This Chicken Minestrone Soup is an easy, wholesome meal for a busy day. Vibrant vegetables, rotisserie chicken, and elbow pasta make it a simple but hearty meal in itself.
More quick, delicious soup recipes with rotisserie chicken include my Creamy Southwest Chicken Soup and Chicken Vegetable Tortellini Soup.
This yummy Chicken Minestrone Soup recipe has it all!
It’s loaded with fresh veggies and pasta like you’d expect from any good minestrone recipe. But, the simple step of adding rotisserie chicken makes this soup substantial enough to satisfy my whole gang here.
It’s cold, rainy, and we’re all still recovering from the over the top indulgence of holiday food. This is THE perfect time for a bowl of this wholesome minestrone soup with chicken.
Table of contents
This is not the first time I’ve bulked up a soup recipe with protein. My Slow Cooker Hamburger Minestrone recipe is another tricky way I can make soup for dinner without zero complaints from anyone.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Oil – I use a neutral oil like vegetable or canola oil. You can use olive oil, if you’d like.
- Vegetables – Onion, baby carrots, zucchini, celery, and garlic. Chopped fresh green beans are also really good in this soup.
- Broth – Low sodium chicken broth. I always mix up my own with Better Than Bouillon.
- Beans – Canned kidney beans and pinto beans. Sometimes I’ll substitute cannellini beans for the pinto beans if I have them on hand.
- Tomatoes – I like to use a can of Italian style crushed tomatoes for more flavor.
- Dried seasoning – Basil, oregano, Lawry’s Seasoned Salt (or your favorite all-purpose seasoning).
- Pasta – For a classic minestrone vibe, I like to use small elbow macaroni but ditalini pasta is also a great choice.
- Cooked chicken – Either shredded or chopped rotisserie chicken breast. You can also use leftover holiday turkey or even cooked ground turkey or beef. Choose a protein it to suit your taste!
- Optional for garnish – Fresh parsley and shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese.
How to Make Chicken Minestrone Soup
Before beginning, boil the pasta in a separate pot according to the package directions. The pasta should be cooking when you start the soup.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrot, celery and zucchini just until slightly softened. Add the garlic and cook for a couple minutes more.
- Add most of the chicken broth, reserving the remaining broth for later. Stir in the beans, crushed tomatoes, and dried seasonings and bring the soup to a boil.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta and reduce the heat to low and add the chicken.
- Add as much of remaining chicken broth as needed for the desired consistency. Simmer for a couple of minutes then remove from heat.
Garnish the soup with a little fresh parsley for more color and a little bit of a fresh, herby flavor. I like to set out shaved Parmesan for everyone to add to their bowl of soup.
Storage and Reheating Tips
Refrigerator – Once the soup has cooled, transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate. Leftovers should be consumed within three to four days. For longer storage, see the freezer instructions below.
Freezer – Spoon the cooled minestrone soup into freezer-safe plastic storage bags. Remove as much air as possible, seal the bags, and label them with the contents and date. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in your freezer until frozen solid. Once frozen, they can be stacked to save space.
Reheating – Soups that contain pasta will thicken when refrigerated. Add additional chicken broth or a splash of water when reheating to thin the broth.
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Chicken Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil, vegetable, canola, or olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion,
- 1 cup chopped baby carrots,
- 2 zucchini, chopped
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 14 ounces canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 14 ounces canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 28 ounces canned Italian style crushed tomatoes in puree
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt, (or other all-purpose seasoning)
- 1 cup cooked elbow macaroni, ½ cup uncooked prepared according to package directions
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken, diced or shredded (see notes below for more ideas)
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in Dutch oven or soup pot over MEDIUM heat and sauté the onion, carrot, celery and zucchini for 5 to 10 minutes, just until slightly softened. Add the garlic and cook a couple minutes more.
- Add 4 cups of the chicken broth and reserve the remaining broth for later. Add the beans, crushed tomatoes, and dried seasonings. Increase the heat as needed to bring the soup to a boil.
- Stir in the cooked macaroni and reduce heat to LOW. Add the chicken and as much of remaining chicken broth as needed for the desired consistency. Add the parsley, if using. Simmer for a couple of minutes and remove from the heat.
- Top individual servings of the soup with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
This recipe is courtesy of Bonnie. A sweet lady with some really great recipes who I am honored to have known. Thanks, Bonnie.
The soup was amazingly delicious!
Delicious and very filling