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    Home » Recipes » Soups

    Sopas (Filipino Chicken Macaroni Soup)

    Published: Jul 17, 2024 · Modified: Oct 8, 2024 by Neriz · This post contains some affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe

    Sopas, or Filipino Chicken Macaroni Soup, is a delicious, creamy dish with chicken, pasta, and vegetables in every spoonful.  A classic Filipino soup that you can easily make in your kitchen — a meal on its own!

    A serving of chicken sopas with macaroni, bit uncooked elbow macaroni on the background.

    I grew up having chicken sopas all year round, but twice as often during the rainy season — a toss-up between sopas and chicken sotanghon soup to warm me up. 🙂

    It’s got everything in a serving: warm, milky broth, pasta, shredded chicken, and vegetable bits.  Of course, like any traditional Filipino dish, sopas is primarily seasoned with fish sauce.

    Chicken macaroni soup is a meal on its own for locals — a bowl of absolute deliciousness.

    It is a comfort food for many Filipinos, and the only way to understand this is for you to try it! 😉

    FOR MORE TRADITIONAL FILIPINO FOOD, CHECK OUT THESE RECIPES!

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    • A plate of pancit sotanghon guisado, garnished with green onions, and served with a slice of lemon.
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    Ingredients

    All the ingredients you need to make sopas at home.

    (The ingredients’ measurements for preparing sopas are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

    • Chicken – I always use chicken breasts for making sopas, but I know chicken legs or thighs are also commonly used.
    • Oil – canola or sunflower oil would be great.
    • Garlic – minced or grated.
    • Onion – finely chopped so it’s barely noticeable when your macaroni sopas is ready.
    • Celery – chopped into small dice, but the usual thin slices would also work.
    • Carrot – peeled and chopped in the identical small dice as the celery.
    • Macaroni – elbow macaroni is traditionally used for chicken sopas, but you can also use any small macaroni pasta.
    • Hotdog – if you can find Filipino-brand hotdogs like ‘purefoods,’ they are even better for this soup.
    • Evaporated milk – to add creaminess to your chicken macaroni soup.
    • Seasoning & spices – bay leaf, peppercorns, fish sauce, salt, and ground black pepper.
    A pot of Filipino macaroni soup off the heat, and ready for serving.

    How to make sopas

    The first step is cooking the chicken, and don’t throw away the water from cooking it; you need it to make sopas.

    Combine the chicken breast with bay leaf, peppercorns, and four cups of water in a medium saucepan.

    Cook the chicken separately but use the liquid for making sopas with macaroni.

    Cover with a lid, place it over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil — remove any scum floating on top.

    Adjust the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked.  Remove it from the water and let it cool.

    Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the skin and bones, shredding it with your hands —- set aside.

    In another medium to large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.

    Add garlic and onion.

    Sauteeing onion and garlic is the first step in making Filipino chicken soup.

    Cook until it becomes translucent, then add carrot and celery.

    Carrots and celery cut into small cubed, sauteed to add sweetness to Filipino macaroni soup.

    Mix for a few minutes, then add the chopped hotdog and the shredded chicken.

    Shredded, cooked chicken added to the rest of the ingredients for making macaroni sopas.

    Mix to combine everything.

    Use a strainer to pour the liquid from cooking the chicken earlier, then add the bouillon cubes and a tablespoon of fish sauce.

    Cover with a lid, boil, adjust the heat, and simmer your sopas for about twenty minutes.

    Add the macaroni.

    Elbow macaroni pasta is traditionally used in chicken sopas, shown here added to the soup.

    Cover and lower heat — then continue simmering until the macaroni is cooked.

    Pour the evaporated milk.

    Adding milk is the last step in making traditional Filipino sopas.

    Mix, taste, and adjust seasoning by adding ground black pepper or fish sauce.

    Remove your pot of chicken sopas from the heat.

    Transfer into bowls and serve!

    A ladle of chicken macaroni soup ready to be transferred into a bowl for serving.

