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!
I have a ton of homemade pesto and I keep meaning to make things with it and I think this needs to be on that list.
Just had this for supper and it was so quick and simple to make. Delicious too. I also added zucchini and onions. I needed to add more pesto and salt to bring out the flavours.
Made this right after you posted it and loved it! So great to have for dinner and leftovers for lunches :)
I made tonight but I tweaked because no spinach but Kale and delicious!
Welcome to Germany! :-) Have fun – you might still get to see a little bit of the soccer world cup craziness we are all basking in right now.
Please bring all the waterproof stuff you own, this is one WET july over here.
This looks so delicious! Enjoy your European trip. I recently got back from Paris and Amsterdam and tried so many different dishes. I am sure you will have fun ;-)
You will have the best time in Europe! This soup looks awesome!
Hi,
this soup sounds really delicious! A nice summer recipe.
Have fun in Italy by the way! Its great there and yes – the food is awesome. But as a german citizen I can recomment our food as well. Its maybe not as good as the italian, but we have a lot of delicious meals as well. And try the cake. A blackforest cherry cake or a quark cheesecake. And if you stay in Austria (Vienna?) a Sacher Torte.
Italy sounds perfect. Pesto soup sounds perfect too. I love pesto and I love soup, this might be a relationship made in foodie heaven.
I will try really really really hard to be magnanimous, despite the fact I am envious of your trip. Lol. I am a major soup eater. I also work. This is quick and delicious. I pinned it.