Nostalgic chicken soup flavor made without the preservatives! You can make homemade chicken and stars soup with nourishing meat stock and real ingredients!
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A chill in the air, and a fun, kid favorite soup!
Autumn leaves, wooly bear caterpillars, fall hikes, and fuzzy hats! There is nothing like the fall season in Michigan! There is so much to do and explore, and the weather gives us the perfect excuse to cozy in with comforting soup!
Classic childhood brought to you by the 80’s and 90’s…
When I was a kid, those little red cans of chicken soup were pure comfort. It was what mom brought out any time we were sick. Soup, bone broths, and stocks have been used for generations well before us to nurse immune systems that need a boost, and to keep our bodies warm during the cold winter months. Unfortunately for our parents, and for some of us even our grandparents, making homemade broths and stocks became a thing of the past when the popularity of convenience foods took over the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. The result is a handful of generations that have never learned how powerful and healing homemade soup can be.
Inquisitive young parents making the change!
I just love speaking with new, young parents today. I know our society has a lot to say about young people and new parents. But I see you. I see you asking questions and wondering why your generation is sicker at younger ages than your grandparents and great-grandparents. I see you researching and learning how to cook, and I love that about you! Young momma, who is questioning the food system and how you can make things better for your kids, you are the cycle breaker in your house. I cannot want to show you a simple baby step toward just that. Making things better for your kids!
What’s so bad about soup from a can?
When soup started showing up on store shelves in cans over 100 years ago, the ingredients available were real food. Campbell’s® made their first cans of tomato soup on shelves using beefsteak tomatoes from New Jersey! As the years passed, food scientists discovered certain preservatives and flavoring chemicals that made the soups not only last longer on the shelf, but also taste even better. These man-made chemicals allowed the soups to be produced quicker and cheaper, making the soup company way more money. The soup that our great grandparents would have gotten from the store is NOT the same soup that we are pulling off the shelves today. Hidden MSG in the form of “natural flavorings” and other preservatives riddle these cans of soup. I even found that the labels today warn of “bioengineered foods.” Genetically modified crops right on the label!
But what about the “organic” soups at the store?
Other than the fact that these soups don’t have collagen-rich, real meat stock or bone broth, popular brands like Annie’s still contain canola oil. If I’m going to be giving my kid soup on a weekly basis, or trying to nurse a cold with some brothy soup, inflammatory oil is the last thing I want in that broth!
But what about the TIME it takes to make soup?!
Real food does take more time to make than convenient store bought food. But! We can shave some time off or at least have less hands-on time using amazing kitchen tools like a pressure cooker or slow cooker! In this recipe, I’m going to show you how to use a very budget friendly whole chicken that you can get from your local farmer or at the grocery store, and make a delicious meat stock that you will use along with the chicken to make your soup.
So let’s make the most flavorful homemade chicken and stars soup just like we had as a kid!
The secret to the best soup all rests in the broth. Whether you are using long simmered bone broth, or a meat stock made from cooking a whole chicken, your soup will not only taste the best with homemade, it will also be loaded with collagen from the connective tissue of the chicken. The connective tissue from these bones and joints have an amino acid profile that aides in digestion and gut health. You’ll first cook your chicken in filtered water with some onion, carrot and celery. You can use your pressure cooker, like an Instant Pot, or you can use a slow cooker. Instructions for both are included in the recipe card! Once the chicken is cooked, you be left with an incredible meat stock AND the meat for your soup!
How much of the whole chicken should I use for the chicken and stars soup?
The 3 cups of chopped chicken adds a moderate amount of chicken to the soup. A lot of times I bulk the chicken up a bit so the protein is higher for my teens. You could also pull the amount of chicken down if you are wanting the soup brothier, for example, when a child is sick and lots of protein doesn’t sound good.
Simplicity is key
Once you have the meat stock or broth, and the chicken meat ready, the rest of the soup comes together so quick. Get some carrot, onion, and celery sautéing in butter in your soup pot. Let these veggies develop some flavor over 10 minutes before adding anything else.
Chicken and stars soup just like you remember it!
After the veggies cook for 10 minutes, all you have to do is add the cooked chicken and meat stock and bring it to a simmer. The star pasta will cook in the simmering broth, yielding a most flavorful pasta and soup all together! This is the most basic, comforting “as you remember it”, chicken soup flavor. If you wish to add more depth and herbs, add them in with the step where you are adding the chopped cooked chicken in so that it simmers with the broth and pasta. Dried thyme and a bay leaf are nice, or any fresh herbs you wish to infuse the soup base with.
Tell me about that star shaped pasta!
These little gluten free star shaped pastas are the real deal! I love how the Jovial brand holds up in a soup. Some gluten free pastas can fall apart after a day or so, but these little guys hold up well enough for school thermos soup lunches all week long! You can find the Jovial Stelline pasta on Amazon, or Vitacost. Regular star shaped pastas will work as well, or, you could definitely use a different shape pasta if you don’t have access to star shaped pasta.
How do I send the chicken and stars soup to school?
