Sicilian Chicken Soup
Chicken soup has never been easier! Warm up with a huge bowl on a cold winter day. All from scratch with tender chunks of veggies, ditalini pasta, and shredded chicken.
This sicilian chicken soup is inspired by Carrabba’s chicken soup recipe and pairs phenomenal with crusty bread or a light veggie pasta, such as 20-Minute Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Spinach.
Carrabba’s Chicken Soup
There is no doubt that we are a HUGE soup loving family. I grew up eating soups and borscht as a kid. It was a staple in our household. Now I make soup for my own kids pretty much year round.
In the colder months, I like to make broccoli cheddar soup, chicken stew with butternut squash, and creamy chicken chili. In the warmer months, I stick to lighter soups, such as chicken orzo soup recipe. All three of my kids absolutely love soup so that gives me even more motivation to make it.
This Italian chicken soup recipe is somewhat in between. It’s inspired by Carrabba’s Mama Mandola’s Chicken Soup Recipe. Made with chunky veggies, shredded chicken, and plenty of delicious homemade broth.
The best part is that it’s a dump and go type of recipe. Basically, you load up your soup pot with all the ingredients and let your stovetop do all the work. It does not get easier than that!
Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs – you want bone-in-skin-on thighs. If you were going to splurge on anything in this recipe, splurge on good quality chicken. I like to buy organic or pasture-raised chicken whenever I can. That way you’ll get the best flavor out of the chicken.
- Veggies – onions, celery, carrots, bell pepper, and potatoes
- Canned Tomatoes – no salt diced tomatoes are what you want. If using salted tomatoes cut down on salt.
- Aromatics – dry bay leaves and fresh garlic
- Chicken Stock – I love using a combination of store chicken stock plus water to make a quick soup. Just make sure it’s low-sodium, otherwise, you’ll have to cut down on salt.
- Salt – it’s very important to season the soup well from the start since everything basically gets added in at the same time. See my detailed note in the recipe about the salt.
- Pasta – ditalini pasta is typically used in rustic Italian soups. A good substitute would be tubetti or orzo pasta.
- Parsley – fresh parsley is ideal. Don’t like parsley? Try fresh basil.
How Do You Make a Good Soup?
It all starts with chicken. Preferably high quality organic, pasture-raised, or grass-fed chicken.
I personally love to use an entire chicken for homemade broth when possible. However, when I’m in the rush, bone-in-skin-on chicken thighs are my go-to.
Chicken thighs cook quickly and the meat is always tender. So you can use them to make the broth and then shred the meat to use in soup.
The broth is always perfect with just the perfect amount of body and savory flavor.
How to Make Sicilian Chicken Soup
Step 1: In a large soup pot, at least 6-quart, combine the chicken, onions, celery, carrots, bell pepper, potatoes, tomatoes, bay leaves, garlic, stock, and water.
Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered until chicken is tender about 30 minutes.
Step 2: Remove chicken from the pot and set aside. Add pasta to the soup and continue cooking for 13-15 minutes, partially covered, until pasta is tender.
Step 3: Shred the chicken with two forks, discarding the skin and bones. Return shredded chicken to the pot. At this point, the soup will almost be done.
Step 4: Discard the bay leaves. Stir in parsley and serve.
Katya’s TIP: Love thicker chicken soup? Simply put a tablespoon of flour into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tablespoons of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer.
More Ways to Add Flavor
Add more flavor to your chicken soup by adding dried parsley, onion powder, or garlic powder. I recommend adding 1/2 to 1 full teaspoon.
Another great way to add more flavor is to add a splash of vinegar (any kind) or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
What Goes With Chicken Soup for Dinner?
The possibilities are endless when it comes to serving chicken soup. My simple go-to is always soup with some crusty sourdough garlic bread or gluten free cheese bread.
Or you can definitely make a complete meal out of the soup with some of these satisfying sides:
- Avocado Egg Salad – serve it on a crusty piece of bread.
- Avocado Caesar Salad with Cucumbers – this salad is so crisp and fresh. Feel free to add more veggies to it.
- Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries – it’s the ultimate fall/winter salad. Loaded with so many colorful fresh veggies.
- Twice Baked Spaghetti Squash – it’s so cheesy and satisfying!
- Hummus Veggie Sandwich – you can’t go wrong with a soup and sandwich combo.
