Tuscan Chicken Soup
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Tuscan chicken soup is loaded with delicious veggies, filling chicken and beans, and a flavorful stock that will keep you full all day!
We love putting together hearty, flavorful soups that have a great balance of nutrition so you won’t be hungry afterward! This easy Tuscan chicken soup recipe uses chicken breasts, carrots, celery, sun dried tomatoes, and cannellini beans as the base and is so easy to prepare.
Easily make this gluten-free by swapping out the orzo for gluten-free pasta of your choice and dairy-free by omitting the parmesan cheese rind!
Liz & Tyler’s Tips for the Best Tuscan Chicken Soup
- Homemade bone broth is so easy to prepare and really makes for the best soups. Save your leftover beef bones and chicken bones and make the most delicious homemade stock!
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. Bone in chicken breasts will work great, but may take longer to cook. We recommend extending the cook time by 15 minutes if using bone in chicken breasts. If you want to use a rotisserie chicken, add it at the end when the recipe says to add back in the shredded chicken.
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.
Vegetables: The veggie base to this soup includes onion, celery, garlic, and frozen spinach. Feel free to omit any of the above and substitute leeks, fresh spinach, kale, and carrots, too.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: The sun dried tomatoes really add depth of flavor, and they’re hard to replace. Try using 2 tablespoons of tomato paste if you can’t locate sun dried tomatoes.
Beans: Cannellini beans are our favorite beans to use in this recipe, but garbanzo beans can be used instead.
Pasta: Orzo pasta is our go to for this soup, but ditalini, small bow ties, and many other shapes will work great! We have not tested with gluten-free pasta, but if needed, we recommend cooking the pasta on the side.
Cheese: The Parmesan cheese rind adds a lot of flavor, but if you are dairy-free or can’t find cheese rinds, you can omit them!
Spices: Oregano, parsley, and thyme are great Tuscan flavors that bring this soup to life. Sage and basil can be used as well if needed.
How to Make Tuscan Chicken Soup
- Sauté the onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken, broth, sun dried tomatoes, herbs, spices, and Parmesan rind. Cover and bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 min, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat back to medium-high.
- Remove the chicken breasts, shred, and set aside. Discard the bay leaves and Parmesan rind.
- Stir the orzo, cannellini beans and spinach to the soup. Cook for half the recommended cook time on the package. Add back in the chicken and remove from the heat.
What to Serve with Tuscan Chicken Soup
This easy Tuscan chicken orzo soup has all the veggies, protein, and healthy fats you need, but if you’re looking for some other options, then try these great salads to pair with the soup! Spinach Strawberry Salad, Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, Kale Quinoa Salad.
storage
Storing in the fridge: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezer: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months, but we recommend cooking the pasta on the side so you don’t have mushy pasta upon reheating. We like these containers for freezing.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove.
Tuscan Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup finely chopped celery
- 1 tablespoons minced garlic about 6 cloves
- 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 quarts low sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 parmesan cheese rind optional
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 2 cups chopped frozen spinach
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, celery, and garlic for 5 minutes.
- Once the vegetables have cooked, add the chicken breasts, chicken broth, sun dried tomatoes, black pepper, dried parsley, dried thyme, dried oregano, salt, bay leaves, and Parmesan rind.
- Stir together.
- Cover the pot and bring to a boil. It should take about 10 minutes to come to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the soup has cooked for 15 minutes, turn the heat back to medium-high.
- Remove the chicken breasts and set aside.
- Remove the bay leaves and Parmesan rind.
- Add the orzo, cannellini beans and spinach to the pot. Stir together. Cook for half the recommended cook time on the package.
- While the orzo cooks, use 2 forks to shred the chicken breasts.
- Once the orzo has cooked for half the recommended cook time, add the shredded chicken to the pot and remove the soup from the heat. The pasta will continue to cook as the soup cools.
- Tip: If you prefer a firmer pasta, you can cook your pasta in a separate pot and add directly to your bowl when you’re ready to eat.
- Top with extra parmesan cheese, serve and enjoy!
This recipe is delicious and was super easy!! I made it on a Sunday and have been eating it for lunches since. Yay for starting the New Year off with a healthy meal prep!
This looks DELICIOUS! Can’t wait to try it. Do you think this could be made in the insta pot? If so, how would you recommend doing it?
You can make it in the instant pot. Check out this recipe for Lemon Chicken Soup – there are instant pot instructions there that you can roughly follow. definitely cook the pasta separately, but about 12 minutes at sealing should be good 🙂