This chicken pastina soup recipe is so delicious and so cozy. It's a simple chicken and noodle soup recipe that is perfect for those chilly winter nights.
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This is comfy cozy in a single bowl.
Think chicken noodle soup, but better. The pastina is so itty bitty, it just makes the soup a million times better!
It’s such an easy chicken soup recipe. You will seriously wonder why you ever buy canned soup!
What kind of pasta is pastina?
Pastina literally means tiny pasta. If you buy pastina, it will typically be in a star shape. This is technically the "stelline" shape, but it'll be boxed as pastina.
What does pastina mean in Italian?
Pastina means little pasta!
What vegetables go first in a soup?
Whenever you're cooking or sauteing veggies, you want to cook them in order of hardest to softest. Think potatoes, onions, celery, or carrots going in first, then veggies like tomatoes or spinach can go in later.
You may also like: Dutch Oven Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients for this chicken pastina soup recipe
Olive Oil. I really love the extra virgin olive oil from ALDI, I think it's great quality at a very reasonable price if you are looking for suggestions.
Onion. I recommend using a sweet onion or a yellow onion for this recipe, but any onion will truly work.
Garlic. Use fresh garlic! Aside from flavor, fresh garlic has some great health benefits making this soup perfect for whenever you or someone in the family is feeling run down.
Celery. Celery is one of the key components of a typical mirepoix, which is your veggie base for soups, stews, and more.
Carrots. I prefer to use regular carrots, but we had baby carrots on their last leg in the fridge. So, you can use whatever carrots you have, prefer to buy, or that are on sale.
Chicken Broth. This recipe calls for more chicken broth than normal because the pastina cooks in the soup, so you want to make sure you have enough broth to keep the soup consistency but also cook the pastina.
Chicken. I roasted and shredded chicken, but if you want to buy rotisserie chicken that also works, too! It avoids having to deal with raw chicken and rotisserie chicken is so delicious
Pastina. You can't have pastina soup without pastina!
Salt & Pepper, to taste. Everyone has their own preferences, so I always leave the salt and pepper to the end as a last-minute flavor adjustment.
Is orzo the same as pastina?
Orzo is technically boxed and labeled as "orzo," but it is considered a type of pastina!
How to make the best chicken soup with pastina
- In a large dutch oven, sautee your olive oil, onion, garlic, celery and carrots until onions are translucent. With the lid on, this should only take about 10 minutes.
- Add in your 10 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Add in your pastina and cook for 6 minutes.
- Add in your chicken and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tips for preparing chicken for soup
- Cook the chicken separately. I prefer doing this because you can season the chicken and ensure that is super flavorful going into the soup.
- Brown the chicken. Browning the chicken before adding it to your soup gives it that extra
- Don't worry if it's not fully cooked. You will cook the chicken in the soup, so if it's 80% - 90% cooked before adding it, it will finish cooking in the broth.
Best way to store and reheat pastina soup
Pastina, since it is so tiny, can become overcooked VERY easily. If you are not going to eat this soup within the next 2 days, I recommend storing the broth and pasta/veggie/chicken separately. That way, you can reheat the broth and then add the contents of the soup at the last minute to avoid the pastina turning to mush.
I do, however, recommend Ello food storage containers. They are my absolute favorite!
Pin it for later!
Want some more easy soup recipes?
Chicken Pastina Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion
- 4-6 cloves garlic
- 3 stalks celery
- 3 large carrots or 2 cups of diced baby carrots
- 10 cups chicken broth
- 1 lb chicken cooked and shredded
- 12 oz. pastina
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
How to cook your chicken
- Preheat your oven to 375F
- Season your chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Cook for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through to 165F.
- Shred the chicken using a mixer or 2 forks.
How to make the soup
- In a large dutch oven, sautee your olive oil, onion, garlic, celery and carrots until onions are translucent. With the lid on, this should only take about 10 minutes.
- Add in your 10 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Add in your pastina and cook for 6 minutes.
- Add in your chicken and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
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