too hot. Cut the amount in half for a mild spice, or add even more if you love super spicy food!

This dish can be prepared non-spicy!

• This recipe can easily be modified to be just Creamy Chicken Potato Soup. All you have to do is skip the gochujang! This soup still has lots of rich savory flavor even when you omit the spicy gochujang paste.

Dietary Restrictions

Make it Gluten-Free:

• Rather than ¼ cup of flour per batch, use 2 tablespoon of corn starch.

A Note On Serving Sizes

Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it very difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. ¼th batch of this recipe is a nice serving, including about ½ lb of potato and 3 oz of chicken, but some people may prefer to have more than one serving.

If you like this recipe, you may also like...

If you enjoy this pumpkin soup with canned pumpkin recipe, you may also enjoy my Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup, Creamy Potato Soup, Spicy Feta Chicken, Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta.

Send me pictures of your creations -- it'll make my day! Message @CraftyCookbook on Instagram, email me ([email protected]), or tag me in a post! Please note, tagged posts are only visible to me if your account is public. Did you make any interesting changes or substitutions for this recipe? Tell me about them in the comment section below!