Whenever I buy a rotisserie chicken, I make a large pot of stock once the bird’s been fully eaten. A few months ago, before we were able to devour the entire hen, I decided to use the remaining breast meat and some fresh thyme growing in my garden to put together an elevated chicken noodle soup perfect for any season. Keep reading to discover my easy to follow recipe.
INGREDIENTS
- Rotisserie Chicken [ Bones & Scraps + 1-2 Cups of White and/or Brown Meat]
- Lemon [ 1 ]
- Garlic [ 3 – 4 Cloves ]
- Onion [ 1/2 Large Bulb of Any Type ]
- Carrot [ 1-2 ]
- Bay Leaves [ 2 ]
- Whole Black Peppercorns [ 1 Teaspoon ]
- Salt [ 1/2 Teaspoon to Start ]
- Dry Pasta [ 1 Cup – Any Noodle ]
- Fresh Thyme [ A Few Sprigs ]
TOOLS
- 1-2 Large Pots
- Colander OR Pot With A Strainer Lid OR A Slotted Spoon
- Cutting Board
- Sharp Knife
- Cooking Spoon
- Ladle
YIELD
This recipe makes 4-6 servings.
EXTRAS
Some toasty bread or a hearty salad would go great alongside this soup.
Step One
Have fun!
Step Two
Prepare your stock.
After all of the meat has been picked off your rotisserie chicken – add the remaining bones, skin, and fat into a large pot. Next throw in whatever aromatics you have available. The day I made this soup, I added in half of a large red onion, a few garlic cloves, 2 white carrots that I sliced into large pieces, 2 bay leaves, 1 sprig of thyme, a palmful of black peppercorns, and half a lemon (the juice plus the actual fruit). Save the other half of the lemon for later.
TIP: If you have a pot with a built in strainer or strainer lid, go with that. If not, a colander and a second large pot will work just fine when it’s time to strain your stock.
Step Three
Once your ingredients are in the pot, cover everything with water and bring your stock up to a rolling boil. After your stock comes up to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover loosely with a lid, and allow your stock to simmer for 1-2 hours.
Step Four
After your stock has reduced in volume by half, strain out all of the liquid from the chicken and the aromatics.
Step Five
Return the strained liquid back to the stove, turn your stove on high, and bring your stock up to a boil.
Step Six
Drop in one cup of your favorite dry pasta. Let the stock boil for 5 minutes to allow the pasta to start cooking. The day I made this soup, I used spaghetti and broke the noodles in half before placing them into the pot.
Step Seven
Throw in your diced up chicken breast and if you wish, the carrots from the strained out ingredients. I love veggies so I, of course, added the carrots back into the broth. Allow the soup to boil for another 2-5 minutes until the pasta is fully cooked.
Step Eight
Turn off the heat.
Step Nine
Finally, season your pot of soup with a squeeze of fresh lemon (from the half you saved earlier) plus your favorite salt. I’d add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to start and then a sprinkle at a time after that until your broth reaches your desired level of salinity.
Step Ten
Ladle out a bowl of your lemony, chicken noodle soup, and garnish with some fresh thyme.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
When you put together your chicken stock, don’t forget to throw in whatever you’d like into the pot from celery to parsnips to rosemary. My recipe is just a starting off point. Get creative and make it your own using whatever ingredients you have available at the time. Oh and if you don’t have dry pasta – 1/2 cup of rice or farro would work wonderfully as well with this recipe.
Happy Eating!
HOMEMADE IN LA 
Nice…I’m going to try this one. Thx
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