Chicken soup is comfort food at its finest A steaming bowl filled with tender chicken, noodles, carrots and celery is the ultimate nourishing meal on a cold day
But let’s be real – leftover soup can get boring after the third day in a row of reheating the same bowl. As delicious and cozy as chicken soup is, eating it on repeat is less than ideal.
Leftover soup may seem destined for the back of the fridge until it’s finally tossed But chicken soup is actually a versatile ingredient just waiting to be transformed into something new and delicious!
With a little creativity, those leftovers can become an entirely different and exciting second meal. From risottos to pot pies, the possibilities are endless.
In this article, I’ll share my favorite ways to reinvent leftover chicken soup so you can give it new life while wasting less. Get ready to look at soup leftovers in a whole new way!
Rethink the Fundamentals
The key to transforming leftover soup is to break it down into its core components. Chicken soup has four main elements:
- Broth
- Chicken
- Noodles/pasta
- Vegetables
Each of these ingredients can be repurposed in creative ways. It’s all about reimagining them outside the context of soup.
Transform the broth
The broth is the backbone of any chicken soup. Don’t let it languish at the back of your fridge! That labor of love can become the base for many other dishes:
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Risotto – Simmer Arborio rice in warmed leftover broth instead of water for incredibly creamy, flavorful risotto. The broth infuses the whole dish.
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Sauces – Chicken broth shines in pasta sauces. Simmer it with cream, parmesan, and herbs for a quick alfredo or vodka sauce.
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Braising liquid – Braise chicken or pork in leftover broth to add moisture and flavor as the meat cooks low and slow.
Reinvent the chicken
Shredded poached chicken from soup has tons of possibilities for an easy protein boost in other meals:
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Toss into a salad or wrap for a nutritious lunch
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Mix with BBQ sauce for slider or sandwich fillings
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Make Greek-style chicken bowls with chickpeas, tzatziki, feta cheese and fresh veggies
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Add to breakfast scrambles with eggs, spinach, and cheese
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Use in quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, etc. for a Mexican-inspired flavor
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Stir into pasta dishes like chicken alfredo or chicken carbonara
Utilize the noodles & veggies
Don’t discard those noodles and veggies either! They can add flavor, texture, and nutrition to many dishes:
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Toss them into frittatas or omelets for a hearty breakfast
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Add to stir fries for the perfect crispy-tender contrast
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Make pot pie with veggies, broth & dough
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Blend carrots into smoothies for natural sweetness and fiber
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Turn them into veggie noodles with a spiralizer for healthy “pasta”
With a little creativity, you can give leftover soup ingredients exciting new life. It just takes reimagining their potential outside of the soup bowl.
15 Specific Ways to Use Leftover Chicken Soup
Here are some of my favorite tried and true ways to repurpose leftover chicken soup into totally new dishes:
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Chicken soup risotto – Simmer rice in warmed broth for unbelievably creamy risotto
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Chicken pot pie – Mix chicken, veggies, broth and bake topped with puff pastry
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Chicken tacos – Shred chicken and season for taco filling
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Chicken salad sandwiches – Toss chicken with mayo, celery, grapes and nuts
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Vegetable omelets – Add noodles and veggies to omelet fillings
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Chicken bourekas – Fill puff pastry with chicken and bake
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Soup dumplings – Fill wonton wrappers with chicken soup fillings
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Chicken fried rice – Toss chicken and veggies into fried rice
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Chicken pasta sauce – Simmer broth with cream and parmesan for sauce
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Chicken soup smoothies – Blend soup veggies into fruit smoothies
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Vegetable frittatas – Add noodles and veggies into egg bakes
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Ramen noodle bowls – Top ramen with leftover chicken and veggies
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Chicken stir fry – Toss chicken and veggies in sauces over rice
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Chicken enchiladas – Fill tortillas with chicken and top with sauce
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Vegetable noodles – Spiralize soup veggies into healthy noodle dishes
With these creative recipes, you can reinvent leftover chicken soup in so many delicious ways. The possibilities are truly endless!
Tips for Handling Leftover Soup
When repurposing leftover soup, proper storage and handling is crucial for food safety. Follow these tips:
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Cool soup rapidly after cooking and refrigerate within 2 hours
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Store in airtight containers in the fridge; use within 3-4 days
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Freeze soup in portions for longer storage; thaw in fridge before using
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Reheat thoroughly to 165°F before eating
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Bring broth back to a simmer before adding to new dishes
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Cook leftover noodles briefly before adding to recipes to refresh
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Don’t risk eating soup that smells or tastes spoiled – when in doubt, throw it out!