This is the most perfect school lunch on a cold and snowy recess day! I send thermoses of soup at least twice a week, and it is my crew’s favorite kind of lunch. Temper your soup thermos with hot water from the tap while you warm the soup up on the stove. The hot water will warm up the thermos so the hot soup doesn’t cool off in the cold thermos. Once you warm up the soup, dump the hot water out, and pour the soup in! We have lots of different thermos favorites right now! If you have little ones, the OmiBox or these smaller Lunchbots thermoses are a good size for them. My 2 teens and tween use the larger Thermoflask and larger Lunchbots thermoses.
Can I freeze this soup to pull out when the kids are sick or we need a fast lunch?
To prepare this soup for the freezer, make the soup all the way until the point of adding the chicken, and stop. Do not add the pasta as pasta does not freeze great. Cool the soup base and freeze in freezer safe containers or Souper Cubes. To make the pasta from the freezer, thaw the soup base and bring it to a simmer. Add the pasta and cook the pasta to al dente, about 9-10 minutes.
I only used about half of the whole chicken for the soup. What can I do with the rest?
If you wish to freeze some of the soup base as mentioned above, you could potentially double up the soup and freeze half of it without the pasta. This would make a great freezer pull when the kids catch a cold, or when you need an easy thermos lunchbox idea. The leftover chicken also makes great sandwiches, wraps, stir fry, and salads.
Homemade Chicken and Stars Soup
Ingredients
If you are making the whole chicken and meat stock:
(Skip this step if you already have cooked chicken and broth available)
- 1 whole chicken about 5-6 pounds
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 medium onion coarsely chopped
- 2 medium carrots coarsely chopped
- 2 celery stalks coarsely chopped
- 8-9 cups of water
For the Chicken and Stars Soup:
- 3 tbsp butter ghee, or olive oil to cook in
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 large or 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 3 large cloves of garlic minced
- 2 1/2 – 3 quarts meat stock bone broth, or stock/broth from the store (watch ingredients!)
- 4 cups chopped cooked chicken see notes
- 1 – 12oz box of star shaped pasta see notes
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
To make the whole chicken & meat stock:
Skip this section if you already have cooked chicken and broth made.
- Rinse and pat dry your whole chicken. Sprinkle the inside of the chicken cavity with 1 tsp of sea salt, and then rub another 3 tsp of sea salt over the entire outside of the whole chicken.
- If you are using your Instant Pot to cook the chicken and meat stock, place the trivet on the bottom of the pot liner, and put the onion, carrot, and celery on top. Place the whole chicken onto the veggies, and fill the pot with 8-9 cups of water. Put the lid on the Instant Pot, seal the valve, and cook on high pressure for 28 minutes. When the IP is done pressure cooking, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes before taking the lid off.
- If you are using your slow cooker to cook the chicken and meat stock, put the veggies on the bottom of the slow cooker, and then the whole chicken breast side up on top of the veggies. Fill the slow cooker with 8-9 cups of water, and place the lid on the slow cooker. Slow cook on low for 8 hours.
- When your chicken is done cooking with either method, transfer the cooked chicken to a plate to cool, and strain off the liquid in the pot. This is your meat stock. Once the chicken is cool enough to touch, you can pull the meat off the bones. You will not likely use the entire whole chicken for this recipe. Leftovers are great on sandwiches, salads, wraps, or maybe even double this soup base for the freezer!
To make the chicken & stars soup:
- Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, along with a pinch of sea salt to bring out the sweetness in the veggies. Saute for 7-10 minutes until the veggies are soft and caramelizing.
- Add the garlic, stir to combine, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chopped chicken and broth/meat stock, and stir to combine. Bring the soup to a simmer and taste the soup base for seasoning. You can add more sea salt if the broth needs it, along with pepper.
- Add the stars pasta to cook in the simmering broth for about 9-10 minutes until the pasta is al dente. The pasta will continue to soak in some of the meat stock so if you wish your soup to be brothier, then add more meat stock/broth.
Notes
- To prepare this soup for the freezer, make the soup all the way until the point of adding the chicken, and stop. Do not add the pasta as pasta does not freeze great. Cool the soup base and freeze in freezer safe containers or Souper Cubes. To make the pasta from the freezer, thaw the soup base and bring it to a simmer. Add the pasta and cook the pasta to al dente, about 9-10 minutes.
- This is the most basic, comforting “as you remember it”, chicken soup flavor. If you wish to add more depth and herbs, add them in with the step where you are adding the chopped cooked chicken in so that it simmers with the broth and pasta. Dried thyme and a bay leaf are nice, or any fresh herbs you wish to infuse the soup base with.
- The 3 cups of chopped chicken adds a moderate amount of chicken to the soup. A lot of times I bulk the chicken up a bit so the protein is higher for my teens. You could also pull the amount of chicken down if you are wanting it brothier for example for when a child is sick and lots of protein doesn’t sound good.
- I use the Jovial Gluten Free star shaped pasta. It is made with just brown rice and water. You can find the Jovial Stelline pasta on Amazon, or Vitacost. Regular star shaped pastas will work as well, or, you could definitely use a different shape pasta if you don’t have access to star shaped pasta.
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This was delicious! Lately my kids have not been eating my chicken noodle soup so I went on the hung for a new recipe everyone would enjoy and I found it!!
That is a big win Missy! I’m so glad they liked it!