This Chicken Minestrone Soup with Pasta will fill every portion of your soul on a cold day. It is delicious, healthy, full of flavor and a must try recipe! Plus, it only takes 15 minutes to prep!
During the Fall and Winter seasons, I cook soup almost every day. Some people may call it a problem, but it's just way too easy to throw a bunch of delicious ingredients into a pot, let it sit, and then enjoy the flavor built over time.
If you love easy soup recipes, try my Dutch Oven Chili, Chicken Tikka Masala Soup, Cheesy Bacon Potato Soup and Creamy Tortellini Soup. These are just a few of my favorites to get you started!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- It's easy to whip up, with most of the work being chopping up veggies.
- It is so healthy with a large dose of daily vegetables and it's loaded with protein.
- This soup is incredibly delicious and pairs perfectly with your basic grilled cheese sandwich.
- Ultimately, it's the best cold weather meal.
For more cozy Winter meals, check out my Chicken and Dumpling Soup and Baked Beef Short Ribs with Red Skin Mashed Potatoes.
The Ingredients:
Carrot, Onion, Celery, Zucchini, Green Beans, Kale, and Garlic- Flavorful veggies to make this Classic Minestrone Soup next level. Talk about some vitamins with this line up!
Garbanzo and Kidney Beans-Adds protein and texture to the soup.
Fire Roasted Tomatoes- For a bit of smokiness and spice to the recipe.
Ditalini Pasta- Small tube like pasta for a traditional minestrone feel.
Tomato Sauce and Chicken Stock- The base of the soup and creates a rich, saucy broth.
Chicken-Added for extra protein. I used a store bought Rotisserie chicken for a quick fix, but you can use shredded chicken breast or baked chicken thighs here as well.
Parmesan Cheese- The perfect topping for this soup and many others as well. Parmigiano Reggiano is known for its nutty taste. It's basically a dream when it comes to flavor. Go with the real cheese here and skip the powdered stuff.
Substitutions & Variations:
This recipe is so flexible, as most soup is. You can leave out any of the veggies you don't care for.
Trying to go low carb? Leave out the pasta or check out my Garden Vegetable Soup.
Meatless Monday? Leave out the chicken and substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock.
Looking for extra toppings? Whip up my soup croutons and Parsley Gremolata Sauce! Both are amazing on top of this soup, especially with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
How to Make Chicken Minestrone Soup:
Step 1: Begin by placing a dutch oven or large pot on medium heat on the stovetop. Once heated, add in the olive oil. To the pot, add zucchini, onion, celery, and carrot. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until slightly softened. Add in oregano, salt, and pepper.
Step 2: Add in the bay leaf and garlic and stir, allowing the garlic to cook for about 30 seconds.
Step 3: Pour in kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, and fire roasted tomatoes.
Step 4: Next, pour in both stocks and tomato sauce. Bring to a low boil. Stir well. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to simmer for an hour.
Step 5: Add the kale and shredded chicken. Stir and increase the stovetop heat to medium low.
Step 6: Add in pasta and stir every few minutes. Cook for 12-15 minutes until al dente. Turn off the stovetop and place dutch oven on another burner to avoid the pasta from overcooking.
Step 7: Serve and enjoy! I love topping this soup with a hearty amount of parmesan cheese.
Expert Tip:
- I highly suggest using a dutch oven for this recipe. It cooks the vegetables perfectly, and still allows for all of the contents of the minestrone soup.
- If you are going to add the pasta into the pot, it needs a little extra loving care. It's going to stick to the bottom, so you will have to stir it every minute or so. I love the flavor the soup brings to the noodles, but if you don't want to deal with this, just cook pasta on the side and add it in at serving.
- Do not leave the soup simmering on the stove if you've added the pasta. This soup is intended to eat right away. Make sure the heat is off or the ditalini will continue to cook and swell.
For more cozy soup recipes, try this Green Chili Soup, and a copycat version of Panera Bread Turkey Chili, and Panera Bistro French Onion.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes, and if you are planning on keeping the soup simmering for a while I recommend it. I cook mine in the soup because I like the flavor, but if you need to eat it later or if you like a lot of broth in the soup, do consider just cooking the pasta in another pot. The noodles soak up a lot of the broth.
Traditional minestrone doesn't have meat in it. However, it's a great way to add even more protein and texture into the soup. It's also just really yummy, but feel free to leave it out. The soup is already loaded with protein from the beans, so it is up to you!
Minestrone is typically made from veggies like carrot, celery, onion and garlic and loaded with beans, and a small type of pasta, like ditalini or elbows. It is then cooked in chicken stock to create a flavorful experience. I add a few ingredients into my recipe to make it extra delish!
I prefer Ditalini pasta for its small shape. Elbow noodles have always been ultra popular too. Stick with a small noodle, but not as tiny as something like an Orzo pasta.
Pairings with the Soup:
This soup goes great with just a slice of garlic toast or a grilled cheese. For an appetizer or salad, try my Burrata Caprese Salad.
If you want an Italian main course, check out my Italian Manicotti Recipe or Italian Sausage Gnocchi.
Storing Leftovers:
This soup makes delicious leftovers. The flavors will get even better overnight. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. Eat within three days. Heat up on the stovetop or in the microwave and enjoy!
More Soup Recipes You Will Love:
If you tried this Chicken Minestrone Soup Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Chicken Minestrone Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This Chicken Minestrone Soup with Pasta Recipe will fill every portion of your soul on a cold day. It is delicious, healthy and full of flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 zucchini, medium diced
- ½ of a small sweet yellow onion, medium diced
- 2 celery stalks, medium diced
- 1 carrot, medium diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup of roughly chopped kale with no stems, depending on how much you like kale. You can easily go spinach instead, if preferred.
- (1) 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
- (1) 14 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes
- (1) 16 ounce can of garbanzo beans, drained
- (1) 16 ounce can of kidney beans, drained
- (1) 14 ounce can of cut green beans, drained
- (2) 32 ounce containers of Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock. *If you like a lot of broth, you may want 3 containers.
- 1 rotisserie chicken or 2 cooked chicken breast, shredded into pieces
- ½ cup of Ditalini or Orzo pasta, uncooked
- ½ cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Begin by placing a dutch oven or large pot on medium heat on the stovetop. Once heated, add olive oil.
- To the pot, add zucchini, onion, celery, carrot. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until slightly softened. Add in oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Add in the bay leaf and garlic. Stir and allow garlic to cook for 30 seconds.
- Toss in kidney & garbanzo beans, green beans, and fire roasted tomatoes.
- Mix in stock and tomato sauce. Bring to a low boil. Stir well. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to simmer for an hour.
- After an hour, add the kale and shredded chicken. Stir and increase the heat to medium low.
- Add in pasta and stir every few minutes. Cook for 12-15 minutes until al dente. Turn off the stovetop and place dutch oven on another burner to avoid the pasta from overcooking.
- Serve and enjoy! I love topping this soup with a hearty amount of parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Do not leave the soup simmering on the stove, if you've added the pasta. This soup is intended to eat right away. Make sure the heat is off or the ditalini will continue to cook and swell.
- If you are going to add the pasta into the pot, it needs a little extra loving care. It's going to stick to the bottom, so you will have to stir it every minute or so. I love the flavor the soup brings to the noodles, but if you don't want to deal with this, just cook pasta on the side and add it in at serving.
- I highly suggest using a dutch oven for this recipe. It cooks the vegetables perfectly, and still allows for all of the contents of the minestrone soup.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Holly says
Delicious!