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 comfort meal on its own!
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.
A staple of Filipino home cooking, this easy sopas recipe is perfect for rainy days, sick days, or when you need a warm, filling meal made with simple pantry ingredients.
Chicken macaroni soup is a classic Filipino comfort food at its best. You don’t believe me? See (or taste) for yourself!
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Why Filipino sopas is a keeper!
- Simple, everyday ingredients. Using pantry staples like macaroni, chicken, milk, and vegetables, it’s easy to pull together without special trips to the store.
- Budget-friendly and filling. A small amount of chicken and macaroni goes a long way, making chicken sopas an affordable meal that feeds the whole family.
- Flexible and forgiving. You can easily adjust the ingredients based on what you have; add hot dogs, skip the milk, or load it up with more vegetables.
Ingredients
(See the recipe card below for measurements.)
- 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.
How to make sopas
The first step is cooking the chicken, and don’t throw away the cooking water; you need it to make sopas.
Combine the chicken breast with 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.
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 (about 15 minutes). 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, and set it aside.
In another medium to large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.
Add garlic and onion.
Cook until it becomes translucent, then add carrot and celery.
Mix for a few minutes, then add the chopped hot dog and the shredded chicken.
Mix to combine everything.
Use a strainer to pour the liquid from the chicken you cooked earlier, then add the bouillon cubes and half a tablespoon of fish sauce. (See helpful tips section.)
Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, adjust the heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add the macaroni.
Cover and continue simmering 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 bowls and serve!
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.
- If you are using a fully seasoned stock, do not add the fish sauce right away. Taste it first to make sure you don’t end up with a salty soup.
- 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.
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.
Storage
Is it freezer-friendly?
Unfortunately, the pasta will soften after thawing, worse, it will turn mushy. If you still plan to freeze it, make sure you undercook the pasta—it helps a bit keep its texture when thawed.
Storing it in the refrigerator is a better option, but only up to 3 days.
FAQs
Can I make chicken sopas without milk?
Absolutely. Some locals skip the milk entirely, resulting in a clearer, yet still flavor-packed, chicken macaroni soup. It’s especially common for those who prefer a lighter broth.
What protein can I use besides chicken?
Chicken is most common, but you can also use shredded rotisserie chicken, leftover turkey, and of course, hot dogs for a classic Filipino version.
Can I make Filipino sopas ahead of time?
Yes. Sopas keeps well in the fridge for 3 days (max). However, the pasta will continue to absorb the liquid, so you need to add more stock and milk when reheating to loosen the soup.
Serving suggestions
Filipino sopas is an excellent meal on its own, but it’s even better when paired with other classic Filipino recipes for everyday home cooking:
Serve chicken sopas with warm, lightly toasted Filipino bread rolls on the side.
The soft, homemade rolls are perfect for dipping into the creamy broth and turning it into a more filling meal.
Pair a bowl of macaroni soup with crispy Filipino vegetable spring rolls for contrast.
The crunchy, vegetarian rolls balance the creamy soup beautifully and help you load up on your vegetables.
For a bigger spread, serve Filipino sopas as a starter before pancit.
The soup adds warmth and comfort, while the stir-fried canton noodles bring heartiness and variety to the table—perfect for family meals or gatherings.
These pairings highlight chicken sopas as a versatile, everyday dish that fits naturally into Filipino cuisine — a taste of local home-style meals you can easily enjoy in your part of the world.
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!
📖 Recipe
Sopas Recipe (Filipino Macaroni Soup)
Equipment
- 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 —- then 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 half a tablespoon of fish sauce. (NOTE: If using a fully-seasoned stock, do not add the fish sauce right away; taste it first!)
- Cover with a lid, boil, adjust the heat, and simmer for about 20 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 adds a deeper flavor to the macaroni soup.
- Cook’s Tip #2: Discard the scum that floats when cooking the chicken.
- Refer to the post for more tips and substitutions.
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