Serve up this delicious, creamy soup with a side salad or crusty bread for a hearty, warming meal!
Ingredients: • 1 lb. chicken thighs, skinless boneless (Note 1 for breast) • 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper Soup: • 2 tbsp unsalted butter • 1 onion, finely chopped • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 2 large celery stems, finely sliced (can substitute 2 carrots) • 1/2 cup chardonnay or other dry white wine, optional (Note 2) • 4 cups chicken stock/broth, low sodium • 3 cups water • 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt • 1/2 tsp black pepper • 8 oz small pasta shells (or other small pasta, rice, potato etc. – see Note 3) • 1 cup (tightly packed) parmesan, finely grated or store bought pre-grated (sandy type) (Note 4) • 1 cup thickened/heavy cream (Note 5 for milk substitution) • 2 packed cups baby spinach or chopped kale • 1/2 cup sun dried tomato strips, chopped into 1cm pieces, plus bit of oil for drizzling Soup Thickener: 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water |
Instructions:
1. Prepare chicken – Sprinkle each side with the salt and pepper. Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Once foamy, place the chicken in and cook the first side for 3 minutes or until light golden, then the other side for 2 minutes – it's fine if the inside is still raw, it cooks more later. Remove onto a plate.
2. Soup flavor base – Turn the stove down to medium low. Add garlic, onion and celery into the same pot then cook for 3 minutes or until the onion is softened.
3. Deglaze – Turn up to high, add wine, stir, then let it simmer until the wine reduces by half.
4. Broth & pasta – Add stock/broth, water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil then add the pasta. Cook for the time per the pasta packet directions (about 10 minutes), stirring every now and then so the pasta doesn't stick to the base of the pot.
5. Add chicken partway – While the pasta is cooking, chop the chicken into ½ inch pieces then add into the pot to finish cooking.
6. Finish soup – Once the pasta is cooked, turn heat down to low. Stir in parmesan until melted. Stir in the cornstarch-water mixture, cream, and spinach. Stir for a minute until spinach is wilted and soup thickens slightly.
7. Serve – Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with sun dried tomato strips (and a bit of oil looks nice for finishing). Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
1. Chicken – If using breast, split each in half horizontally to form 2 thin steaks. Then cook per recipe.
2. Wine – Adds extra depth of flavor but if you want to omit, there’s enough flavor using 50/50 chicken stock/water.
3. Pasta – Other small pasta like ditalini, small macaroni, orzo can be used in the recipe as written, cook per packet time. Break long strand pasta into a manageable size. Gluten free pasta – Make recipe as written but may want to increase the cornstarch slightly to thicken the soup a little because the recipe relies on the starch in gluten pasta to help thicken the soup slightly. Potato – cube, and reduce soup cook time (1.5 cm / 0.6″ cubes cook in around 7 min). You might want to increase cornstarch to thicken soup. Rice – White rice, use recipe as written, but in place of pasta add 1 cup uncooked rice.
4. Parmesan – Store bought sandy-type parmesan melts fine in this soup.
5. Cream gives the soup a lovely creamy mouthfeel finish as well as making the soup white. If using milk instead, reduce water by 1/2 cup and use 1 1/2 cups full-fat milk.
Source: “Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup”. Recipe. www.recipetineats.com. N.p. 30 July 2023. Web. 20 Feb. 2024.
Here are a few items for the kitchen that may help with this amazing recipe:
Measuring utensils, large pot, knife set
Products you buy through our links may earn us a commission which allows us to bring you more great travel content and giveaways.