Description
Transform a simple rotisserie chicken into the most comforting, hearty noodle soup your family has ever tasted. Packed with tender vegetables, perfectly seasoned broth, and a secret thickening trick that makes it restaurant-quality delicious.
Ingredients
For the Base:
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- 1 rotisserie chicken (about 2–2½ lbs), cooked—bones optional (you can use thigh and wing bones for extra flavor)
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- 12 cups chicken broth (or a mix of broth and water)
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- 1 tablespoon olive oil (for stovetop cooking)
Vegetables:
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- 4 celery stalks, chopped
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- 4–5 carrots, sliced
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- 1 onion, diced
Seasonings:
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- 1 tsp garlic powder
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- 2 tsp dried parsley
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- 1 tsp dried oregano
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- ½ tsp dried thyme
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- 1 bay leaf
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- ½ tsp sea salt (adjust to taste)
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- 1 tsp cracked black pepper (adjust to taste)
Pasta & Thickening:
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- 2 cups dry pasta (rotini, short pasta, or wide egg noodles)
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- ¼ cup cornstarch (or arrowroot powder, for thickening)
Instructions
Strip all the meat off that chicken. I just use my hands – faster than a knife. Shred it into bite-sized pieces. Keep some bones if you want, especially the big meaty ones. Chop up your vegetables however you like them. I cut carrots thick because my kids complain if they’re too small.
Heat oil in your big pot. Dump in all those chopped vegetables. Let them cook until they smell good and get a little soft. Takes about 8 minutes. Don’t walk away – they’ll burn. Stir them around every couple minutes.
Pour in your broth. Add the chicken meat, bones if you saved them, and all your seasonings. Bring it to a hard boil. You want it really bubbling.
Turn the heat down so it’s just gently bubbling. Let it cook like this for about 15 minutes. This is when all the flavors get friendly with each other. Your kitchen will smell incredible. My dog always camps out in the kitchen during this part.
Mix that cornstarch with some cold water in a bowl. Whisk it smooth – no lumps allowed. Pour it into your soup while stirring. Watch it get thick almost immediately. Keep it simmering for a few more minutes.
Add your pasta right to the soup. Cook it until it’s done but not mushy. Different pasta takes different amounts of time, so taste it to check. Keep stirring so nothing sticks to the bottom.
Fish out that bay leaf before someone bites it – learned that the hard way. Pull out any bones you threw in. Taste it and add more salt and pepper if it needs it. Serve it hot.
Notes
Use those bones! I know it seems gross but they make the soup taste like you cooked all day. Just tie them in cheesecloth if you’re squeamish.
Check the bottom of that chicken container – there’s usually good drippings in there. Pour those in too.
Cook pasta just barely done. It keeps cooking in the hot soup.
Don’t boil hard once you add cornstarch or your soup gets weird and cloudy.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American