Chicken Pastina Soup: A delicious Italian Chicken Noodle Soup recipe that consists of pastina noodles, veggies, and chicken stock. It's the perfect fall soup!
With the colder months upon us, I've found myself whipping up as many soup recipes as possible. I mean, what's better than a big ol' bowl of warm, comforting soup on a cold night? I would argue absolutely nothing.
One of my favorite classics here is chicken noodle soup. The problem is I always affiliate it with being super sick. Solution? Whip up some of its cousin, Italian Chicken Pastina Soup, instead.
It's such a light soup option while also being filling and delicious. It's perfect for when your pantry is getting a little bare as it involves staple ingredients, too.
Before we get to the recipe, let's cover exactly what pastina soup even is, shall we?
What is Pastina Soup?
Pastina soup is an Italian dish that means "little pasta". This refers to the pasta used as well as the entire dish itself. You can buy or purchase pastina pasta, or select another small pasta option.
Some good pasta options for this dish include:
- Orzo
- Alphabet pasta
- Ditalini
- Acini di Pepe
- Fregula
Note: If you don't have any pasta that's small, you can also break other pastas into a smaller size (such as spaghetti or fettuccini noodles).
Cooking Tools You Might Need
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- Chef's knife: A good knife is a must for chopping up lots of vegetables! If you don't have a chef's knife to count on, I highly suggest getting one.
- Large pot: A quality pot is a must for soup recipes, don't you think? You'll definitely want a good one for this recipe.
Chicken Pastina Soup Ingredients
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is best for heating the vegetables in this dish.
- Carrot: A bit of carrots chopped up nice and fine works great for this pastina soup!
- Celery: Chop up your celery nice and small for the perfect size and flavor.
- Onion: Onion flavor is a must for this dish - make sure to chop it up nice and fine.
- Garlic: Mince up some garlic for a delicious flavor in the broth.
- Chicken stock: Stock is a must for this kind of soup. You may need to add more or less depending on the type of pasta you choose to use.
- Chicken: Use 1 cup of cooked chicken, shredded or cubed.
- Salt & pepper: Just a bit of salt and pepper added for flavor.
- Pastina: You can use pastina variety or choose another small pasta instead.
- Lemon juice: Just a bit of lemon juice to balance everything out!
- Toppings: You can use toppings you like for this recipe. I used freshly grated parmesan cheese, parsley, and lemon zest.
How to Make Italian Chicken Pastina Soup
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onions; cook for 5 minutes, until tender.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute, until fragrant.
- Add the chicken, chicken stock, salt, and pepper; cook for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and cook for 15 minutes; stir often to prevent the pasta from sticking.
- Serve with toppings of choice such as parmesan, parsley, and lemon zest.
Storing Leftover Pastina Soup
Unfortunately, this chicken pastina soup recipe does not keep well as leftovers. You'll want to make just enough to eat so none goes to waste. Since the pasta is so small, it will absorb all the liquid and get very mushy and unappetizing to eat.
If you'd like to make this ahead of time, I suggest making the stock without the pasta and add that when you plan to consume this pastina soup dish.
Chicken Pastina Soup Variations
The wonderful thing about this Italian Chicken Pastina Soup, is you can make it a variety of ways. Below are some more ideas to kick this dish up a knotch!
- Extra Veggies: Try adding mushrooms, spinach or kale to make this soup extra unique.
- Egg: Add an egg to the dish and swirl as it cooks until fully cooked through.
- Shallots: Add some shallots to this dish for some added flavor along with the onion.
More Soup Recipes:
Try These Other Chicken Dishes:
Chicken Pastina Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 carrots chopped, about 1 cup
- 2 stalks celery chopped, about 1 cup
- 1 large onion chopped, about 2 cups
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 cups chicken stock low sodium
- 1 cup shredded chicken cooked
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup pastina or very small pasta
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Optional Toppings
- parmesan cheese
- parsley
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the carrots, onion and celery until tender.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute, until fragrant
- Carefully add the chicken, chicken stock, salt, and pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer for about ten minutes.
- Add the pasta and cook for 15 minutes.
- Serve with optional garnishes - such as parmesan cheese or fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
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