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
Thank you so much for this fantastic yet easy recipe! I seasoned the chicken with a little Italian seasoning and browned it first before adding the rest of the ingredients. Instead of water I used another carton of broth. It was so good my picky vegetable hating teen gobbled it up and said this soup is the only way she will eat vegetables from now on! A win for this mama!
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe! I seasoned the chicken with a little Italian seasoning and browned it first before adding the rest of the ingredients. Instead of water I used another carton of broth. It was so good my picky vegetable hating teen gobbled it up and said this soup is the only way she will eat vegetables from now on!
The soup was very very good I made a double batch. But I checked all the vegetables by hand so I would say the prep time took me more like 30 minutes if I had used a food processor to chop everything maybe it would’ve been 10 to 15 minutes. But it was still worth it!
I made this today. Tastes wonderful. I put in too much pasta cause my honey likes a lot more, would add some more chicken broth next time or less pasta. Also need to try fresh Italian parsley. But great flavor!! Thank you
Cook the pasta separately so it doesn’t soak up the soup broth
I love this delicious soup!
Thanks for the recipe.
Can’t stop eating it, yum
So tasty!! Thank you!!
Thank you!
I omitted the corn starch and added a can of cream of chicken soup and a can of cream of celery soup. I’ve made this a few times now. The first time I thought it was bland, so I tried adding the cream soups for both flavor and as a thickening agent and it made it delicious!
There’s no corn starch in this recipe.
Here you have given me chicken soup ni recipe. I feel different which I will make at home.
Thanks for sharing great stuff.
Best Regards,
– Deepa’s Reviews
My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for the feedback.
Awesome recipe! Thanks for sharing and making it so easy to follow!
Thank you Anna!
Hi I am thinking about making this can you use a rotisserie chicken for the chicken.
No – I do not recommend rotisserie chicken. You want to use raw chicken to make the broth.
Making this soup tonight! It smells great. Is it really only half a cup of dry pasta? That doesn’t seem like a lot. Thanks!
It doesn’t seem a lot at first but normally pasta will double in size when cooked.
EXCELLENT! I did use boneless skinless chicken breast – one that I seasoned with s&p and italian seasonings then seared in the bottom of the pot in a little bit of olive oil (then deglazed the pot with a little chicken broth) (after searing i sliced the chicken so it would cook quicker – shredded after simmering in the soup after 30 mins), and one that was already cooked that i shredded into the soup. No fresh parsley so just added a couple tablespoons of dried. This will go into my regular rotation of soups – it was just delicious! and crazy for me…i had all the other ingredients on hand!
searing the chicken breast then deglazing all those rich browned bits from the bottom of the pot adds depth and flavor to the soup. I also added a heaping teaspoon of italian seasonings to the soup. AND the only chopped tomatoes i had (low sodium) included basil and garlic, which probably added to the flavor also.
That’s great to hear! Thank you Shar.
This was so delicious my husband ate two servings. I added 1 1/2 tsp. Penzey’s Tuscan Sunset Herb Blend at the same time the bay leaves went in the pot. We also grated fresh Parmesan cheese to top off our bowls. Next time I make this recipe I plan on trying Lacinato kale for additional flavor and nutrition. Thank you Katya!
Thank you! So happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Has potential but not enough seasoning to cover the amount of ingredients and fluids. Our Dinner club gave it a 3 out of 5.
Sorry that didn’t work out for you!
I think it’s really important to know that people need to go to Carrabba’s and have a bowl of this soup before making it. It’s a very peppery soup at the restaurant, I am post covid and have lost my taste and smell. I’m getting some taste back I’ve lost taste for a lot of things but the one thing is for sure as I use a lot of seasonings, a lot of fresh ones, in everything I make. Again this soup at Carrabba’s Restaurant is spicy, while I was there I asked what it was because it tasted very peppery to me and they agreed that it was. I have seen another recipes that are copycat Sicilian chicken soup they might add a few flakes of red pepper flakes, not much, but after all it is called spicy cecilian chicken soup so it has to have a punch to it. Add more pepper, I sure do. We love this soup, and I only had it for the very first time at the restaurant last July and it’s become a favorite of mine and my daughters. I’m making it as I text this message. Just getting all my vegetables diced up and I’m going to start throwing it down the stove and it’s 7:00 at night, but I can’t wait. Also I did pick up a small rotisserie chicken for this because I knew that I was going to be making it late and I wanted to get it done, but I’m a damn good cook so I know how things should taste and while I have my daughter who is my taster. Try more spice Don’t add all that cream soup stuff! That’s not what this soup is supposed to be.
I have leftover shredded chicken from a salsa chicken I made. Can I use this with this recipe? And if so when do I add the shredded chicken??
If you’re using shredded chicken, I would substitute water with additional chicken stock, otherwise, the soup will be lacking flavor. You can add the shredded chicken at the end for it to simply heat up.
I made this in the crockpot. I just cooked the noodles separately and then when done. It was delicious
That’s great! Thank you for sharing Sherry.
I made it and it was exceptionally tasty.
Delicious chicken soup…..i tried it.
Hi Katy’s:
Do you have an instant pot version of this recipe?
Hi Victoria: Unfortunately, at this time I do not have an instant pot version.
Hi Katya!
Thank you for contributing! 20 Soups, Stews, Salads (and Desserts!) You Can Make With White Beans. https://parade.com/1036178/nettiemoore/best-white-bean-recipes/ I appreciate any social shares and comments! Nettie