Chicken Pastina Soup
Servings: -8 servings
This one pot chicken pastina soup is loaded with vegetables, yummy chicken, and the cutest tiny pasta stars for a quick and hearty meal your whole family will devour!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped (about 3/4 cup diced)
- 1 large carrot peeled and finely chopped (about 1 cup diced)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 6-8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 1/2 cups finely diced chicken
- 1 cup uncooked star pastina pasta
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, and heat the olive oil.
- Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cook until softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
- Stir in the diced chicken and cover with a lid. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Just before serving, add the pastina and cook to al dente, about 6 to 8 minutes. If you are making the soup in advance, do not add the pastina until you are ready to serve.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and lemon juice, if using. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Notes
- This soup tends to thicken up the longer that it sits. For bests results, add the pastina to the soup and cook it just before serving. If you’ve made it ahead of time, you may wish to add additional broth to thin it out slightly.
- Chop up the vegetables very finely so that there aren’t large chunks. It has a better taste and presentation with the tiny star pasta, plus it makes it more kid-friendly too!
- You can use chopped leftover chicken breasts or a rotisserie chicken for this soup. Whatever you have on hand!
- If serving this soup to babies, use a no salt added broth to limit sodium. You can always adjust the seasoning to taste if serving to the rest of the family as well.
Nutrition
Calories: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 279mg | Potassium: 458mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1842IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 2mg
