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Green Chicken Minestrone

A lighter take on traditional minestrone, this Green Chicken Minestrone combines tender chicken, white beans, seasonal green vegetables and small pasta in a bright, flavourful broth finished with Parmesan and a squeeze of lemon. It’s an easy one-pot meal that’s hearty enough for dinner, makes excellent leftovers and is just the thing for cooler days.
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Prep Time:30 minutes
Cook Time:45 minutes
Chicken thighs:1 hour
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keyword: chicken and pasta soup, chicken soup, minestrone, minestrone soup, vegetabel soup
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 Tb olive oil
  • 1 large brown onion, finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 medium zucchini (about 350g), diced
  • 3 cloves 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1.5 litres good-quality chicken stock
  • 400 grams chicken breast or thigh, cooked Can use already cooked chicken or refer below for recipe on chicken thighs
  • 400 grams cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (1 can)
  • 150 grams frozen peas
  • 120 grams small pasta (ditalini, small shells or risoni/orzo)
  • 2 large handfuls baby spinach (80-100g)
  • 2-3 Tb chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 Tb chopped fresh basil
  • 1 lemon zest
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 40 grams grated Parmesan or pecorino (plus extra for serving)
  • freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to season

Cooked chicken thighs

  • 400 grams chicken thighs
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic finely diced
  • 500 ml chicken stock
  • 250 grams salsa verde
  • 2 tsps olive oil

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.
  2. Add the onion and celery and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened. Stir in the zucchini and garlic and cook for another few minutes.
  3. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
  4. Add the chicken and simmer for 8-10 minutes until just cooked through.
    5. If pre-cooking the chicken as per below or adding cooked chicken, can add at the end of cooking.
  5. Stir in the pasta and cook according to the packet directions, usually 8-10 minutes.
  6. Add the cannellini beans and peas during the last 3-4 minutes of cooking.Turn off the heat and stir through the spinach until wilted.
  7. Mix in the parsley, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice and Parmesan. Taste and season generously with salt and black pepper.
    8. If the soup is too thick, add a bit of extra stock until its to your preferred consistency. The pasta will soak up more liquid after it cooks so may need to adjust and add more when re-heating.
  8. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan and crusty buttered bread.

Chicken Thighs

  1. Heat oil in medium sized saucepan, add onion and garlic and cook until softened.
  2. Add chicken thighs - no need to cut, can add whole.
  3. Add salsa verde and stock. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for about an hour or until chicken is cooked through and can be broken up with a fork.
    4. This can also be done in a slow cooker but will take a few hours
  4. Break chicken up with fork and add to soup