Whoa. I just realized that 2 weeks from today, I will be in Italy! Italia!!!
(Oh yeah, and today I also just realized when reading my flight confirmation email that I fly out next Tuesday instead of Wednesday, the date I’d had in my mind for months. Tiny detail. ;))
Still, assuming I catch the correct plane and actually make it across the pond, I cannot wait to be in Europe! I will be spending a few days in Austria, then a week in Germany, and then my sister and I are going to cap off the trip with four days in Florence. She’s an art teacher and is happily planning our artistic itinerary. And me? You’d better believe this food blogger is planning a mega food tour around the region. I have a list of recommended places to visit from friends, which include everything from fresh pasta…to gelato…to pizza…to gelato…to espresso…to gelato…to paninis…to local wine…to gelato…oh, and maybe some more gelato. It’s going to be magnifico.
So to (ahem) get my palate in the Italian spirit before leaving, I have been doing the hard work of making and eating endless batches of fresh homemade pesto. And one of the recipes I have re-fallen in love with is an oldie but goodie from the blog archives that I am renaming this 5-Ingredient Basil Chicken Soup. It’s basically like the Italian version of my favorite 5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili. And oh man, it is a winner.
The old recipe that I had on the blog was just a simple spinach and white bean soup with pesto swirled in. But hey, something about chicken soup is always all the more comforting, right? So I decided to update the recipe with some shredded chicken stirred in, and the result was basically a 5-ingredient Italian version of my favorite Mexican soup.
And oh my goodness, just like the Mexi version, this soup could not be easier to make.
I have to say, though, this soup will rise or fall on the quality of your pesto. If you’re in a hurry, you can buy the store-bought stuff. (And if you do, the brand I genuinely recommend is DeLallo. This is not a sponsored post. It is just the best I’ve tried, times a hundred.) But if you have a few extra minutes, I highly recommend pulling the food processor out and making a batch of my homemade pesto recipe. It’s classic, it is simple to make, and it is unbelievably good when made with fresh basil.
Actually, you can use any sort of pesto for this recipe — kale pesto, arugula pesto, pistachio pesto, etc. But if you want to go classic, basil pesto will never fail. :)
To make the soup, simply stir together your first four ingredients — chicken stock, shredded cooked chicken, spinach and white beans — in a saucepan. Then bring them to a simmer. Stir in your pesto, and cook it for a few extra minutes. And then serve!!
I like mine topped with some extra freshly-grated Parmesan, and served with crusty bread. And I like to go back for seconds on this one, because it is just too good.
So if you’re looking for a quick meal, or a use for some leftover pesto, or even just a new take on comforting chicken soup, I genuinely can’t recommend this recipe enough. So, SO good.
Cheers to great Italian food!
5-Ingredient Pesto Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups good-quality chicken stock
- 3 handfuls (about 3 cups) fresh spinach
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 (14 ounce) cans Great Northern or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup pesto
- optional topping: grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Stir together chicken stock, spinach, chicken, beans in a medium saucepan. Cook over high heat until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium, stir in the pesto, and let the soup continue to simmer for 2 minutes.
- Serve warm, topped with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
My family really enjoyed this soup. Shredded chicken is a staple in my house and I had everything else on hand so it came together very quickly. One thing I noticed as soon as I added the pesto was that it is oily while my broth is not, so the pesto just sat on top and was hard to incorporate into the broth. I love the flavor the pesto added! I would also prefer a softer bean so maybe next time I will make dry beans rather than use canned beans. Yes, more labor intensive but I think I’d like it much more with a softer bean.
Delicious & sooooo easy! I also threw in a piece of parmesan rind & a splash of rice vinegar. Next time I may add mushrooms & mireproix for extra flavor. This recipe is really great to modify to make it your own by adding your favorite veggies or even some pasta. Love it!
This is my favourite quick soup! Originally I spent a lot of time making my own beans from dry, but it doesn’t seem to make too much of a difference and takes so much more time. I do use spicy Italian sausage (cooked separately, oil drained before adding to the rest of the soup) instead of chicken because we had run out of chicken one time I’d planned on making it and had sausage on hand. Now I prefer it with the sausage! I also added chopped zucchini recently because I needed to use it up, turned out very good! Highly recommend this recipe especially to build off of!
Can I make this in the crockpot?
Loved this soup and so did my hubby! Super simple, but so flavorful! I pressure cooked 3 chicken thighs which was just the right amount for the soup. I love beans and pesto. This recipe is a keeper!
Thank you. So simple and really delicious!
This was stupid easy and delicious! I’m eating my second bowl right now and wanted to comment right away. My husband went to the market this morning and bought fresh green beans. So I started the soup with the broth and put in some green beans, cut into small pieces. I wanted to make sure they would cook. Once it came to a simmer I continued with the recipe. I did add a bit more broth and used the whole jar of pesto. I am surprised as to how little seasoning it needed. The pesto is the secret to this soup. If any one out there is on the fence about this soup, get off it and make it. You won’t be disappointed.
Amazing recipe! I’ve even replaced the beans with frozen cauliflower gnocchi and diced zucchini before and it’s still perfect. Since I make homemade pesto, I do load it up and put it all in the soup pot. :) Thanks for a fantastic, flexible recipe!