Bake It With Love

Classic Recipes, Comfort Food and Amazing Desserts!

  • Home
  • Main Dish
  • Side Dishes
  • Desserts
  • About Angela
    • FAQ
    • Contact Me
    • Work With Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • Recipes
  • Air Fryer Recipes
  • Instant Pot Recipes
  • Crock Pot Recipes
  • Collections
  • Food Info
  • Web Stories
You are here: Home / Recipes / Soups / Italian Chicken Pastina Soup

February 29, 2020 Last Modified: August 29, 2020 By Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com Leave a Comment

Italian Chicken Pastina Soup

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Yummly
  • Mix
  • Email
Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe
Super easy chicken pastina soup is a delicious classic Italian comfort food!
Super easy chicken pastina soup is a delicious classic Italian comfort food!

Homemade Italian Chicken Pastina Soup is a soul warming soup that’s as delicious and traditional as any chicken noodle soup! The fine pasta combines perfectly with the rich broth, tender chicken, and vegetables.

Italian Chicken Pastina Soup Recipe

Pastina Soup is an Italian classic comfort food, pronounced ‘pas-teen‘. Fun fact, if you loved watching Sopranos, you’ve heard the soup mentioned!

Just like the chicken soup we Americans all know and love, pastina soup is a relied upon treatment for the common cold. The healthy goodness of the broth based pastina soup is wonderful way to hydrate when not feeling well!

Pastina pasta is even featured in baby food to this day ( the Gerber pasta stars entrees )!

Not that you need to have the sniffles, or be feeling under the weather to enjoy this fantastic soup!! Chicken pastina soup is certainly delicious at any time, and for any reason!

It’s one of those versatile soups that you can add more vegetables, omit the chicken, whatever sounds good when you’re making it. I love adding fresh herbs, depending on what I have on hand. My favorite herbs for complimenting chicken are rosemary, thyme, and parsley.

Small Pasta Varieties for Pastina Soup

There’s quite a number of fine pastas to use, and I have included a large variety here: pastina ( of course! ), acini di pepe, orzo ( used here ), estrellas ( stars ), ditalina rigati and ditaloni rigati, stelline ( stars ), filini, farfalline, gramigna, gobbetti, lancette, corallini, anellini, grattini and grattoni, sorprese, treccine, quadretti, ricciutelli, risi, risoni, midoline, puntine, and tempestine.

Broth for Italian Chicken Pastina Soup

While I whole-heartedly endorse homemade chicken broth for the soup, if you are going to use store bought broth, select the best quality broth that you can find. If I am using store bought broth, I use whatever bone broth is available as it will enhance the nutritional value of this tasty soup.

To make homemade chicken stock, remove as much meat off of a cooked chicken carcass as possible. Place the carcass, rough cut vegetables ( onion, carrots, celery ), and a bay leaf or two into a stock pot and cover with water.

Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours or more. The longer the carcass is cooked, the more concentrated flavor the broth will have.

The amount of water in the stock pot will reduce as steam escapes during cooking, be sure to add enough water that you will have enough for making your soup next. Strain broth into a clean pot or a large enough bowl to hold the liquid.

How To Make Italian Chicken Pastina Soup

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the olive oil is heated, it will begin to shimmer.

Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the onion begins to become translucent. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Add the chopped carrots and celery. I usually include the chopped greens from the celery, they add fantastic flavor to your soup!

Cook the added vegetables for about 2 to 3 minutes, then add diced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and add the broth and diced chicken breast meat.

Bring the broth to a low boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add the uncooked pasta and cook per the package directions.

*Note that pasta cooked in the soup will continue to expand once leftovers are refrigerated. To avoid this, either cook your pasta separately and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process before adding to the soup. Or portion pasta directly into bowls when serving, and keep pasta stored separate from the chicken soup.

