Chicken and Oatmeal Soup

If you love chicken soup your going to love this delicious Chicken and Oatmeal soup recipe its so easy to make and is enjoyed throughout the year in our house. It is best made the day after a Sunday roast chicken dinner.

So make sure you save your roast chicken dinner leftovers if your having a delicious Sunday roast dinner as this recipe makes the perfect leftover roast chicken dinner soup. It is amazing how much chicken you can get off of a roast chicken.

The oatmeal in this soup gives it such a lovely creamy consistency without any cream and it thickens it up nicely. It also thickens the next day if you have leftovers kept in the fridge and is our favourite recipe for using up our chicken leftovers.

If you like the sound of this recipe you may also enjoy serving it up alongside some of my other delicious Scottish recipes. I love serving this soup up as a starter to a hearty meal like the traditional Scottish beef stew and then finishing off with the traditional Scottish raspberry jam steamed sponge pudding. What a treat!

Tips for making this recipe:

This recipe is the perfect recipe to make with your leftover roast chicken dinner from a Sunday roast. If you don’t have chicken leftovers you can use 4-6 chicken thighs instead. These work just as well and are equally delicious in the soup. Use the meat off the thighs instead of the leftovers. I would skin them before putting them in the water to make the stock just to reduce the fat content.
I like to go for 6tbsp of oatmeal in this recipe because its creates a nice thick consistency, if you want a thinner consistency go for the 3tbsp of oatmeal instead. My tablespoons are generally heaped when making this recipe. You can add extra oatmeal in at any point if you want to thicken it just ensure that it is cooked through before serving.
The soup keeps well in the fridge after it is made and tends to thicken up overnight a little more. Add in a little water to reheat if it is too thick. Remember to season with salt and pepper if adding in any extra water. Broth is better if you have some available.
Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with crusty bread. You can also add in a wee suppie thin cream at the end if you like a touch of cream in your soup.

Chicken and Oatmeal Soup Recipe

1 leftover chicken carcass or 4-6 skinned chicken thighs
3-4 litres water
2 leeks sliced thin
1 carrot chopped into small cubes
1 onion chopped small
3-6tbsp of oatmeal (more if you like!)
Parsley or other herbs (optional)

Recipe Instructions:

Pour all of the water into a large soup pan and bring to the boil and back down to a medium simmer. Add in the chicken leftovers or skinned thighs.
Simmer away on a medium heat for 20-30minutes preferably up to an hour and remove any scum that rises to the surface of the water.
Once the broth looks nice and clear after the cooking time and after all the scummy bits are removed add in the leeks, carrots, onion and oatmeal (3tbsp for thin soup, 6tbsp or more for thick) and cook through on a medium heat for around 40minutes.
Keep the simmering heat going and remove the chicken leftovers. Remove any meat off of the leftovers and shred into small pieces. Add this back into the soup. If the texture of the soup at this point is too thin for your liking then add in a few more tablespoons of oatmeal. Simmer away until the oatmeal is cooked through.
Mash lightly with a potato masher or a wee blast of the hand blender and add in the chopped herbs.
Simmer for a further five minutes and serve with crusty bread and a dash of cream.