Making Mealtime Meaningful: Discover how we're giving back with the 12T Cares program →

When one thinks of chicken and soup, the image of a huge pot of chicken noodle soup simmering away on the stovetop is one of the first things that comes to mind. Yet one user on the Reddit subforum of r/Cooking was stuck with a whole chicken and wanted to make a chicken soup that wasn’t the classic chicken noodle soup.

Tortilla Soup

“Tortilla soup is the way to go, especially this time of year, add some corn and avocado too.” — HealthyDiamond2/r/Cooking

Avgolemono (Greek lemon chicken soup)

Via: Candice Bell/iStock

“Avgolemono (aka Greek lemon egg soup). It’s easy and delicious!.” — of_mice_and_meh/r/Cooking

Use Orzo Instead Of Noodles

“My personal recommendation is to make it with orzo instead of noodles or rice. Use lots of dill. Yummy!” — littledragonroar/r/Cooking

Chicken Rice Soup With Earthy Elements

“Chicken rice with mushrooms is good. Regular mirepoix broth base with Italian herbs.” — Idaduck/r/Cooking

Matzo Ball Soup With A Roasted Kick

“I take a roast chicken, make a stock from it, strain it, shred the meat, and add it back to the broth with matzo balls. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods.” — sittinbackandlistening/r/Cooking

Rice Chicken Porridge

Via: yipengge/iStock

“You can make chicken congee! It’s basically Chinese rice porridge with chicken. Or you can make a Filipino dish called arroz caldo with chicken. It’s pretty much the same thing — a rice porridge but Filipino style.” — x_Vernon/r/Cooking

Potato Leek With Amped Up Protein

“I think chicken is a nice addition to potato leek soup, personally.” —Sonotonoodlesalad/r/Cooking

A Smoky Stew-Soup

Via: lenazap/iStock

“Freekeh soup, it’s Middle Eastern in origin, super delicious, hearty, and is a bit smoky.” — Regi_of_Atlantis/r/Cooking

A Tiny Pasta Swap

“Look up the recipe for cold-fighting couscous soup. I dislike chicken noodle soup, but I love this one.” — Jsmebjnsn/r/Cooking

Corn and Spice

“I love chicken corn chowder. You could roast the corn on the grill and add poblano peppers and ancho chili powder for a nice Mexican flavor. Maybe some jalapeños or serranos for extra heat.” — BronYrStomp/r/Cooking

Quick Dumplings

Via: LauriPatterson/iStock

“Chicken and dumplings with Bisquick mix make a top-tier soup in a more traditional sense. It’s what my mom would make growing up, and it’s still one of my favorites.” —persiika/r/Cooking

Creamy Carby Alternatives

“You can use potato instead of noodle and add cream and Parmesan to make it an Alfredo-like soup.” — fusionsofwonder/r/Cooking