Description
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup is a rich and comforting soup featuring tender chicken thighs, small pasta shells, baby spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes in a flavorful broth enhanced with garlic, onion, and Parmesan cheese, finished with heavy cream for a luscious texture.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 500 g/1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs (or chicken breast, halved horizontally into thin steaks)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Soup Base
- 30 g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large celery stems, finely sliced (or substitute 2 carrots)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (Chardonnay or other), optional
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock/broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 250 g / 8 oz small pasta shells (or other small pasta, rice, or potato cubed)
- 1 cup tightly packed finely grated Parmesan cheese (sandy type)
- 1 cup thickened/heavy cream (substitute with 1 1/2 cups full-fat milk if desired)
- 2 packed cups baby spinach (or chopped kale)
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomato strips, chopped into 1 cm pieces plus some oil for drizzling
Soup Thickener
- 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water
Instructions
- Cook chicken: Sprinkle chicken thighs evenly with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. When foamy, place chicken in and cook first side for 3 minutes until light golden, then flip and cook other side for 2 minutes. The inside may still be raw, which will continue cooking later. Remove chicken to a plate.
- Prepare soup base: Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic, onion, and celery to the same pot and sauté for about 3 minutes or until the onions soften.
- Deglaze pot: Increase heat to high, add the white wine, stir well, and let it simmer until the wine reduces by half to concentrate flavors.
- Add broth and pasta: Pour in chicken stock, water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions (~10 minutes), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Add chicken to soup: While pasta cooks, cut chicken into 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) pieces and add back into the pot to finish cooking with the pasta.
- Finish the soup: When pasta is cooked, reduce heat to low. Stir in grated Parmesan cheese until melted. Add the cornflour slurry, cream, and baby spinach. Stir for about 1 minute until spinach is wilted and soup thickens slightly.
- Serve: Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with sun-dried tomato strips and a drizzle of their oil for vibrant flavor and color. Enjoy immediately.
- Store leftovers: To prevent pasta from becoming mushy, separate pasta and chicken from the broth using a slotted spoon and refrigerate both separately. Reheat gently before serving. Soup and solids can also be frozen if stored separately.
Notes
- If using chicken breast, slice each breast horizontally to create thin steaks for quicker cooking.
- White wine adds depth; omit or substitute with extra chicken stock for non-alcoholic version.
- Small pasta like ditalini, small macaroni, or orzo can be used; cook per package instructions.
- For gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta and increase cornflour slightly to aid thickening.
- Potato cubes can substitute pasta; reduce cooking time to about 7 minutes and increase cornflour slurry for thickness.
- Milk can replace cream (reduce water by 1/2 cup, use 1 1/2 cups full-fat milk), which lowers calories but changes color and mouthfeel.
- Store-bought sandy-type Parmesan works best; avoid pre-packaged non-cheese grated products.
- Sun-dried tomatoes add a bright punch and attractive finishing touch to this Tuscan-inspired soup.
- Store pasta and broth separately to avoid pasta sogginess on reheating. For make-ahead, finish soup to step 5, strain pasta and chicken, and thicken broth and add greens. Cool and store separately.
- Shaving cream for milk saves approximately 140 calories per serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (approx. 300 ml)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 450 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
