Carrabba’s Copycat Chicken Soup Recipe
This Sicilian chicken soup is inspired by Carrabba’s chicken soup recipe. It’s the kind of soup that feels like a hug in a bowl, perfect for chilly nights or when you need a little comfort food. Made all in one-pot with chicken thighs, veggies, and ditalini pasta.
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The Best Chicken Soup Recipe
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!
Carrabba’s Shredded Chicken Soup Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs: Bone-in, skin-on thighs give the soup the best flavor. I prefer organic or pasture-raised chicken when possible.
- Diced Tomatoes: Use no-salt-added diced tomatoes so you can control the seasoning. If using regular diced tomatoes, reduce the added salt as needed.
- Chicken Stock: Use low-sodium chicken stock since it gives you more control over the saltiness of the soup.
- Pasta: Ditalini works best for this rustic Italian soup; tubetti or orzo are good substitutes.
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, combine the chicken, onions, celery, carrots, bell pepper, potatoes, tomatoes, bay leaves, garlic, stock, and water. 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 and return to the pot. At this point, the soup will almost be done.
Step 4: Discard the bay leaves. Stir in parsley and serve.
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.
Sides for this Chicken Soup Recipe
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.
Watch: How to Make Italian Chicken Soup
More Chicken Soup Recipes
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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
-
Storing Leftovers: Refrigerate soup in an airtight container for 4-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, store the pasta separately so it doesn’t absorb the broth and become mushy. Thaw frozen soup overnight in the refrigerator, reheat, and add freshly cooked pasta before serving.
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
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Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
This was a delicious soup! But, I would change a few things: don’t add potatoes. The cook time required for this soup renders potatoes that are almost mush. Instead, replace potatoes with another 1/4 cup of ditalini. As well, the vegetables were very soft, so I would prep the chicken in the chicken stock first, saute vegetables in a separate pan, then add the cooked shredded chicken and vegetables to the chicken stock, then add the ditalini. The surprise for me was added diced tomatoes, which gave it a very nice flavor!
I worked at Carrabba’s for many years and the Sicilian Chicken soup was one of my favorites! I always crave it in cold weather or when I’m sick. This copycat recipe is pretty close and really tasty!!! I didnt deviate from your recipe too much – just in the steps. I sautéed the mirepoix in olive oil and butter for 5 min, added the garlic and some Italian seasoning sautéed another minute then added the rest of the ingredients. I used chicken broth and instead of water used bone broth. I didn’t have fresh parsley so I’ll add that next time!
this is perfect on a cold January day
This soup is fabulous! I use my veggies from my garden when I make it in the fall- this time I only had carrots out there, but it is sooo full of flavor! I absolutely love it, as does my husband. Thanks sooo much for sharing!
I feel like this is a good base recipe, but taste, taste, taste. I’ve made this twice, once pretty close to written (while tasting salt as I go) and once with additional ingredients.
I recommend quickly sautéing the mirepoix with the seasonings (I added Italian, dried parsley, some garlic powder) and then adding your garlic for about a minute until fragrant. Then add homemade broth. (I did my broth separately with bay leaves, garlic cloves, a quarter onion, and chicken with salt and pepper added) the addition of the lemon works SO WELL with this soup, and to give it that kick I used Aleppo pepper which pairs perfectly. You can truly go so many directions with this base soup.
i love soup so I expanded my pallet, this recipe is the kind that’d make my grandma proud if she could have sodium.
Thank you! Just what I need it for this flu. I make it without the potatoes cuz i didn’t have any, but still delicious
This was a very good recipe and I will definitely make it again ! It’s a nice alternative to traditional chicken soup !
Made this for the first time tonight. Added in some extra pasta, did 3 cans of chicken broth, 2 tablespoons of parsley, & sprinkled in some Italian seasoning. My family loved it — even the 18 month old approved. Will be adding this to our recipe book.
I have made this soup multiple times now and its a winner with the family. Quick, easy and tastes great 🙂
Wouldn’t it be very greasy do to the fat from the skin???
Hi Jane: Not at all. Skin and bones give off great flavor. Hope you give this recipe a try.
I just keep making this soup over and over again all year long. Have shared the recipe with family and friends.
The flavors are well thought out and the prep and cooking easy to follow.
I only leave out the potato as I prefer to have just one carb in it so add just the Dilatini.
Yummmmmm!
Hi! What is there serving size for the nutrition content? A cup? Thank you!
Hi, it’s about 2 cups based on serving of 8.
living in the north east , every time I see crazy cold weather coming our way, I just want to cook a good comfort soup, and this soup recipe hit the spot, easy, delicious and easy to store ,