Chicken Parmesan Soup
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Chicken Parmesan Soup is everything you love about classic chicken parm in a cozy, filling soup. Topped with crispy croutons and cheese!
There is nothing better than a delicious chicken parm dinner, which is why we have created lighter versions of traditional chicken parmesan and turned it into a one pot chicken parm pasta too!
This easy chicken Parmesan soup is no different. This soup is filled with tender chicken and veggies in a rich tomato broth that cooks together with fusilli pasta and topped with mozzarella cheese and crunchy homemade croutons!
Liz’s Tips for the Best Chicken Parm Pasta
- Make your own croutons– I promise it’s worth the extra step. Use leftover bread to make the most delicious homemade croutons to top soups and salads!
- Use freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top – it’s much tastier than the pre-shredded kind.
Ingredients:
substitutions
Olive Oil: You could use avocado oil, but we really recommend extra virgin olive oil
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders, but we like the texture of the chicken breasts the best. We have not tried this with cubed pork tenderloin or pork chops, but that may also work. You may also be able to use rotisserie chicken; add it at the end of the cooking time.
Tomato Sauce: We like to use low sodium tomato sauce for this recipe. Crushed tomatoes can work in place of tomato sauce if needed, it might just be a bit thicker.
Spices: The dried basil, oregano, and parsley add flavor to this soup and mesh well with the chicken parm flavors. Fresh basil, oregano, and parsley can be used if needed.
Veggies: Our typical soup base of celery, onions, carrots, and garlic adds great flavors and texture to this soup. Leeks would also be a great addition, and if you’re looking to double up on veggies, add a cup of chopped spinach!
Broth: Any broth or stock (broth and stock are the same) can be used in any soup recipe. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Pasta: Rotini pasta is our favorite for this recipe, but we also love bowties, penne, and rigatoni. We have not tried gluten-free pasta, but it should work ok in this recipe.
Cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella give this dish a true chicken parm taste. Asiago cheese can be another option for the parm.
Homemade Croutons: We love making easy homemade croutons, but store bought croutons will work just fine if you don’t want to take a few minutes to make them.
How to Make Chicken Parm Soup
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add the chicken and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the celery, onions, carrots, and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken broth, water, tomato sauce, cheese rind, and spices. Cover and turn to high. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook the pasta uncovered for half the package time, then remove from heat, let sit for 5 minutes, discard the bay leaf and cheese rind, and serve warm, topped with cheese and croutons.
What to Serve with this Recipe:
This recipe is a full meal filled with protein, veggies, and carbs, but here are a few other great options for serving alongside it: Spinach Strawberry Salad, Spinach Blueberry Salad, or our favorite Italian Chopped Salad.
Try this Healthy Peach Crisp and Apple Crisp for a simple dessert after dinner!
storage
Storing: We recommend storing this in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing this soup unless you cook the pasta on the side. The pasta will get mushy upon reheating and have an unpleasant texture.
Reheating: Reheat this in the microwave or on the stovetop.
other healthy soup recipes:
Chicken Parmesan Soup
Ingredients
For Soup:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in ¼-inch cubes
- 1 cup minced celery
- 1 cup minced onion
- 1 cup quartered carrots
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 quart low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 Parmesan rind
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups dry rotini pasta about 6 oz
For Serving:
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups homemade croutons
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken to the pot and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the celery, onions, carrots, and garlic to the pot. Stir together and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, water, tomato sauce, cheese rind, bay leaf, basil, oregano, parsley, black pepper, and red pepper to the pot. Stir together. Cover the pot and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil. It will take about 10 minutes to come to a boil.
- Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and add the pasta. Cook uncovered for half the amount of time the pasta box recommends.
- Once the pasta has cooked, remove the pot from the heat and let it sit uncovered for 5 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf and cheese rind before serving.
- Serve warm, topped with cheeses and croutons.
Where do you get the parmesan rind from? I can’t find it at any of my grocery stores.
I usually buy them at Whole Foods. they’re right in the cheese section. You can ask the deli counter 🙂