Best Creamy Macaroni Sopas

The Philippines is a tropical country that is why it has only two seasons, the summer and rainy season. Summer could be described as a scorching season and would want you to crave something cold, while the rainy season brought so much cold breeze that might make you desire something scorching. Hence, the cold and chilly weather is just perfect for a hot and creamy soup dish. Thus, it is just an ideal season to share with you our best Creamy Macaroni Sopas recipe. I learned this recipe from my mom, who has always been fond of cooking soup dishes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even snacks!

For most Asians, including Filipinos, Chicken Macaroni Soup is one of the popular comfort foods of choice. It's been around for years, being a daily breakfast meal or a hotter one on a cold, rainy day. By selling recipes similar to this in front of their house or various eateries, many people in the Philippines make a lot of money.

We used to own a small eatery that was open for breakfast only back then. The menu would always be composed of Spaghetti, Pancit, Lugaw, or Rice Porridge, and this Sopas like a typical Filipino eatery. The morning breeze would usually deliver hungry and sleepy customers to us, and their favorite? Creamy hot Sopas!

This recipe is a significant favorite in the Philippines, whether you're sick or healthy. Since people are used to warming food at the beginning of the day, it is a traditional breakfast recipe close to this. And also as a snack to mix with side dishes. Therefore, seen in our feature recipe are ways to cook these creamy chicken macaroni sopas. Besides, we also highlighted some of the variants that you can pick. So you'll have some thoughts on how to prepare your creamy chicken macaroni soup, the biggest in town.

Traditionally, creamy macaroni soup is one of the best soups that would never be absent from every Filipino table, especially during breezy days. There is nothing like getting a bowl of hot Creamy Chicken Sopas on a cold day to make you feel warm and relaxed, especially during this time when the outside temperature begins to get cold. This recipe can help you prepare a delicious soup that can be served to your whole family and friends.

In the Philippines, Filipino Macaroni Soup is commonly known as "sopas.”The American recipe called chicken noodle soup was derived from this delicious soup recipe. Sopas are simple to produce. Then add all the other ingredients and let it boil until the pasta is cooked al dente. We achieve the taste by sauteing the spices.

Spices such as onions and garlic, carrots, cubed potatoes, kinchay, elbow macaroni, and last but most importantly, shredded meat are the most common ingredients used by Filipinos in making soups. When making creamy macaroni soup, what was widely used are both chicken and pork meat in the Philippines.

Filipinos, especially during the rainy season, love warm soup. For Filipinos, soups are comfort food, which is why many noodle companies have come up with instant macaroni soup. Sopas are also served at Filipino fast-food restaurants. Indeed, almost any kind of soup is enjoyed by Filipinos and macaroni soup makes it to the top of the list.

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How to Cook Creamy Sopas using Macaroni Noodle, Water and Milk: A Favorite Filipino Recipe All the Time

Sopas can be translated to Soup, so Sopas is sometimes not enough to be understood what you are referring to unless you are a Filipino or a foreigner who has been residing in the country for several years.

Sopas are made with elbow macaroni with meat and veggies, like carrots, hotdogs, cabbage, etc. A can of evaporated milk is added for the creamy texture, which became a part of every Filipino household.

In the Philippines, people wake up early in the morning to catch the sunrise or go for a morning jog or walk. Then, strategically, there are eateries with just small tables and big pots containing breakfast dishes prepared for those people doing early morning activities. One of the pots is for the Sopas. Creamy Chicken Sopas is one of the best breakfasts because of its soothing aroma and unique taste that you will surely crave when you smell even from afar.

Also, during rainy days (which always occur in the Philippines), there’s still someone in the family that will initiate the idea of having soup to fight the gloomy and cold weather. Thus, Sopas is again considered along with other perfect comfort food, like instant noodles or Lugaw, and most of the time, sopas gets the most number of votes because unlike the other mentioned dishes, Sopas is packed with flavors from the meat to the veggies. The traditional chicken sopas could serve as a meal already for the Filipinos because its noodles, which is the macaroni, are almost equivalent to a bowl of white rice, making you full.

Creamy Macaroni Sopas is also served during birthdays, All Saint's Day, and other occasions. Lastly and probably the funniest, Sopas is usually done in wakes as people, attending the vigil beside the body of someone who died, need to be awake until midnight, so what better way to keep our eyes open and our energy high than by having a bowl of Sopas?

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How to make the Filipino version of the Best Creamy Macaroni Noodle Soup in terms of the Types of Meat to Use

Usually, Filipinos are a bunch of penny-wise people who don't want to waste their hard-earned food. Thus, when they have any leftover bones from chicken, pork, beef, or even turkey, several Pinoys cook up macaroni soup. The left-over bones were enough to make the creamy macaroni sopas tasty and delicious. That's right; you can make a whole, fresh, wonderful dish of leftovers-sopas! The meaty flavor of this soup dish depends on what meat you will use. Some use pork, some use turkey, some use beef, but the most common meat being used is chicken meat. Below are common types of meat used.

