Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup -- The Soup That Holds When Everything Else Closes

The world shut down this week. Not all at once — in stages, like dominoes, like the lights going out room by room. Italy. Spain. The US. California. Camp Pendleton. Friday: the base went to Health Protection Condition Charlie. Non-essential facilities closed. The commissary reduced hours. The playground closed. The potluck group — already cancelled — officially suspended indefinitely. Caleb and I are home. Ryan goes to base (essential — Marines are always essential) but comes straight home. No stops. No errands. Home. The apartment that felt cozy in 2018 — the deployment apartment where I learned to cook — now feels like a cage. Not because it's small (it IS small, but I've accepted that). Because the door is closed by choice, not by assignment. During deployment, I was home because my husband was gone. Now I'm home because the world is sick. The motivation is different. The kitchen is the same. I've been cooking constantly. Not just dinner — three meals a day, from scratch, from the pantry, because the commissary is rationed and restaurants are closed and there is nowhere to eat but HERE. Breakfast: pancakes, eggs, oatmeal. Lunch: sandwiches, soup, leftovers. Dinner: the full production, the 1800 ritual, now the only event of the day. The blog is the busiest it's ever been. Seventy-five thousand views this week. People are googling 'how to cook' and 'pantry meals' and 'feed family on budget' and finding me. Finding Mom's recipes. Finding the deployment kitchen. I wrote a new series: 'Quarantine Kitchen.' Daily posts — a recipe and a story, every day, for as long as this lasts. The first post: Mom's chicken soup. The healing soup. 'If there's one recipe you learn during this pandemic, let it be this. Chicken, broth, noodles, love. It won't cure anything. But it'll make you feel like someone cares.' Twenty thousand views in one day. Mom called. She sounded scared, which is something I've never heard from Donna Abernathy. 'Your father is high-risk, Rachel. The PTSD medications, his age. He can't catch this.' 'He's being careful?' 'He won't leave the garden. He's been in the garden for three days. I think he's growing vegetables as a defense strategy.' Kevin Abernathy, preparing for a pandemic: by gardening. Because of course he is. Because when the world is uncertain, you grow tomatoes. I made Mom's chicken soup tonight. The medicine soup. The pandemic soup. The soup for Dad and for Mom and for every person who's scared and alone and doesn't know what to cook. Dinner at 1800. The one thing that doesn't change. The one thing that can't be cancelled or locked down or taken away. The soup is warm. The door is closed. And the world is different. But the kitchen isn't.

I wrote in that first Quarantine Kitchen post that if you only learn one recipe during this pandemic, let it be chicken soup — and I meant it with my whole heart. This Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup is the version I keep coming back to when I need something that feels like more than just dinner: it’s rich and creamy and a little bit indulgent, the kind of thing that makes a closed door feel less like a lock and more like a warm room. I made it thinking of my dad in his garden, of my mom’s scared voice on the phone, of every person googling “what do I cook tonight” and needing an answer that feels like someone actually cares.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or cubed
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese, plus more for topping
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)

Instructions

1. Sauté the aromatics. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more until fragrant.
2. Build the base. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and garlic mixture. Stir constantly for 1–2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. The mixture will look thick and pasty — that’s exactly right.
3. Add the liquids. Slowly pour in the chicken broth, whisking as you go to prevent lumps. Add the milk and whisk until smooth. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to thicken, about 8–10 minutes.
4. Add the protein. Stir in the shredded chicken and diced ham. Reduce heat to low and simmer for another 5 minutes until everything is heated through.
5. Melt in the cheese. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the Swiss cheese, one handful at a time, until fully melted and incorporated. Add the Dijon mustard, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve and garnish. Ladle into bowls and top with additional shredded Swiss cheese and fresh parsley if desired. Serve immediately with crusty bread or crackers.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 320 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 680mg