    Helpful tips

    • Whether you’re using chicken breasts or legs, keeping the bones when cooking them is better.  It gives your macaroni soup a deeper flavor.
    • Remember to remove and discard the scum that floats when cooking the chicken.
    • Do not add all the fish sauce at once.  Start with one tablespoon and add more after tasting.
    • Adding more water if you want more liquid in your sopas is ok.  I typically add half a cup of water as well.
    A bowl of Filipino macaroni soup with chicken, showing all the ingredients with the milky soup.

    Recipe variation

    • Salt.  If you do not like fish sauce, use your regular salt for seasoning.  I must tell you, though, there is a difference in taste — the ‘funkiness’ is part of traditional Filipino sopas.
    • Vienna sausage.  A great alternative to hotdogs, Vienna sausages are small, canned sausages that you can find in any Filipino store.
    • Regular milk.  I sometimes use whole-cream milk if I run out of evaporated milk.
    • Spring onions.  Also known as scallions or green onions, are often added when serving.

    So, are you craving a bowl of chicken sopas now? Grab your ingredients and give this a try this evening! 🙂

    OR GET MORE IDEAS FROM THIS LIST OF POPULAR SOUPS!

    FOR MORE DISHES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, CHECK OUT THESE WORLD CUISINE RECIPES!

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    📖 Recipe

    A bowl of Filipino sopas, highlighting the chicken and vegetable bits with the pasta.

    Sopas Recipe (Filipino Macaroni Soup)

    Sopas, or Filipino Chicken Macaroni Soup, is a delicious, creamy dish with chicken, pasta, and vegetables in every spoonful.  A classic Filipino soup that you can easily make in your kitchen — a meal on its own!
    No ratings yet
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: Filipino
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
    Servings: 3
    Calories: 370kcal
    Author: Neriz

    Equipment

    • Chopping Board
    • Kitchen Knife
    • Pyrex Measuring Cups
    • Measuring Spoons
    • Medium to Large Pan, with lid
    • Strainer

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 piece chicken breast (about 250 grams or 1/2 pound), with skin and bones
    • 2 tablespoons oil
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 small onion, finely chopped
    • 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into small dice
    • 1 stalk celery, chopped into small dice
    • 1 cup hotdog, chopped
    • 100 grams macaroni (3.5 ounces or about 3/4 to 1 cup)
    • 1/3 cup evaporated milk
    • 1 piece dried bay leaf
    • 6 whole peppercorns
    • 2 pieces chicken bouillon cubes
    • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
    • salt and pepper, for additional seasoning

    Instructions

    • Combine chicken breast, bay leaf, peppercorns, and four cups of water in a medium saucepan.
    • Cover with a lid, place it over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil — remove any scum floating on top.
    • Adjust the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked, then remove it from the water and let it cool.
    • Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the skin and bones, shredding it with your hands —- set aside.
    • In another medium to large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.
    • Add garlic and onion and cook until the onion becomes translucent.
    • Add carrot and celery; mix for a couple of minutes.
    • Add the chopped hotdog and the shredded chicken, mixing to combine everything.
    • Use a strainer to pour the liquid from the chicken, then add the bouillon cubes and a tablespoon of fish sauce.
    • Cover with a lid, boil, adjust the heat, and simmer for about twenty minutes.
    • Add the macaroni.
    • Cover and lower heat — then continue simmering your sopas until the macaroni is cooked.
    • Pour the evaporated milk.
    • Mix, taste, and adjust seasoning by adding ground black pepper or fish sauce.
    • Remove your pot of chicken sopas from the heat.
    • Transfer into serving bowls and enjoy!

    Notes

    • Cook’s Tip #1:  Keep the bones when cooking the chicken.  It helps keep the meat moist and gives the macaroni soup a deeper flavor.
    • Cook’s Tip #2:  Discard the scum that floats when cooking the chicken.
    • Cook’s Tip #3:  Do not add all the fish sauce simultaneously.  Start with one tablespoon and add more after tasting, if needed.
    • Refer to the post for more tips and substitutions.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 785mg | Potassium: 655mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3563IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 118mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @foodandjourneys or tag #foodandjourneys!

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