Sicilian Chicken Soup: Scratch Made

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Are you looking for a soup that offers more than simple warmth on a cool day? Something that feels like a genuine, heartfelt hug in a bowl, brimming with rustic, authentic flavour? You’ve certainly found it. We’re firm believers in the power of a good soup to comfort the spirit, and our recipe for Sicilian Chicken Soup is a perfect example. This is no ordinary chicken noodle soup; it’s a wonderfully aromatic and profoundly satisfying meal, taking its cues from the sun-kissed heart of Sicilian cooking. It’s the ideal solution for those evenings when you need a dinner that is both wholesome and wonderfully tasty.

Within this guide, we’ll share everything required to craft this delightful soup right from your own kitchen. We will explore the fresh, uncomplicated ingredients that give it its character, offer easy-to-follow instructions, and share our most treasured tips for achieving perfection with every batch. While we have a soft spot for adventurous chicken recipes like our Bacon Brown Sugar Chicken Tenders, we know that nothing quite compares to the solace found in a timeless, beautifully prepared soup. Prepare to meet what might just become your new go-to comfort meal.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • An Entire Meal in a Single Pot: Filled with succulent chicken, nourishing vegetables, and hearty pasta, this soup stands as a complete, satisfying meal. It’s a genuine one-pot marvel, making both the cooking and the washing up remarkably simple.
  • Full of Mediterranean Character: We blend a traditional mix of oregano, rosemary, and fresh parsley, finished with a zesty squeeze of lemon, to craft a flavour that is wonderfully vibrant. Each spoonful offers a delicious taste of rural Italy.
  • Ideal for Any Time of Year: Although it’s a brilliant winter warmer, its bright, fresh notes make this soup light enough for enjoyment all year round. It’s the perfect comfort whether you’re nursing a cold or navigating a hectic week.
  • Wonderfully Simple to Adapt: We truly hope you make this recipe your own. Feel free to substitute vegetables depending on the season or what needs using up in your kitchen. It’s one of those fantastic scratch made recipes that is as versatile as it is flavourful.

Ingredients

  • olive oil
  • yellow onion
  • celery stalks
  • boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • chicken broth
  • chopped tomatoes
  • dried oregano
  • fresh rosemary
  • ditalini pasta
  • fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • sea salt
  • black pepper
  • Parmesan cheese

What Makes This a Truly Sicilian Chicken Soup?

For us, Sicilian cuisine is all about celebrating fresh, simple ingredients and preparing them in a way that allows their intrinsic qualities to come to the forefront. This soup is a perfect reflection of that principle. It steers clear of heavy, creamy bases, instead favouring a fragrant chicken broth, beautifully infused with herbs and lifted by a touch of citrus. The soup’s foundation is built upon a traditional Italian *soffritto*—a slow sauté of onion, carrots, and celery that creates a wonderfully aromatic and deep flavour profile.

The inclusion of tomatoes, oregano, and rosemary lends a rustic, earthy quality to the dish. To finish, a flourish of fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice cuts through the richness, elevating every single flavour. It is this careful equilibrium between hearty components and bright, zesty accents that defines the soup’s Mediterranean soul. This is a tribute to the uncomplicated, wholesome cooking that lies at the very core of a Sicilian kitchen.

How to Make Our Delicious Sicilian Chicken Soup

To create this beautifully comforting soup, just follow our straightforward, step-by-step guide. We have laid out the process clearly to make it accessible for everyone, regardless of your experience in the kitchen.

  1. Create the Foundation of Flavour: In a large pot or Dutch oven, warm the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are soft and the onion looks translucent. Tip in the minced garlic and cook for one more minute until it becomes fragrant.
  2. Brown the Chicken: Place the whole chicken thighs into the pot and season them well with salt and pepper. Let them cook for 2–3 minutes on each side until they are lightly browned. This step is key for sealing in moisture and deepening the soup’s flavour.
  3. Let the Broth Simmer: Pour in the chicken broth along with the canned tomatoes and all their juice. Add the dried oregano and the sprig of fresh rosemary. Bring everything to a boil, then lower the heat, pop on a lid, and allow it to simmer for 25–30 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
  4. Shred the Cooked Chicken: Gently lift the chicken thighs out of the pot and onto a cutting board. Use two forks to pull the meat apart into bite-sized shreds. Remove and discard the rosemary sprig from the soup.
  5. Cook the Pasta: Add the shredded chicken back into the pot. Increase the heat to medium to bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Now, stir in the ditalini pasta and cook as per the packet instructions, which is usually about 8–10 minutes, until it is al dente.
  6. Final Touches and Serving: After the pasta is cooked, switch off the heat. Stir through the fresh lemon juice and chopped parsley. