This chicken pastina soup is a soul-warming, homemade soup that's as delicious as any traditional chicken noodle soup! The fine pasta combines perfectly with rich broth, tender chicken, and vegetables! It's the perfect dish to make when you are craving Italian flavors or a hearty meal!
Homemade Chicken Pastina Soup
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 broth-based pastina soup is a wonderful way to hydrate when not feeling well!
Not that you need to have the sniffles or be feeling under the weather to enjoy this fantastic soup! Chicken pastina soup is certainly satisfying at any time and for any reason!
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If you love warm and comforting soups as much as I do, take a look at my collection of cozy fall soups as well as some tasty crockpot soup recipes!
🤔 What Is Chicken Pastina Soup?
Pastina soup or Brodo di Pollo con Pastina is an Italian classic comfort food, pronounced 'pas-teen'. It's made with small pasta (usually pastina), chicken broth, veggies, and seasonings. This soup is traditionally served as a comforting and nourishing meal, especially during the colder months.
Fun fact: if you loved watching Sopranos, you've heard the soup mentioned! Pastina pasta is even featured in baby food to this day (the Gerber pasta stars entrees)!
🥘 Chicken Pastina Soup Ingredients
All of the ingredients for the chicken pastina soup should be easy to find at your local grocery store. You might even have some of them in your kitchen already!
- Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
- Yellow Onion - 1 large minced yellow onion or white onion can be substituted.
- Garlic - ½ tablespoon of finely minced garlic. Garlic helps add that classic Italian flavor.
- Celery - 6 stalks of celery (rough cut). Celery is a great base for most soups, and it adds minerals and celery salt. You can also use a celery substitute.
- Carrots - 4 large carrots (rough cut). Adds sweetness, color, and another nutritious element.
- Tomatoes - 1 12-16 ounce can of tomatoes. Canned tomatoes or fresh diced Roma tomatoes
- Salt & Pepper - 1 teaspoon of each salt & pepper. To taste, I like to use sea salt and cracked pepper.
- Chicken Bone Broth - 12 cups of chicken bone broth. Store-bought or homemade, or you can use a chicken broth substitute.
- Orzo Pasta - 2 cups of uncooked orzo. Or see my varieties of small pasta to use down below.
- Chicken Breast - 3 cups of cooked skinless chicken breast diced or even leftover rotisserie chicken.
- Parmesan Cheese - 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese for some extra zing and garnish.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
Small Pasta Varieties for Pastina Soup
There's quite a number of fine pastas to use for this soup, 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.
🔪 How To Make Chicken Pastina Soup
Chicken pastina soup is an incredibly easy meal to make on any day of the week! You will need a large stock pot, measuring cups, a chef's knife, a cutting board, and a colander to begin!
One batch of this tasty soup will make around 10 servings! There's plenty for a family dinner and even some leftovers for lunch the next day.
Broth for Chicken Pastina Soup
- Prep. Remove as much meat from a cooked chicken carcass as possible to make homemade chicken stock. Place the carcass, rough-cut vegetables (onion, carrots, celery), and a bay leaf or two into a stock pot and cover with water.
- Boil & simmer. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours or more. The longer the carcass is cooked, the more concentrated flavor the broth will have.
- Strain. 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.
Chicken Pastina Soup
- Heat oil. Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once the olive oil is heated, it will begin to shimmer.
- Cook onion & garlic. Add 1 large diced onion and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the onion becomes translucent. Add ½ tablespoon garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add veggies. Add the 4 chopped carrots and 6 celery stalks. I usually include the chopped greens from the celery; they add fantastic flavor to your soup!
- Add ingredients. Cook the added vegetables for about 2 to 3 minutes, then add 1 can of diced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and add the broth and diced chicken breast meat.
- Boil & simmer. Bring the broth to a low boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add the uncooked pasta and cook per the package directions.
🥗 Sides
This soup is a filling meal on its own. However, you can make a few easy sides to go with if you'd like! Try serving a bowl alongside a wedge salad, oven garlic bread, or sour cream cornbread. Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- This is one of those versatile soups where you can add more vegetables, omit the chicken, or 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.
- Pasta cooked in the soup will continue to expand once leftovers are refrigerated. To avoid this, either cook your pasta separately and rinse it in cold water to stop the cooking process before adding it to the soup.
- You can also portion pasta directly into bowls when serving and keep pasta stored separately from the chicken soup.
- 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 to make your soup.
- While I wholeheartedly 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.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Let your chicken pastina soup completely cool down, then store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Enjoy within 3 days.
Freezing Chicken Pastina Soup
Transfer your completely cool chicken pasta soup to a freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Reheating Chicken Pastina Soup
To reheat, simply microwave or reheat in a saucepan on the stove. See my recipe notes if you plan on having leftovers to avoid "mushy" pasta.
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❓ FAQ
You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs for this dish. You could also use a whole chicken (or rotisserie-style) if you remove the skin and bones before adding the meat to the soup.
Yes! You can make this soup ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I recommend storing the pasta separately so that it doesn't expand in the fridge. This will help you avoid mushy pasta. Simply follow the reheating instructions above.
Absolutely! You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months once you let it completely cool down before transferring it to a freezer-safe container. Let it thaw out in the fridge and heat it up in the microwave or stovetop.
🍲 More Tasty Soup Recipes
- Corn Soup - A creamy and sweet, comforting dish that's simple enough for any night of the week!
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup - A one-pot meal full of tender chicken meat, flavorful vegetables, and a tasty herb-infused broth!
- Creamy Duck & Wild Rice Soup - This tasty, hearty soup features duck, wild rice, mushrooms, herbs, and veggies!
- Vegetable Beef Soup - A warm and cozy beef soup loaded with frozen mixed vegetables, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and potatoes!
- Butternut Squash Soup - Butternut squash is fire roasted in the oven and then blended with chicken stock, heavy cream, honey, and more!
- Creamy Yellow Squash Soup - An incredibly tasty appetizer or main dish that is ready to serve in 30 minutes!
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📋 Recipe
Italian Chicken Pastina Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin)
- 1 large yellow onion (minced)
- ½ tablespoon garlic (finely minced)
- 6 stalks celery (rough cut)
- 4 large carrots (rough cut)
- 1 can tomatoes (12-16 oz)
- 1 teaspoon salt & pepper (add more or less 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
- This is one of those versatile soups where you can add more vegetables, omit the chicken, or 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.
- Pasta cooked in the soup will continue to expand once leftovers are refrigerated. To avoid this, either cook your pasta separately and rinse it in cold water to stop the cooking process before adding it to the soup.
- You can also portion pasta directly into bowls when serving and keep pasta stored separately from the chicken soup.
- 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 to make your soup.
- While I wholeheartedly 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.
Nutrition
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!
Rebecca says
The soup is on the stove right now! I added basil because that’s what my grandmother used to do. Basil is my favorite herb anyway so I figured why not? I made my own bone broth out of a rotisserie chicken and this soup smells amazing! I can’t wait to eat it! Thank you for the recipe