Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Main Ingredients
01 -
600–720 millilitres fresh spinach, loosely packed
02 -
50–100 grams grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
03 -
240 millilitres heavy whipping cream
04 -
170 grams Italian small pasta shells
05 -
1.5 litres chicken broth, plus more if you want
06 -
2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
07 -
32 grams plain flour
08 -
3 garlic cloves, minced
09 -
35 grams sundried tomatoes, chopped
10 -
80 grams onions, diced
11 -
80 grams celery, diced
12 -
80 grams carrots, diced
13 -
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, as much as you like
14 -
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, split
15 -
680 grams boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 2.5 cm chunks
16 -
1 teaspoon olive oil
# Instructions:
01 -
Last thing—taste it! If it needs salty or spicy, just toss it in before you serve.
02 -
Pop off the lid. Dump in the cream, spinach, and Parmesan. Walk away for 5 minutes while it simmers, and you'll see the spinach go soft and the whole thing turns richer.
03 -
Let the mix boil hard, then pasta shells and the rest of your Italian herbs go in. Salt and pepper, too, if you want. Lid on, heat way down, then chill for 20 minutes so the chicken gets soft and the pasta's got a bit of bite.
04 -
Slowly pour in chicken broth. Give the bottom a good scrape so nothing sticks or clumps up.
05 -
Shake some flour over your veggies and stir it in good. Want more tang or depth? Stir in tomato paste until it’s all blended together.
06 -
Now, toss in onions, carrots, celery, sundried tomatoes, and garlic into that same pot. Keep stirring until you smell them and they turn see-through, like 3 or 4 minutes.
07 -
Pour in olive oil and get it hot on medium-high in a big Dutch oven. Chicken chunks, a big sprinkle of Italian seasoning, salt, and plenty of black pepper go in. Flip them around until every side gets a bit brown—should take about 4 or 5 minutes.
# Notes:
01 -
Want it thicker? Stick to 1.5 litres broth. Like things lighter? Splash in a bit more.
02 -
Tomato paste perks up the color and adds some tang, but no worries if you leave it out—you’ll get a super creamy base instead.
03 -
If you want perfect pasta even after reheating, cook it by itself and mix it in just before eating.
04 -
Half-and-half, regular milk, or even coconut milk swaps for the cream just fine—just know it won’t be as thick.
05 -
Soup seems too heavy after sitting? Add more broth or water when heating up leftovers.
06 -
Flour helps make things creamy. If you skip it or try cream cheese, your broth will turn out a bit different.
07 -
Grab a shop-roasted chicken for speed—just warm it up at the end so it doesn't dry out.
08 -
Doing this in a slow cooker? Skip the pasta, cream, spinach, and cheese until the end. Everything else can go in, then set to Low for 8 hours or crank to High for 4 hours. Leave pasta separate and add dairy and greens right at serving.