Description
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup is a rich and comforting dish featuring tender chicken thighs, small pasta shells, and a flavorful broth enriched with parmesan, cream, and baby spinach. Sun dried tomatoes add a vibrant punch and a beautiful finishing touch, making this soup a perfect hearty meal 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 chardonnay or other dry white wine, optional
- 4 cups chicken stock/broth, low sodium
- 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 1cm pieces, plus oil for drizzling
Soup Thickener
- 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water
Instructions
- Cook outside of chicken: Sprinkle each side of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once foamy, add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes on the first side until light golden, then 2 minutes on the other side. It’s okay if the inside is still raw as it will cook later. Remove the chicken onto a plate.
- Soup flavour base: Reduce heat to medium-low. Add minced garlic, finely chopped onion, and sliced celery to the pot. Cook for 3 minutes or until the onion softens.
- Deglaze: Turn heat to high. Pour in the white wine, stir, and let it simmer until the wine reduces by half to concentrate the flavor.
- Broth & pasta: Add chicken stock, water, salt, and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook according to package directions (approximately 10 minutes), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Add chicken partway: While pasta is cooking, chop the seared chicken into 1.5 cm pieces and add them back into the pot to finish cooking thoroughly with the pasta.
- Finish soup: When the pasta is cooked, reduce heat to low. Stir in the grated parmesan until melted. Add the cornflour slurry, cream, and chopped baby spinach. Stir for about a minute until the spinach wilts and the soup thickens slightly.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with chopped sun dried tomato strips and drizzle with a bit of the sun dried tomato oil for a nice finishing touch. Enjoy hot.
Notes
- If using chicken breast instead of thighs, split each breast horizontally to form thinner pieces for quicker cooking.
- The white wine adds extra flavor; for a non-alcoholic version, substitute with additional chicken stock to maintain depth.
- Substitute small pasta types like ditalini, small macaroni, or orzo as preferred. For gluten-free pasta, increase the cornflour slightly to help thicken the soup.
- Heavy cream gives the soup a creamy texture and bright color; substituting with milk requires reducing water and adding a bit of butter.
- Sun dried tomatoes add a distinctive punch and beautiful color, making the soup unique compared to usual garnishes like croutons.
- For storing leftovers, separate pasta and solids from broth to avoid sogginess. Store both separately in the refrigerator and reheat gently.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (approximately 350 g)
- Calories: 420 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 620 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg
