Easy and Comforting Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade chicken noodle soup without the fuss! This Easy and Comforting Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup utilizes store bought rotisserie chicken and simple pantry ingredients for a warm and delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup that satisfies!

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Whether you're seriously craving a warm bowl of comforting chicken soup, or are just looking for a great way to use up that leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge, this Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup has got your covered.

Ready in 30 minutes, this chicken noodle soup has all the flavor of a slow simmered pot of soup, in a fraction of the time. Using store bought chicken and simple pantry ingredients is a great way to make a hearty, filling chicken noodle soup the whole family will love. It's both budget friendly and delicious!

Table of Contents

• Why this Soup will be Your New Weeknight Favorite
• Ingredient Notes
• How to build even more flavor
• FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
• Recipe Tips and Variations
• Serving the soup
• Storing leftovers
• More easy soup recipes

Why this Soup will be Your New Weeknight Favorite

Fast homemade flavor. With bloomed spices, plenty of veggies, and shredded chicken, this soup packs a lot of flavor into a small amount of time, making it easy to pull together on busy weeknights. You can even use the chicken bones to make your own stock!

It's budget friendly. The rotisserie chicken is the unsung hero of the grocery store, making dinner a breeze! And since this recipe only calls for 2 cups, you can use a chicken you had purchased for a previous meal, or repurpose the remaining chicken for another dish, like Creamy Chicken and Roasted Poblano Soup, Chicken a la King, Chicken and Kale Casserole, or Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad. The remaining ingredients are all low cost pantry staples you might already have in your refrigerator and pantry!

Ingredient Notes

Rotisserie chicken, shredded. Buying a whole chicken from the grocery store is a great, easy way to meal prep! You can use leftovers from a previous dinner, or buy a whole chicken for this recipe. This recipe calls for 2 cups of shredded chicken, which you can pull from the thighs, legs or breast, whichever your preference.

Onions, celery and carrots- the holy trinity of chicken noodle soup, these give the soup great flavor, and add tons of veggies to the finished pot. Be sure to cut them into small, uniform pieces to make sure they cook evenly.

Fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes. These aromatics and spices give a great depth of flavor to the soup. The key to bringing out their flavor is quickly blooming them in the butter with the sautéed veggies to bring out their flavor.

Chicken stock or broth. You can use store-bought or homemade chicken stock for this soup recipe. If using store bought, I would choose low sodium so you can control the seasoning, or adjust salt to taste.

Dry egg noodles. Egg noodles are classic for chicken soup, and my first choice in noodle type for this recipe. You'll add these at the very end of the cooking time so they don't get overcooked. If you prefer, you can use other varieties of small shaped pasta.

How to build even more flavor

Make your own stock with the rotisserie chicken! You can make your own stock using the carcass of a rotisserie chicken and any leftover bones, along with aromatics such as onion, garlic, carrots, whole peppercorns, and bay leaves.

You can make your own stock from the Rotisserie carcass by removing the meat and simmering the bones for 2-4 hours in a Dutch oven or stock pot with water and aromatics, or by pressure cooking in an instant pot for 40 minutes, followed by a quick release, then straining through a fine mesh strainer to remove any solids.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Swap the stock. Use homemade broth, bone broth, store bought chicken stock, or vegetable broth with a chicken bouillon cube thrown in for extra flavor.

Can I use raw chicken to make the soup?

You can simmer chicken thighs right in the soup until they are cooked through to 165 degrees f (for a bout 20 minutes), or use pre-cooked chicken for this recipe.

What kind of noodles should I use for the soup?

I love to use classic egg noodles for this recipe, such as Pennsylvania Dutch. Not a fan of egg noodles? Try ay small pasta, such as rotini, ditalini, or tortellini! I also find dry spaetzle noodles to be delicious in this soup.

Can this soup be made in the Crockpot?

Yes, you can make this soup in the slow cooker! To make the soup in the Crockpot, add all ingredients except the shredded cooked chicken and egg noodles to your Crockpot, and cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3-4, until veggies are tender. Add the pasta and shredded chicken and cook for 20 minutes more, or until noodles are tender and al dente.

Can the soup be frozen?

While this soup can be frozen for up to 3 months in airtight containers, note that the noodle texture will be a bit less firm. If you like, you can also freeze without noodles, and cook noodles to add when you thaw and reheat the soup.

Recipe Tips and Variations

Use what you have. Use a mixture of shredded chicken from the rotisserie. You can use all breast meat, or a mixture of dark meat and white meat, it's up to you! You can use any leftover chicken for this recipe, including leftover homemade roasted chicken!

Boost the flavor with a Parmesan rind. Add a parmesan rind to the broth to add an extra boost of umami flavor. If using, discard before adding the chicken and noodles.

Lighten up. Swap olive oil for the butter when sautéing your veggies.

Serving the soup

This soup is great as-is, or with a bit of fresh parsley or chopped chives sprinkled over top.

My favorite addition: I like a little grated parmesan in mine! I grew up in a household where we added a bit of grated parmesan cheese to our chicken noodle soup, and I still love it to this day.

This soup is great with a crusty hunk of bread, warm biscuits, or a side salad, too! 

Storing leftovers

Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

More easy soup recipes

Try my warm and comforting Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup with Leeks!

Make a batch of my hearty and delicious Italian Minestrone Soup.

Whip up a batch of my tasty homemade Italian Wedding Soup.

Savor a bowl of my flavorful Chicken and Dumpling Soup with Pancetta and Dill!

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