Description
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup is a comforting and flavorful dish featuring tender chicken thighs, parmesan-enriched broth, fresh spinach, and sun dried tomatoes. This soup combines the richness of cream with nutritious greens and small pasta shells to create a delicious one-pot meal that's perfect for any day.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 500 g chicken thighs, skinless boneless
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Soup Base
- 30 g unsalted butter (2 tbsp)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large celery stems, finely sliced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (chardonnay), optional
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock/broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 250 g small pasta shells (or other small pasta)
- 1 cup parmesan, finely grated
- 1 cup thickened/heavy cream
- 2 packed cups baby spinach, chopped
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomato strips, chopped into 1 cm pieces plus a bit of oil for drizzling
Soup Thickener
- 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water
Instructions
- Cook chicken: Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once foamy, add chicken and cook the first side for 3 minutes until golden, then cook the other side for 2 minutes. The inside may still be raw; this is fine as it will cook later. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Prepare soup base: Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic, onion, and celery to the same pot and cook for 3 minutes until the onion softens.
- Deglaze the pot: Turn heat to high, add wine, and stir. Let it simmer until reduced by half.
- Add broth and pasta: Pour in chicken stock, water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then add pasta. Cook according to pasta package directions (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Finish cooking chicken: While pasta cooks, chop the partially cooked chicken into 1.5 cm pieces and add into the pot to finish cooking with the pasta.
- Finish the soup: Once pasta is cooked, reduce heat to low. Stir in parmesan until melted. Add cornflour slurry, cream, and chopped spinach. Stir for a minute until spinach wilts and soup thickens slightly.
- Serve: Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with chopped sun dried tomato strips and a drizzle of oil. Enjoy immediately.
- Store: For leftovers, separate the pasta and chicken from the broth to prevent sogginess. Refrigerate both separately and reheat by scooping pasta and chicken with a slotted spoon.
Notes
- If using chicken breast, split each breast horizontally to form thin steaks before cooking.
- Wine adds extra flavor; omit or substitute with more chicken stock or non-alcoholic white wine if preferred.
- Other small pastas like ditalini, small macaroni, or orzo can be used; adjust cooking time as needed.
- For gluten-free pasta, increase cornflour slightly to help thicken the soup.
- Potato or rice can be substituted for pasta with adjusted cooking time and more thickener.
- Use sandy-type parmesan from the refrigerator aisle for best melting.
- Substitute cream with 1 1/2 cups full-fat milk and reduce water by 1/2 cup for a lighter version.
- Sun dried tomatoes provide a flavorful finish and attractive red oil drizzle.
- To store, keep pasta and chicken separate from broth to avoid sogginess and freeze if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (approx. 350 ml)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