Chicken Sopas

Commonly, chicken is used in this dish as its white meat in nature just blends with the creamy soup. Also, the meat has that specific texture that, when shredded, it’s easy to chew. Filipinos usually boil and cook the meat, then after the meat is already cooked, they shred it or cut it into pieces to serve as the primary ingredient of the creamy sopas. Having said about the chicken shreds, some people opt for larger Chicken cuts with bones so that the soup will be more flavorful. 

Pork Sopas 

When you run out of Chicken or simply want an easy modification, you may go for Pork meat. If Chicken is too shredded, Pork meat is to be ground or cut thinly into slices, adding more texture to the dish. 

Usually, the meat was being boiled and cooked and when it was already cooked, it was being cut into slices if it is not ground pork. The left-over bones of the pork add more taste to the dish. The meat also adds a little more oil to the soup although the soup is already oily because of the butter and oil. 

Pork Sopas is the same hearty soup that cures in a bite or maybe a drink of all kinds of flu. It is creamy and full and great for breakfast or a quick dinner. However, we regard this as a slice of meat in the Filipino household, eating this along with steamed rice and staying happy and pleased about carbs’ whole thing on carbs. But you certainly should try to make sure you understand what we're talking about!

Beef Sopas

Sopas is a Filipino soup that mainly targets the children's palate. It quickly becomes a child's favorite because it is also the dish that is the first choice offered to unwell children, which is one of the many ways moms in the Philippines let their child eat carrots. Typically when this is cooked, we are using chicken as it is the cheapest meat back home plus it cooks quicker, but you might try to use beef to replace the chicken to explore something different.

You may try this Creamy Sopas with the ground or sliced beef on it. All of us knew that beef has an explicit strong taste, bringing more aroma into any dish. Leftover bones from the beef bring more flavor to the dish making you crave more. The taste of the beef will surely add a little kick to your creamy macaroni recipe!

Vegan Sopas

A delicious, milky, and creamy soup filled with vegetable bits and macaroni pasta is Vegan Macaroni Soup! The veggie meat provides the soup with a delicious meaty taste that goes well with the creamy coconut milk. Every sip of the milky, warm soup always feels like home.

You should use a flavorful vegetable broth instead of only adding plain water to boil the ingredients. Your Vegan Macaroni Soup will bring lots of delicious flavors to it. Are you fond of tofu? Since this recipe is vegan, you can add fried tofu cubes. Every ingredient that needs to be done to make the cooking of Vegan macaroni soup quicker and more breezy is slice, cut, and cube. Enjoy and Stay Healthy!

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Filipino Soup Version Ingredients, Minus the Meat

With its generosity seen on the number of ingredients, this is a dish with so many health benefits because its main ingredients are healthy. Let’s talk about the most notable ones.

Macaroni is dry pasta. Although it’s carbo., it has a lot of benefits too. Read on!

• Carbohydrates provide glucose, and glucose intake results in having so much energy. Glucose, the essential fuel for your brain and muscles, is supplied by carbohydrates like pasta. And you don't get the energy bursts associated with simple sugars because pasta is an incredible source of complex carbohydrates (unlike those of the refined and processed kind), releasing energy at a gradual and sustained pace.
• Other ingredients of Sopas might contain oil or might be high in cholesterol, but fret not,  Macaroni is not one of them as it is cholesterol-free. If you're looking at cholesterol levels, pasta is great for you, being very low in sodium and free of cholesterol. Enriched pasta variants provide a good source of a variety of essential nutrients, including iron and B vitamins, per cup.
• Enriched pasta, essential for women of child-bearing age, is fortified with folic acid. A dry pasta serving contains the equivalent of approximately 100 micrograms of folic acid, or 25 percent of the daily intake recommended.
• Pasta is part of a well-balanced diet, with existing recommendations from either the Australian government suggesting that 35% of our daily intake of calories should originate from complex carbohydrates such as pasta. For a full meal that puts you well on the road to achieving your nutritional goals, combine pasta with lean meat and fats! For a full meal, mix the pasta with lean protein and vegetables!

Carrots are known to be crunchy in texture, but what many of us overlook are their benefits.

• Carrots can lower blood sugar levels with the presence of soluble fibers in them.
• Carrots are a great source of vitamins and minerals such as potassium, biotin, Vitamins B6, A (from beta carotene), and K1 (phylloquinone).
• Carrots are known for being a great source of plant compounds, like Carotenoids. Talking about Carotenoids, it’s useful in the body. It helps reduce the risk of cancer,  and it is also helpful in keeping our eyes healthy.
• Carrots also help in lowering blood cholesterol.  

