Marry me chicken soup
45 min · 36 g protein · 395 cals / serving
The creamy sun-dried tomato and parmesan sauce from the viral chicken dish, turned into a soup: a rich, rosy tomato broth with tender chicken, little pasta and spinach. A little cream plus evaporated milk keeps it silky, and a splash of vinegar keeps it bright.
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 4 cups chicken broth, low-sodium
- 2 cups water
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, dry-packed, chopped (or oil-packed, well drained)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt, adjust to your broth
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast, whole breasts
- 1 3/4 cups small pasta, ditalini, small shells or orecchiette
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 2 packed cups baby spinach
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
To serve
- a handful fresh basil, torn
Steps
- Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 4–5 minutes, until soft.
- Stir in the garlic, thyme, oregano and pepper flakes for 30 seconds, then the tomato paste. Cook it, stirring, for 1–2 minutes, until it darkens a shade.
- Pour in the broth and water and scrape up the browned bits. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper, then lower in the chicken breasts. Simmer gently, partly covered, for 15 minutes, until the chicken reads 165°F in the thickest part. Lift it out and shred it.
- Bring the soup back to a boil, add the pasta and simmer, uncovered and stirring now and then, until tender, 8–12 minutes depending on the shape. Return the chicken.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cream, evaporated milk, parmesan, spinach and vinegar until the spinach wilts. Taste for salt.
- Serve with torn basil and a little more parmesan.
Good to know
Can I use rotisserie chicken?
Yes. Skip the poaching, simmer the broth for 10 minutes on its own, then add the pasta and 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken.
The full cream version?
Replace the evaporated milk with more cream, 1/2 cup in all, as most versions do. It is even silkier and richer, at about the same score.
Does it keep?
Up to 4 days in the fridge. The pasta soaks up broth overnight, so loosen it with a splash of water when you reheat, gently and without boiling.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 88
- Protein
- (38%)
- 8 g
- Fat
- (25%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (37%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 269 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 2370 kcal goes into the pot and 2941 g of ingredients comes out as about 2700 g of food: 88 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.