Super easy chicken pastina soup is a delicious classic Italian comfort food!
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Italian Chicken Pastina Soup

Homemade Italian Chicken Pastina Soup is a soul warming soup that's as delicious and traditional as any chicken noodle soup! The fine pasta combines perfectly with the rich broth, tender chicken, and vegetables.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time20 mins
Course: Soup, Soup Recipes
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Chicken Noodle Soup, Comfort Food, italian chicken pastina soup, Italian soups
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 255kcal
Author: Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com
Cost: 7.99

Ingredients
 

  • 1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
  • 1 large yellow onion (minced)
  • 1/2 Tbsp garlic (finely minced)
  • 6 stalks celery (rough cut)
  • 4 large carrots (rough cut)
  • 1 can tomatoes (12-16 oz)
  • 1 each tsp salt & pepper (add more, to taste)
  • 12 cups chicken bone broth (most carton containers are 32 oz = 4 cups, or follow directions below for homemade broth)
  • 2 cups uncooked orzo (any small pasta will do)
  • 3 cups chicken breast (cooked, diced)
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese (shredded)

Instructions

Homemade Chicken Stock

  • Remove as much meat off of a cooked chicken carcass as possible. Place the carcass, rough cut vegetables ( onion, carrots, celery ), and a bay leaf or two into a stock pot and cover with water.
  • Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours or more. The longer the carcass is cooked, the more concentrated flavor the broth will have.
  • The amount of water in the stock pot will reduce as steam escapes during cooking, be sure to add enough water that you will have enough for making your soup next. Strain broth into a clean pot or a large enough bowl to hold the liquid.

Italian Chicken Pastina Soup

  • Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the olive oil is heated, it will begin to shimmer.
  • Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the onion begins to become translucent. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
  • Add the chopped carrots and celery. I usually include the chopped greens from the celery, they add fantastic flavor to your soup!
  • Cook the added vegetables for about 2 to 3 minutes, then add diced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and add the broth and diced chicken breast meat.
  • Bring the broth to a low boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add the uncooked pasta and cook per the package directions.

Notes

*Note that pasta cooked in the soup will continue to expand once leftovers are refrigerated. To avoid this, either cook your pasta separately and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process before adding to the soup. Or portion pasta directly into bowls when serving, and keep pasta stored separate from the chicken soup.

Nutrition

Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 1288mg | Potassium: 662mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 5016IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 170mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you try this recipe? Rate it below!I can’t wait to see your results! Mention @bake_it_with_love or tag #bake_it_with_love!
author profile photo
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com

Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma’s kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!

bakeitwithlove.com

Filed Under: Recipes, Soups Tagged With: broth soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, fine pasta, homemade chicken broth, Italian Chicken Pastina Soup, Italian soup, orzo, pasta, pastina, pastina soup

« Hibachi Steak and Shrimp
Lobster Artichoke Dip »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe

Get My Recipe Newsletter

Air fryer frozen chicken wings with buffalo sauce coating and a side of ranch and veggies.

Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings

large square image of stacked halves of crispy, cheesy Air Fryer Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwiches.

Air Fryer Grilled Ham and Cheese

large square image of crispy air fryer frozen onion rings stacked 8 high with dip on the side.

Air Fryer Frozen Onion Rings

large square overhead image of Air Fryer Chicken Legs.

Air Fryer Chicken Legs

More Great Appetizers!

  • Food That Starts With
  • Oven Temperature Conversions
  • Substitutions

Copyright © 2016-2021 · Bake It With Love

All Rights Reserved. Please use only one photo and include original recipe page link when sharing recipes in recipe round-ups and articles. When sharing recipes, please do not share our original recipe in its entirety.

en English
ar Arabicbn Bengalizh-CN Chinese (Simplified)da Danishnl Dutchen Englishtl Filipinofr Frenchde Germanhi Hindiid Indonesianit Italianja Japanesems Malaymr Marathipt Portuguesepa Punjabiru Russianes Spanishsw Swahilisv Swedishta Tamilte Telugutr Turkishur Urdu