Cabbage is a leafy vegetable that can either be green or red, but for Sopas, it’s always the green that is used mainly because it blends with the other ingredients’ colors.

• Cabbage is full of nutrients: Protein, Calories, Fiber, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Folate, Vitamin, CalciumB6, Manganese, Potassium, Magnesium.
• Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is an excellent antioxidant that is said to fight diseases like cancer, and it protects our body from severe damage caused by free radicals.
• With its being rich in fiber, it is said to improve one’s digestion.
• Its soluble fiber helps in lowering the wrong cholesterol level.
• If you are on a diet, this one helps. With its health benefits, crunchy texture with a bland taste that can easily be improved by adding spices, indeed it is diet-friendly.

Red Bell Pepper is a crisp and sweet vegetable with a hint of spiciness in it, but what people don’t usually know is its benefits.

• Red Bell Pepper is a good source of Vitamin C, an antioxidant
• It also has B6 and folate, which both help in preventing anemia.
• It is also a good source of Vitamin A, which is for your eye-sight.
• A recent study has shown that Red Bell Pepper can improve metabolic rate and help in thermogenesis activation.

Celery is known as the famous green delish, which makes every dish looks beautiful. But aside from that, celery has many health benefits.

• With a low glycemic index, celery is rich in vitamins and minerals.
• When eating celery, you'll enjoy vitamins A, K, and C, plus minerals like potassium and folate. It's low in sodium as well. Plus, it's low on the glycemic index, meaning your blood sugar has a slow, steady impact.
• Celery has the effect of alkalizing. Celery may have a neutralizing effect on acidic foods with minerals such as magnesium, iron, and sodium, not to mention that these minerals are required for critical bodily functions.
• Celery is a versatile veggie, in addition to its many health benefits. You can eat it raw or fried, and smoothies, stir-fries, soups, and juices are a great addition. Celery can be steamed or baked as well.

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Common Problems when Cooking this Filipino version: Milk and Water is the Key! 

This comfort food is not safe from taste and flavor issues. Commonly, some problems can be solved, and others can just be avoided next time. 

Too Salty – In all the dishes that we do, there comes a time when you could not measure the ingredients and other condiments such as salt need hence, the dish became too salty. This only problem happens when you put too much salt or fish sauce in it. The best way to counteract this issue is to add evaporated milk and water to your Sopas.

By putting evaporated milk and water in your Sopas, the salty taste will be wiped away, plus it will be creamier and tastier.

Too Tasteless- The common problem when cooking is the fear of adding more condiments to avoid a dish’s saltiness. However, this makes that dish tasteless. So when a dish is bland, just add a pinch of salt, pepper, and evaporated milk.

Too much water- there comes a time when you put too much water in the dish that you are cooking and because of that, the taste becomes different, or the macaroni pasta becomes soggy. In case this happens, just bring it to a boil and remove the excess water, then add milk!

Loads of Grease in Stock

Chicken meat greases a lot sometimes, too. Refrigerate it to lower the chicken’s oil, and you'll find that the chucks of grease start to solidify. Delete it, please.

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Make your Macaroni Noodle Soup Perfect by Following by including these tips in your recipe

We know that you are excited to cook this recipe but to avoid problems and to make your cooking more comfortable and better, here are some tips to follow.

1. Avoid having overcooked macaroni as it’s the most dominant ingredient, so the whole dish will be affected if it’s not cooked right. Check the macaroni’s suggested cooking time that can be found in the brand’s packaging. It would be best if it was cooked averagely, not undercooked, and not overcooked.
2. It is a soup dish, so the taste-then-add trick is advisable. 
3. Use a good-quality hotdog or sausage as some tend to have a sour after taste. 
4. Do not put too much water while cooking the soup. Too much water will make the soup tasteless, and it might make the macaroni soggy.
5. Today, many home cooks take the shortcut of using chicken broth as the basis for their recipe for chicken noodle soup. You can prefer organic chicken bone broth if you don't have time to make your stock from leftover vegetable bits and chicken bones. This makes the soup better and adds more nutrients.
6. Always select fresh herbs to go with your chicken noodle soup, no matter what herbs and vegetables you use. In adding the flavor you love, they make all the difference!
7. Saute your onions and celery, so you add another layer of spice when you do that! The advantage you get is a touch of sweetness (from the caramelized onions) that can also complement some of your less sweetened side dishes of chicken noodle soup.
8. Don’t saute the carrots with it. Carrots have a good texture that you would like them to retain. In your chicken noodle soup, they should never be crunchy, so make sure to add them at the beginning.
9. Cook your chicken first while you're making your chicken stock or even cooking in the bone broth. Remove it until it's cooked. This means that you get any tiny bits of bone or cartilage out of it. No one wants to bite into it accidentally!
10. Do you know why chicken canned noodle soup doesn't taste so good? It's because since it was canned, the noodles have been sitting there turning to mush. If you use egg noodles, spirals, or some other pasta form, cook it separately and add it when you serve it to the soup bowls. The pasta will maintain its bite, and it will be much more delicious for the soup.