Video: How to Make Sicilian Chicken Soup
More Chicken Soup Recipes
- Chicken Split Pea Soup
- Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken and Rice Soup
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
More Favorites from Little Broken
Sicilian Chicken Soup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Chicken soup has never been easier! Warm up with a huge bowl on a cold winter day. All from scratch with tender chunks of veggies, ditalini pasta, and shredded chicken. Yum!
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in-skin-on chicken thighs, 2 pounds
- 1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup
- 3 celery ribs, chopped, about 2 cups
- 3 medium carrots, chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 2 medium russet potatoes (1 pound), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt diced tomatoes
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
- 1 (32. oz) carton low-sodium chicken stock
- 4 cups water (or chicken stock)
- 1/2 cup dry ditalini pasta
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped Italian parsley
- Fresh black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, at least 6-quart, combine chicken, onions, celery, carrots, bell pepper, potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, and salt.
- Add chicken stock and water. Season to taste with black pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and easily falling off the bones. Remove chicken from the pot with a pair of tongs.
- Add pasta to the soup and continue cooking for 13-15 minutes, partially covered, until pasta is tender. Don’t forget to stir the soup couple times so the pasta does not stick.
- Meanwhile shred the chicken with two forks, discarding the skin and bones. Return shredded chicken to the pot. At this point, the soup will almost be done. Taste the veggies, especially the potatoes for doneness.
- Discard the bay leaves. Stir in parsley and serve.
Notes
- Chicken: Another option is to use chicken drumsticks. I do not recommend chicken breast for this recipe.
- Salt: I’m always hesitant to indicate the amount of salt in recipes since not all salt is created equal. But it’s really important that this soup is seasoned well. I recommend starting with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and then tasting the soup before adding the pasta. If it’s lacking salt, add a little more to taste.
- Spiciness: Carrabba’s chicken soup recipe has a spicy taste to it. If you like, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper to the soup for a spicy taste.
- Original recipe: Original recipe that I published in 2015 called for split chicken breast. However, after re-testing the recipe numerous times I found that it was lacking some flavor. Therefore the new and improved recipe is made with bone-in chicken thighs. The rest of the recipe did not change.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 260
- Sugar: 4.6 g
- Sodium: 177.3 mg
- Fat: 4.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.9 g
- Protein: 34.7 g
- Cholesterol: 103.4 mg
Absolutely delicious! It was a winner for our family.
How long can this be refrigerated for? Can I freeze leftovers as well?
Leftovers should be okay for 3-4 days. You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months. If you anticipate leftovers, its best not to add pasta into the soup but to keep it separate as the pasta will soak up a lot of the liquid when refrigerated.
We love this recipe!
Love this! I’ve made it a few times now and everyone who’s tried it loved it too.
Sometimes I have leftover veggies from making a chicken pot pie (onions, celery that already got chopped, some spare carrot and russets), so I do this next and dump them into my instant pot with the canned tomatoes and some chicken thighs (luckily had some frozen). I was a big fan of Carrabba’s chicken soup and this is such a tasty (and forgiving) recipe. Thank you for sharing!
I made this and ate it everyday ..loved it
Just a caution to beginners… Do Not taste your soup (while seasoning) until your chicken is fully cooked.
So good! my teenager said this was her favorite chicken soup. it can be tough to win over a teenager so that says a lot! 🙂
Great recipe – changed it up a bit – used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, omitted the potatoes, added extra spices, used chicken broth instead of water, used italian stewed tomatoes instead of diced and cooked the ditalini separately to add as needed. Fantastic flavor! Will definitely put this one in my soup rotation. Thank you!
Delicious! Family said it was really flavorful. A friend who is picky said it tasted amazing. Adding it to collection of soups. Thank you!
Delicious! I have made it 3 or 4 times this winter. My daughter found the recipe and her family also love it.
Easy and delicious. I substituted a rotisserie chicken and it is definitely far better than Carabba’s.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it 3 times now! I brown the chicken in a little olive oil first. Pretty much follow the rest of the recipe. We sprinkle fresh grated Parmesan on top! My family loves it!
So glad you’re enjoying this recipe! Thank you for feedback.
excellent recipe . best chicken soup
So yummy! Came out perfect!
Made this tonight and it was Easy and Delicious! The skin that was on the chicken thighs made the finished broth rich and flavorful. The thigh meat was moist and tender which I prefer to chicken breast. Thank you!🤩