This Italian Penicillin Soup is exactly what it sounds like; a soul warming, rainyday cure in a bowl! Fresh, nutrient-rich vegetables are blended into a silky, savory broth that absorbs into perfectly tender pastina and is finished with a generous sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Whether you’re having a sick day, or just need a warm hug disguised as dinner, you’re going to want to make this pastina soup recipe!
Reasons You’ll Love This
Medicine in a Bowl – Italian Penicillin Soup is nicknamed this because it’s the perfect soup to have when you’re feeling under the weather.
Simple yet Impressive – This bowl of soup is really easy to make, made with everyday ingredients, and comes out tasting absolutely delicious!
Easy Recipe – You can have this recipe made in under an hour!
Ultimate Comfort Food – It’s a warm and tasty dish you can have anytime you need to indulge in a comfort meal.
Flu season this year has been the worst! Every year it hits us hard, and I’m always looking for recipes that will help me feel better right away, and this Chicken Pastina Soup is my family’s favorite. You might have even seen this recipe go viral on social media! If you want to know all the tips and tricks to getting the most perfect pastina soup, you’re in the right place.
Ingredient Info
This is a discussion about the ingredients. For the actual recipe with amounts, please see the recipe below.
- Chicken Broth – Go with the lower sodium chicken broth since we will add salt and rotisserie chicken to the recipe.
- Onion – I used sweet onion but you can use yellow onion or white onion.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is a game-changer. If you don’t have that you can use a few teaspoons of garlic powder.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano – I highly recommend a fresh block of Parmigiano-Reggiano, it’s life changing! You’ll need the rind of the cheese as well. If you can’t find this, parmesan is perfectly fine.
- Pastina – This can be tough to find in stores, so I get a couple bags of this online, and keep it in my pantry. If you can’t find it anywhere, you can use orzo pasta, orecchiette pasta or ditalini pasta instead.
- Rotisserie Chicken – I love using a rotisserie chicken that I don’t have to cook, but use whatever shredded chicken you have on hand or cook it yourself.
Step by Step Instructions
This is a discussion about the recipe. For the actual recipe with amounts, please see the recipe below.
- Boil the broth, veggies, and salt and simmer until tender. Remove the vegetables and some broth to a blender and blend.
- Add the liquid back into the pot, stir, then add the thyme, bay leaves, and the cheese rind and boil.
- Once boiling, add the pastina and cook until tender.
- Add chicken, remove the thyme bay leaves and rind. Serve and enjoy!
Tips & Advice
Christi’s Kitchen Tips
Get Creative! This soup is remarkable as it is, but if you want to add a few extra toppings or additions, it can be even better. I like to add a dash of lemon juice to give it some brightness. Try adding some ginger and turmeric to add extra benefits to the soup. You can add heavy cream or temper and egg into the broth for some creaminess. If you want you can throw extra chopped carrots, celery and onion into the broth for added texture, and of course extra cheese for extra fun!
Storage – You can store the leftover pastina in the fridge, in an airtight container. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave. I don’t recommend freezing this one, unless you want to freeze the broth without the pastina in it.
Blending Hot Liquid – Be cautious when blending the hot veggies and broth. Heat causes steam to build up, which can create pressure and could force the blender lid off or crack the jar. If your blender lid has a removable center cap (not the whole lid), leave it off and cover the opening with a kitchen towel while blending the vegetables. This allows steam to escape and helps prevent pressure buildup (and a potentially messy cleanup).
Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender, I just find it doesn’t always get everything as silky smooth as a regular blender.
Equipment
For this simple pastina recipe, you’ll just need a few easy items; a stock pot or dutch oven, a blender or immersion blender, and something to stir with!
FAQs
It’s called Italian Penicillin because the soup has lots of nourishing veggies, protein and just makes you feel better when you’re sick!
Soup in general does a really great job at soothing and warming up the body when sick. With the added nutrients in the broth, this soup not only makes you feel good, but contains the right vitamins to help you get better as well!
Serves Well With
This soup is near perfect on its own, but I like to serve it with some sides that make it even better! Check out some of these recipes you can make along with your soup, as well as some more recipes just like this one. Enjoy!
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Italian Penicillin Soup – Pastina
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 2 cups sweet onion diced
- 1 1/2 cups carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves fresh
- 1 Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese block use the rind in the soup, grate the cheese for garnish.
- 4 oz pastina uncooked
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
- fresh parsley garnish
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or dutch oven, add the broth, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and salt. Bring this to a boil then reduce the heat and let it simmer until the veggies are tender. Transfer all the softened veggies to a blender along with about a cup of broth. Blend until smooth. See notes for safely blending hot liquid.
- Add the liquid back into the pot (option to run the blended veggies through a sieve first) and stir. Add the thyme, bay leaves, and the cheese rind. Cover, and allow the broth to come to a boil, over medium heat.
- Once boiling, add the pastina to the broth. Bring the heat down to low, and let the pasta cook until tender, about 18-20 minutes, or whatever the pastina packaging calls for. Stir occasionally.
- Add the shredded chicken to the pasta 3 minutes before you finish cooking. Remove the thyme sprig, bay leaves and parmesan rind. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Blending Hot Liquid – Be cautious when blending the hot veggies and broth. Heat causes steam to build up, which can create pressure and potentially force the blender lid off or crack the jar. If your blender lid has a removable center cap (not the whole lid), leave it off and cover the opening with a kitchen towel while blending the vegetables. This allows steam to escape and helps prevent pressure buildup (and a potentially messy cleanup).
- Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender, I just find it doesn’t always get everything as silky smooth as a regular blender.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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