USE COOKED CHICKEN
This recipe begins after the roast dinner. Never substitute raw carcass scraps in this direct-load method.
ROAST CHICKEN SOUP
PICK IT. NINJA IT. POT IT.
- MAKES
- 3 × 400ML POTS
- SCRAPS
- 180–250G COOKED
- PREP
- 12 MINUTES
- PROGRAMME
- SMOOTH SOUP
- COOK
- ABOUT 30 MIN
- NIX RATING
- ★★★★★
This is the real NIX chicken soup: dinner is carved, the useful bits are plucked clean from the remaining cooked carcass, and everything edible goes straight into the Ninja with fresh vegetables, a stock cube and water.
The meat gives substance. The skin, soft fat and roasting jelly bring the proper chicken flavour and make the finished smooth soup rich without cream. Nothing needs a saucepan and no separate stock-making shift has been invented for the sake of looking traditional.
The only strict boundary is the obvious one: meat and skin go into the Ninja; bones and hard cartilage go into the bin. Careful picking makes this simple method safe as well as satisfyingly frugal.
INGREDIENTS
01180–250g cooked chicken meat, skin and soft edible scraps, carefully picked from the carved roast carcass
02Any soft set chicken jelly from the roasting tin, optional
031 medium onion (about 120g), peeled and quartered
042 medium carrots (about 180g), peeled and cut into chunks
051 celery stick (about 60g), cut into chunks
061 medium floury potato (about 180g), peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
071 garlic clove, peeled
081 low-salt chicken stock cube
09½ teaspoon dried thyme
10¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
11700ml cold water, or only enough to remain below the MAX HOT line
121 teaspoon lemon juice, added after cooking
131 tablespoon chopped parsley, optional
14Fine salt, only after tasting
CUPBOARD CHECK
SHOPPING LIST
Tick what you already have. What remains is your shopping list.
14STILL NEEDED
NIX FOOD DATA · ESTIMATED
NUTRITION & COST
Approximate values per 400ml orange-top pot. Ingredient brands, exact weights and cooking losses will alter the final figures.
APPROXIMATE COST≈ £2.25WHOLE RECIPE≈ £0.75PER 400ML ORANGE-TOP POT
- ENERGY
- 1,090 kJ / 260 kcal
- PROTEIN
- 21g
- CARBOHYDRATE
- 24g
- OF WHICH SUGARS
- 8g
- FAT
- 9g
- SATURATES
- 3g
- FIBRE
- 4g
- SALT
- 1.7g
Cost basis: Approximate UK supermarket prices with a fair share of the roast chicken allocated to the picked leftovers. If dinner has already paid for the chicken, the extra vegetables and seasonings cost roughly £1.15 for all three pots.
Nutrition basis: Estimated per 400ml pot using about 220g mixed cooked chicken meat and skin across the batch. The exact meat-to-skin ratio and amount of roasting jelly will change the result.
METHOD
- 01
PICK THE CARCASS
After carving the cooked chicken for dinner, let the carcass cool only until it is safe to handle. With clean hands, pluck off every useful piece of meat, the skin, soft jelly and any tender edible scraps. Aim for 180–250g. Do this within 2 hours of the chicken leaving the oven.
- 02
NO BONES MEANS NO BONES
Feel through the picked chicken twice. Remove every bone, pin bone, hard cartilage shard and anything sharp, chalky or rubbery. Soft skin, fat, jelly and yielding connective tissue can go into the soup; the actual carcass cannot. The Ninja is a soup maker, not a scrapyard with a pulse button.
- 03
LOAD THE NINJA
Put the picked cooked chicken and skin straight into the Ninja Soup Maker jug. Add the onion, carrots, celery, potato, garlic, stock cube, thyme and black pepper. Add any soft chicken jelly from the roasting tin, but avoid pouring in a lake of rendered fat.
- 04
ADD THE WATER LAST
Pour in 700ml cold water. Check the level against the MAX HOT line on your Ninja; the solid ingredients and liquid must remain below it. If your particular chicken supplied more scraps than usual, use slightly less water rather than overfilling the jug.
- 05
RUN SMOOTH SOUP
Fit and lock the lid, then select SMOOTH SOUP. Let the full programme run—usually about 30 minutes on the Ninja Soup Maker and Blender. The chicken is already cooked; the programme cooks the vegetables, reheats everything thoroughly and blends the skin and soft scraps into a silky broth.
- 06
CHECK THE CONSISTENCY
When the programme finishes, open the lid carefully away from your face. The soup should be completely smooth, golden and thick enough to coat a spoon. If it is too thick, add 50–100ml boiling water without passing the MAX HOT line and use a short manual blend.
- 07
FINISH IT
Stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Taste before adding salt because roast chicken, jelly and the stock cube already bring seasoning. Add only what it needs, then give it a final 5-second manual blend if you want the parsley fully dispersed.
- 08
MEASURE THE NIX PORTIONS
Set out three clean 400ml orange-top pots. Ladle exactly 400ml into each pot. If the batch has produced a small cook’s sample, quality-control it immediately; this is a recognised manufacturing tolerance rather than greed.
- 09
COOL IT SAFELY
Leave the pots uncovered just long enough for the fierce steam to ease—about 15–20 minutes—then put the lids on loosely and refrigerate. Get them properly chilled within 2 hours of the soup programme finishing. Once cold, secure the orange lids fully.
- 10
STORE AND REHEAT
Keep refrigerated for up to 2 days, because the chicken began as cooked leftovers, or freeze promptly for up to 3 months if the pots are freezer-safe. Leave a little expansion space when freezing. Defrost in the fridge and reheat each 400ml portion once, stirring, until steaming hot throughout.
THE ORANGE-TOP SYSTEMTHREE POTS.
THREE POTS.
400ML EACH.
Portioning while the soup is hot makes every pot consistent and prevents one enormous bowl followed by two apologetic ones.
Cool rapidly, refrigerate within 2 hours and secure the lids once cold. Keep two in the fridge and freeze the third promptly if it will not be eaten within 2 days.
A 400ml pot is a proper lunch portion. Bread alongside remains a personal matter between you and the bread machine.
THE IMPORTANT BITS
WATER GOES LAST
The amount of chicken varies. Load the solids first and reduce the 700ml water if needed to stay below your Ninja’s MAX HOT line.
TASTE BEFORE SALT
Roast juices, skin and stock cubes are already seasoned. Salt added by optimism is difficult to remove by engineering.
DINNER’S SECOND
PROPER SHIFT.
The roast chicken supplies one final meal: rich smooth soup, almost no waste and three useful orange-top portions ready for the fridge or freezer.
ONE CARCASS PICK. ONE NINJA CYCLE. THREE LUNCHES.