Properly stored and handled, leftover chicken soup can be safely transformed into many creative new dishes. Just use good judgement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions about reusing leftover chicken soup:
Can I freeze chicken soup?
Yes, leftover chicken soup freezes well for 2-3 months. Portion into airtight containers or bags. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before using.
How can I prevent mushy noodles in leftover soup?
Before refrigerating soup, remove the noodles and store them separately. Add fresh or briefly cooked noodles when reheating soup.
My leftover soup is too salty. What can I do?
Try adding starchy ingredients like potatoes or rice to absorb some saltiness. You can also dilute with water or add lemon juice/vinegar.
Can I use soup broth as chicken stock?
Absolutely! Leftover chicken soup broth can replace store-bought stock in any recipe. Just watch the salt content.
How do I remove excess fat from soup?
Refrigerate soup completely then remove the solidified fat layer from the top. You can also use a fat separator tool.
Can I add soup veggies to smoothies?
Yes, cooked carrots and celery can be blended into smoothies. Start with small amounts and blend thoroughly for the best consistency.
How can I thicken thin leftover soup?
Mix cornstarch and cold water into a slurry and whisk into simmering soup to thicken. You can also use a roux of equal parts butter and flour.
What if my leftover soup smells or tastes sour?
Do not eat leftover soup that smells or tastes spoiled. Discard it right away to avoid food poisoning. When in doubt, throw it out.
Can I freeze soup with noodles?
Yes, but frozen noodles may turn mushy. For best results, cook noodles al dente and freeze broth and noodles separately before combining upon reheating.
Endless Possibilities
Leftover chicken soup is a blank canvas just waiting to be transformed into something delicious and new. With a little creativity and some simple tips, you can give it an exciting second life.
Rethink the core ingredients – broth, chicken, noodles and veggies – and how they can be repurposed. Whip up risotto, pot pie, chicken salads, veggie omelets and more.
I hope these tips have inspired you to look at leftover soup in a whole new way. Don’t let it languish in the back of the fridge! With a little inspiration, you can reinvent those leftovers into amazing home cooked meals.
Top with something crunchy
A not-insignificant part of overall soup enjoyment is, as mentioned above, texture related. While brothy soups definitely have their place in the lineup, the world would be a very boring place if a bowl of liquid were our only option.
Clockwise from top left: oyster crackers, bacon crumbles, tortilla strips, croutons, wonton strips, sliced almonds
Soup of any kind — brothy, creamy, chunky, stewy — takes a different turn when topped with something crunchy. Here are just a few ideas (plus links to see some of them in action here on SoupAddict):
Add a little ginger or lemongrass
I would be completely remiss if I didn’t specifically call out ginger and/or lemongrass. I keep both in paste form in the fridge — you can usually find tubes of paste in the produce section at the grocery store — and just a squeeze into the bowl brightens and jazzes up many leftover soups (try chicken soup!).
What on earth? Well, IYKYK. I first learned about vinegar in soup as a kid. Back then — yeah, I’m old, lol — the red-and-white labeled cans were our only options at the store. And also … they were all concentrated soups that you had to cook with an extra can of water to make them edible.
My favorite (if you could call it that) was vegetable soup. Mom would add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, and my young taste buds thought the entire world had been transformed into something magical.
I was, after all, a kid who loved pickles — and could drink the vinegary dill pickle juice straight out of the jar — so this whole vinegar-in-soup thing made perfect sense.
And that was Young SoupInclined’s first experience with the awesome flavor-boosting effects of acid in soup.
Vinegars left to right: red wine, apple cider, balsamic, white
So today, no matter how delicious a soup was right off the stove, I almost always add just a splash of vinegar to my leftover soup for a little kick of extra flavor.
My favorite is balsamic vinegar because it’s also ever-so-slightly sweet. Note that its deep burgundy color can muddy a soup, if you mind that sort of thing (I don’t), but otherwise is very companionable for most soups.
Apple cider vinegar is great in vegetable and meat soups. But plain white vinegar is nothing to shake a stick at either.
Like vinegar, lemon juice is an acid that kicks up flavor. Of course, a fresh lemon is best, but I always keep a bottle of real lemon juice in the fridge just in case.
Bottled lemon juice is usually found in the juice aisle (not in produce). Just a little splash will do it.
I adore soup toppings on both fresh and leftover soups. You see them often in my photographs, not just to make them pretty and interesting, but also because that’s how I actually eat them.
I had covid last month, and I ate so.much.canned.chicken.soup because that’s all I had the energy to cook for days on end. But you know what? It was a-okay, because one night, I would top the soup with oyster crackers. The next, tortilla strips and salsa. And the next, chili crisp.
Mighty good eatin’, as they say! Try these ideas on your next bowl, and see what you think.