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Side Dishes To Cook and Make and Best Served With the Filipino Macaroni Noodle Soup Recipe

A light chicken broth brimming with chunks of tender chicken meat, carrots, celery, and big egg noodles has all the creations of a complete meal in one bowl. Simple as it is, though. Although recipes vary from home to home, the dinner in and of itself can be your chicken noodle soup. While many individuals only want to know what to serve with chicken noodle soup because they want to round it out a little more. What partners, besides a big hug, with chicken noodle soup? Lots of stuff can be planted right next to it to make it an even fuller meal. Soup can easily be partnered with a lot of other dishes and food. 

1. Pandesal – Part of every Filipino morning is the Pandesal. This is usually paired with coffee or a hot soup in the morning. Pandesal and Sopas are just a perfect duo, hot soup plus fluffy bread. 
2. Toasted bread – There is nothing more complementing than a soup and a hard textured bread. Toasted bread is hard in texture but sweet in flavor, and it blends with the creaminess of Sopas. Another perfect combination!
3. Juice – The fruity flavor of this drink is just perfect for the veggie and meaty vibes of Sopas. When you suddenly sip a hot soup, and your tongue is burned, the juice is the best cure!
4. Garlic Bread- With your chicken noodle soup's robust flavors, garlic bread is a match made in heaven! Neither the soup nor the bread balance out each other's tastes, even though you dip it in to sop up the broth. When you've made the big pot of your grandma's handed-down chicken noodle soup recipe, it just strengthens it and adds a more filling portion.
5. Cream Biscuit- Crispy on the outside and oh-so-soft on the inside, cream biscuits are my way to any soup side by side. Instead of butter, they are filled with milk, which makes them so pillowy and fluffy. And to make them, you don't have to be a master baker!
6. Ham and Cheese Roll-ups- By adding a baked ham and cheese rollup, amplify your soup and sandwich combo. It's a simple recipe with tasty results. A rollup looks and tastes gourmet while using pre-made pizza dough, deli ham, and plenty of mozzarellas while being super fast and straightforward to produce. And with chicken noodle soup, it goes smashingly well.
7. Rice- Filipinos treat everything as a slice of meat and partnered it with rice. The creamy macaroni sopas consists of various ingredients that can serve as a great partner of white rice.
8. Mashed Potato Puffs- Mashed potatoes are another comfort food on everybody's list. But next to chicken noodle soup, they seem so overbearing. However, making mashed potato puffs gets around that by looking classy and changing texture. If you love potato soup, then you'll love this. If you add as much gravy as we like to add to our own pile of mashed potatoes, it's almost like consuming a soup itself.
9. Easy Baked Zucchini- Zucchini is such a versatile veggie that you can do almost anything with it. Baked zucchini can suit the bill for those of you that abstain from slices of bread but want to add more to go with your chicken noodle soup.

It gives you the satisfying taste of cheesy bread without those extra carbs when you slice it into nice rounds and bake it with cheese on top. Perhaps you want to keep your carb count down because there are noodles in your soup, so here's how to do it.

10. Chicken Empanada- Chicken empanada is a sort of pastry stuffed with chicken meat, potato, carrots, and sweet peas. This is achieved in the middle of a flattened dough by arranging the filling and sealing it by pinching and folding the corners. This is also a perfect pair with creamy chicken macaroni due to the similarities in their taste. Perfect combination!

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Conclusion

There you have it. We have entirely provided you all the needed information above to help you prepare this easy chicken macaroni soup recipe. We hope that all the details we have provided could guide you to make your own version of this recipe. You may feel free to go back to the data and information we have provided in every section of this article, consisting of different matters relating to preparing this dish.

We also provided some tips on the meat to use, tips on cooking the dish, and a little troubleshooting that may help you resolve the problems you might encounter in the future while doing this recipe. Just follow the tips and the remedies in order to achieve the perfect soup for your family. And do not forget to note the list of the side dishes that we have provided for you!

This creamy chicken macaroni soup recipe is generally not new but known as classic Filipino food with an ancient history and numerous variations. On the one hand, this food's popularity reflects the country's love for food and culture. Even if there are different variations, this meal still represents our fellow Filipinos’ love for our culture.

So, what are you waiting for? Try doing this recipe for your family and friends. We are confidently sure that they will like it and they will crave more chicken macaroni soup, even on a hot and sunny day. Enjoy eating!

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