This homemade chicken soup will definitely make you rethink your urge to grab a can of store-bought canned soup the next time you head to the market and walk down the soup aisle. With star-shaped pasta, frozen baby peas, and a generous amount of fresh dill, this chicken and stars soup is flavorful, healthy, and a great way to use up leftover bits of rotisserie chicken.
Never has there been a recipe more fitting than this one for chicken soup for the soul. Before losing my dear, sweet Miss B last October, I purchased a rotisserie chicken, crumbled it up into very small pieces, and froze it in very small containers for her to enjoy as a treat on most evenings. Those little glass containers have been looming over my head ever since. Each time I open the freezer door they are there, staring right back at me, most often initiating great big sobbing tears on my part. Enough. While I am quite aware that I will never get over her loss, I have no great desire to cry every time I open the dang freezer door looking for a frozen pizza. So, instead, I decided it was high time to put that chicken to good use. And what better way was there to use it than this comforting, fresh, healthy, and vibrant homemade chicken soup? I just know that my darling lil’ Brenna is looking down from heaven above right about now, cursing me for eating her dang chicken. But hey, it was either me or McKenna, the new kitten. I’m pretty sure she’d rather it be me.
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 Celery Ribs, Finely Diced
- 3 Carrots, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 8 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Stock
- 2 Cups Cold Water
- 1/4 Cup Small Star-Shaped Pasta
- 3/4 Cup Frozen Baby Peas
- 2 Cups Chopped of Shredded Rotisserie Chicken
- 1/3 Cup Finely Chopped Fresh Dill, Tightly Packed
- Lemon Zest and/or Juice (Optional)
Directions:
- Place the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the celery and carrot. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the salt, onion powder, oregano, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and then add the chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- When the soup comes to a boil, add the pasta, stir to combine, and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the frozen baby peas, stir to combine, and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken and fresh dill, stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- If needed, add additional salt to the soup before serving.
- If desired, serve garnished with fresh lemon zest and juice.
Suggestions:
- You can use either chopped or shredded chicken for this recipe. I used very finely shredded, almost crumbled chicken, for this recipe.
- Make your own chicken stock for this recipe using a rotisserie chicken carcass. Remove the skin from the rotisserie chicken and place it into a large stockpot. Remove the white breast meat and dark meat from the legs and thighs, removing any excess fat or skin. Place all of the fat, skin, and bones into the large stockpot. Refrigerate all of the white and dark chicken meat for later use. Fill the stockpot containing the fat, skin, and bones with cold water and bring it to a boil over high heat. When the pot comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to low and then cook for 1 hour. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bones and any large pieces of skin from the stockpot. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer to get rid of any residual bones or skin.
- I purposely did not add a lot of salt to this soup. If you eat this soup with crackers, cheese, or bread, adding additional salt is usually not necessary.
- Adding lemon zest and/or juice to this soup right before serving really adds a lovely freshness to this soup.
- This recipe will yield 4 bowls of soup.
Improvements:
- Serve this soup with crackers, cheese, or bread.
- Sauté half of a finely chopped sweet yellow onion with the celery and carrot in this recipe. If you do this, you can omit the onion powder.
- Serve this soup with these Honey-Kissed Savory Shortbread Crackers.
- If you’re looking for a great soup, chili, stew, or chowder recipe, CLICK HERE to check out all of our amazing past recipes.
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 Celery Ribs, Finely Diced
- 3 Carrots, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 8 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Stock
- 2 Cups Cold Water
- 1/4 Cup Small Star-Shaped Pasta
- 3/4 Cup Frozen Baby Peas
- 2 Cups Chopped of Shredded Rotisserie Chicken
- 1/3 Cup Finely Chopped Fresh Dill, Tightly Packed
- Lemon Zest and/or Juice (Optional)
Directions:
- Place the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the celery and carrot. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the salt, onion powder, oregano, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and then add the chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- When the soup comes to a boil, add the pasta, stir to combine, and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the frozen baby peas, stir to combine, and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken and fresh dill, stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- If needed, add additional salt to the soup before serving.
- If desired, serve garnished with fresh lemon zest and juice.
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Soup Saturday Swappers is a group of friends who get together on the third Saturday of each month to share their favorite soup and stew recipes based on a theme chosen by one of the members. Visit our Pinterest board to find more great soup and stew recipes. This month’s “Homemade Chicken Soup” themed Soup Saturday Swappers is being hosted by Palatable Pastime.
- Caldo de Pollo + Sopa a la Mexicana by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Chicken Noodle Soup by Sneha’s Recipe
- Chicken Poblano Chowder from Palatable Pastime
- Ground Chicken Noodle Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Italian Chicken Stew from Making Miracles
- Chicken & Stars Soup with Peas & Fresh Dill from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice