Chicken Pastina Soup is the ultimate comfort food. Loaded with anti-inflammatory turmeric and tons of veggies! Easy to make and delicious. This post is sponsored by our friends at Thrive Market.
Whether you’re feeling under the weather, or just need a cozy dinner – this Chicken Pastina Soup is for you! It’s packed with veggies, protein, and pasta making it the perfect meal.
This pastina soup has a rich turmeric infused broth that will warm you up on even the coldest of days. We’ve shared over 70 healthy soup recipes, but this might just be our favorite!
If you aren’t feeling well, check out these other Meals to Eat When Sick!
why we love this Chicken Soup recipe
There is a lot to love about this Chicken Pastina Soup recipe. It’s one of our favorite healthy dinners because it’s:
- Veggie Loaded: A colorful array of chopped celery, onions, garlic, and carrots not only add a burst of flavor but also contribute to the soup’s nutritional powerhouse. They ensure you’re getting a generous dose of vitamins and minerals in every spoonful!
- Perfect Sick Day Soup: For those dreaded sick days, this soup is perfect! Its rich turmeric-infused broth acts as a soothing elixir, offering warmth and comfort. The aromatic blend of herbs and spices provides not just a delicious taste but also a therapeutic touch, making it the perfect companion to ease aches and sniffles, and soothe a sore throat.
- Easy to Make: This isn’t a complex recipe that requires complicated steps; it’s designed to be effortlessly made on the stovetop, crockpot, or Instant Pot, even on the busiest of days. With easy-to-follow instructions, pantry staples, and minimal prep, it’s a go-to option for those seeking a quick, wholesome meal without sacrificing flavor or nutrition.
Ingredients
For this turmeric chicken soup you’ll need:
- olive oil – this is my favorite oil for sautéing veggies in
- onion, garlic
- carrots, celery
- chicken breasts – you could also use chicken thighs
- chicken broth – veggie or beef broth works too
- lemon juice
- pastina- if you can’t find pastina you can use any small short grain pasta!
- spinach – chopped kale also works!
- spices
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR Lemon Turmeric Chicken Soup
This soup is SUPER easy to make substitutions. Use whatever you have on hand to make it!
Olive Oil: You can substitute olive oil with avocado oil or melted butter.
Dried Spices: You can use most spices interchangeably here. If you don’t have thyme or parsley, use more dried basil. If you have fresh turmeric, you can use 1 teaspoon of finely diced turmeric. It will make the soup have a slightly spicier taste.
Pasta: I like this soup with smaller pasta like pastina, but you can also use noodles, zoodles, or other smaller pasta like orzo or ditalini. Read our post Is Thrive Market Worth It to find out why we love their service for dried spices!
Extra Veggies: You can add cauliflower rice, more spinach, or frozen green beans for extra veggies.
Chicken: You can make this using chicken tenders or chicken thighs if you prefer. You can also use pre cooked/shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken!
Leftover Chicken: You can use pre cooked chicken! Use instant pot shredded chicken, slow cooker shredded chicken, or chicken from a rotisserie chicken or roasted chicken. Cut the cook time in half if you’re not using raw chicken. You could also try this Rotisserie Chicken Soup!
Broth: Any broth will work in this. You can use crockpot bone broth, chicken stock, vegetable stock, etc.
Vegetarian: You could substitute cooked cannelini beans for chicken in this recipe and it would be delicious. You’d also need to sub for vegetarian broth.
Add Extra Flavor: Try adding a parmesan cheese rind to your soup while it’s cooking. remove the cheese rind like you would a bay leaf before serving. It adds so much flavor!
We used this dutch oven to cook the soup!
We get tons of our pantry staples from Thrive Market! From chicken broth, to dried spices, olive oil and more.
Thrive Market is an online market place that has healthy staples at discounted prices.
If you’ve made a New Year’s Resolution to eat a little healthier, or you’re looking to save some money on your groceries – we know you’ll love Thrive Market!
Right now Thrive Market has a huge sale going on – 30% off sitewide! That means when you try it today you’ll get 30% off your first order and a free gift on top of already discounted prices!
Get 30% off your first order & a free gift when you try Thrive Market today!
How to Make
- Heat olive oil and sauté celery, onion, and garlic until fragrant and softened. Stir in carrots and spices
- Stir in chicken breasts and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to low-medium and simmer for 25 minutes. Discard bay leaf, shred chicken, and add pastina to the pot, and cook per package directions.
- Add shredded chicken, lemon juice, and spinach to the pot. Stir to combine until spinach is wilted and enjoy!
Tips for the Best Chicken Pastina Soup
- Shred your chicken in a kitchen mixer to save time. This sounds weird but it really works! In a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment (I usually throw a clean dish towel over the top of the mixer in case any chicken flies out of the sides!)
- Use a food processor. We LOVE our food processor for chopping onion, garlic, and celery. It cuts down on the cooking time by a ton!
What to Serve With Italian Chicken Soup
This anti inflammatory soup can be served as a meal on its own or enjoyed with:
- Bread! We love this sourdough bread
- Veggies, like Green Beans Almondine, Lemon Asparagus, or Garlic Brussel Sprouts
- A simple side salad, like our refreshing Greek Salad or our Apple Walnut Salad
- Chicken Tenders for extra protein
Healthy Chicken Soup Recipe FAQ
Chicken soup’s warm broth, combined with veggies and lean protein, can provide comfort and hydration, making it a soothing choice during illness and potentially helping you feel better.
Broths made from bone broth, rich in collagen and nutrients, are often considered best for reducing inflammation due to their potential anti-inflammatory properties.
How to Store Italian Soup
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing! Make sure to undercook your pasta if you’re going to freeze the soup, or you can freeze it without the pasta to avoid it getting mushy, and add the cooked pasta when serving.
If you need more freezer friendly recipes check out our Fill Your Freezer Ebook with 22 easy freezer meals!
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave on the stove top.
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
Looking for other soup recipes? Check out these 40+ Healthy Soup Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy soup cookbook.
Lemon Turmeric Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup celery chopped finely
- 1/2 cup onion chopped finely
- 1.5 tablespoons garlic minced about 5 cloves
- 3 cups carrots sliced in small circles
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 bay leaf
- 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts about 3 chicken breasts
- 8 cups chicken broth low or no salt – 2 quarts
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice off to the side
- 1/2 cup pastina dry
- 5 oz spinach chopped (optional)
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Chop all vegetables (I prefer to put the onions, garlic and celery in the food processor!)
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil in the pan and sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened (about 5-10 minutes)
- Once cooked, stir in carrots and spices (including bay leaf).
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot.
- Stir together. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer over low-medium heat for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, remove bay leaf from the pot and discard. Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Bring the soup back to a boil and add your pastina. Cook per package directions to al dente (it’s always best to undercook pasta in soup as it will always continue to cook once you shut the heat off)
- Add shredded chicken, lemon juice and spinach to the pot. Stir to combine until spinach is wilted and enjoy!
- Pro Tip: To avoid soggy pasta you can cook the pasta separately. Add cooked pasta to your bowl. Serve soup on top of the pasta. This prevents the pasta from absorbing chicken broth and getting mushy.
Crockpot Instructions
- Chop all vegetables (I prefer to put the onions, garlic and celery in the food processor!)
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil in the pan and sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened (about 5-10 minutes)
- Once cooked, transfer cooked vegetables to the crock pot base. Stir in carrots and spices (including bay leaf).
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot.
- Stir together. Cover the pot and set it to low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
- Once cooked, remove bay leaf from the pot and discard. Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- When ready to serve, bring a small pot of water to a boil and cook your pastina per package directions to al dente (it’s always best to undercook pasta for soup as it will always continue to cook/absorb broth in the soup)
- Add shredded chicken and lemon juice to the pot. Stir in cooked pastina and spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted and enjoy!
- Note: I did not test this recipe cooking the pastina in the crockpot. I think if you turned the crockpot on high and added the pastina it would cook in 20-30 minutes but I’m not sure.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Chop all vegetables (I prefer to put the onions, garlic and celery in the food processor!)
- Set your instant pot to Saute, 10 minutes. Heat olive oil in the pot and sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened (about 5-10 minutes)
- Once cooked, stir in carrots and spices (including bay leaf). Make sure to scrape up any browned bits to avoid a burn notice.
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot.
- Stir together. Cover the pot and set to Sealing, Manual Pressure, 11 minutes.
- Once cooked, quick release the pressure.
- Remove bay leaf from the pot and discard. Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- When ready to serve, bring a small pot of water to a boil and cook your pastina per package directions to al dente (it’s always best to undercook pasta for soup as it will always continue to cook/absorb broth in the soup)
- Add shredded chicken, lemon juice and spinach to the pot. Stir to combine until spinach is wilted and enjoy!
- Note: I did not test this recipe cooking the pastina in the instant. I think if you turned the Instant Pot back on Saute and added the pastina it would cook in 5-10 minutes but I’m not sure.
Tammy says
Can I use frozen spinach?
Liz Marino says
I don’t really like frozen spinach in soup, I think it has a bitter taste – but you could use it!
Trudi says
Love this healthy soup! Very filling just added a small side salad. The entire family loved it. This is my second time making it. It’s definitely a keeper.
JC says
AMAZING SOUP !!! I have made this twice in two weeks. I did add tiny diced pieces of zucchini and a bit less lemon juice. I loved this soup so much ! Thank you .
Kathy says
Delicious! a friend gave it to me when I was sick. The combination of flavors was off the charts.
ElizabethTaylor says
This recipe was so very delicious!! My husband was starting to feel bad so I made a pot of it and it was so flavorful. I highly recommend!
Mary-Ellen Miller says
So, where’s the “#” to ajust the recipe?
The Clean Eating Couple says
There’s a slider within the recipe card you can adjust the servings there!
Jessica says
Can I use frozen chicken breasts with this and just up the timing? Will it make the vegetables too mushy?
The Clean Eating Couple says
You should never cook frozen chicken breasts. It’s a food safety issue. They might not thaw and then you’d have semi-uncooked chicken.. this is not something you should do!
Charlene Parrish says
WOW, this email was just full of all sorts of interesting stuff. It was full to the brim.
As well as your soup looked DELISIOUS ! I can’t wait to try it out.
Thank you for your post. Keep them coming.
Sincerely,
Charene