Chicken pastina soup is a classic, comforting Italian soup that's meant to soothe whatever ails you. This recipe for pastina soup combines tiny pasta and tender chicken thighs in a flavorful broth. Parmesan cheese and egg are optional to add an extra-creamy consistency.
Chicken pastina soup is comfort in a bowl. The texture is meant to be soft and easy to digest, making it the perfect soup for little kids. It's also known as "Italian penicillin soup" for adults. It's a bowl of chicken noodle soup to cure anything that ails you!
This is a family favorite on a cold day, and the perfect meal for winter months.
Everyone makes their pastina chicken soup a little bit differently. This pastina recipe makes a creamy, porridge-like soup that is ultra-flavorful and comforting. If you prefer pastina with more broth, don't worry, my recipe includes instructions for that too!
Looking for more comforting soup recipes? Try Instant Pot chicken and rice soup.
For tips on how to boil the most tender chicken thighs, refer to this tender boiled chicken thighs recipe.
Ingredients
Pastina is an Italian word that means "little pasta." There are lots of tiny pasta shapes that fall under this category. Little stars (stelline) are especially popular with kids, but you can also buy ditalini, acini de pepe, filini, corallini or anellini. This Pastina Wikipedia page has a poster that shows you all of the tiny pasta shapes you might find at the store.
Step-by-Step Instructions
The three main steps for this recipe are sautéing veggies, adding chicken and broth, then adding pasta. The entire recipe is cooked in one-pot.
Step 1: Finely chop onion, celery and carrot. Small pieces work best because they cook faster.
Step 2: Saute the onion, celery and carrot.
Step 3: Add chicken thighs. Brown on one side.
Step 4: Add chicken broth. Keep the broth at a gentle simmer with a lid for 15 minutes. If the broth is boiling too rapidly, the meat is more likely to be tough.
Step 5: Take the chicken out of the pot and shred it.
Step 6: Add your choice of tiny pasta to the pot. Simmer for 8 minutes, or until tender.
Step 6: Optional Step - Slowly add whisked egg and parmesan for extra thick and creamy pastina broth.
Step 7: Add the chicken back to the soup.
For detailed instructions and ingredient amounts, see the recipe card at the end of the post.
Recipe Tips
Soup Thickness: The consistency of pastina soup is meant to be soft and creamy, almost like porridge. This happens naturally when the pasta absorbs the broth. You can control how thick the soup is by the amount of broth you add.
Adding 4 cups of broth will make a vey thick soup and 6 cups of broth will make a looser, brothier soup that still has a rich texture.
If you want Italian pastina soup that is less thick and more like chicken soup with lots of broth, then cook the pasta in a separate pot of boiling water. Right before eating, add the cooked pasta to individual soup bowls that are filled with the chicken and broth.
FAQ
Pastina has a naturally creamy texture and rich broth because the pasta absorbs the broth as it cooks. Adding just 4 cups of broth will make a very thick, creamy soup with a porridge-like consistency.
Whisking an egg into the soup also gives it a rich, creamy consistency. You can also add grated parmesan to each bowl of soup.
Lastly, you can make creamy chicken pastina soup by adding ¼ to ½ cup of heavy cream to the finished soup for a very creamy broth.
Yes, if you prefer white meat you can use chicken breasts instead of thighs. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts generally take about 15 minutes to cook. However, chicken breasts vary in size so how long you need to simmer the chicken breasts to cook the meat fully will vary.
I recommend thawing the chicken first.
I usually make pastina with tiny star-shaped pasta. You can use any small pasta shape though, such as ditalini, acini de pepe or even alphabet pasta.
This soup will keep for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The consistency of the leftovers will get really thick as the pasta continues to absorb the broth.
📖 Recipe
Chicken Pastina Soup Recipe
This chicken pastina soup recipes combines tiny pasta and tender chicken thighs in a flavorful broth. Parmesan cheese and egg are optional to add an extra-creamy consistency.
For a very thick soup, add only 4 cups of broth. For soup with more broth in it, add 6 cups of broth.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Soup and stew
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- ⅓ cup finely chopped celery
- ⅓ cup finely chopped carrot
- 6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ⅔ cup pastina (small pasta, such as stars, ditalini or acini de pepe)
- Optional - finely grated parmesan
Optional
- 1 egg, whisked
- Chopped fresh parsley, for color
Instructions
- In a wide soup pot or Dutch oven, warm the oil/butter over medium heat.
- Saute the onion, celery and carrot until soft, about 8 minutes. Don’t rush this step - it’s important that the onion, carrot and celery are soft so that you don’t have crunchy veggies in the soup. Turn the heat down to low if necessary to keep the veggies from browning too much.
- Push the veggies to the side and add the chicken. Brown the chicken thighs on one side, about 3 minutes.
- Add the broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Use a spatula to loosen the chicken and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
- When the broth is simmering, reduce heat to medium-low (on my gas stove, I turn it all the way down to low). Cover the pot with a lid. Simmer very gently for 15 minutes. Check the water to make sure it’s gently bubbling and not rapidly boiling. Rapidly boiling the chicken will make the meat tough.
- Take the chicken out (test the temp - should be 165F or higher) and let the chicken rest on a plate or cutting board for 10 minutes before shredding. Taste the chicken and season lightly with salt if needed.
- While the chicken rests, add the pasta to the broth. Simmer for 8 minutes without a lid, until the pasta is tender and has absorbed much of the broth, giving the soup a thick consistency. This usually takes 8 minutes, but the time can vary depending on the pasta types. Stir frequently to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the pot and serve immediately. Top each bowl with parmesan if you like. Taste and add black pepper and salt as needed.
Optional thickening with an egg: Take ¼ cup of the hot broth out of the pot and very slowly whisk the hot liquid into the egg. This slowly heats the egg so it doesn’t scramble when added to the pot. Then pour the egg very, very slowly into the soup pot (no more than a tablespoon at a time) whisking the entire time. You want the egg to thicken the broth, not turn into scrambled egg. Adding an egg will make the broth richer and slightly thicker.
Notes
If you want pastina that has more broth and isn't as thick and porridge-like, then cook the pasta separately in a pot of boiling water. Serve the pasta separately and everyone can add their own cooked pasta to their bowl of broth and chicken.
If you prefer white meat you can use chicken breasts instead of thighs. Chicken breasts vary in size so it might take a little longer than 15 minutes to reach an internal temperature of 165F. Just like thighs, let the meat rest for 10 minutes or more before shredding the meat.
For a short-cut, use rotisserie chicken. You can add the cooked chicken to the pot after the pasta cooks.
Leftovers will stay fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. The consistency will get really thick as the pasta continues to absorb the broth.
Jenny Meier
My family loves the thick and creamy texture of this soup. The pasta is so flavorful when it cooks in broth. It's also fun to use tiny pasta shapes!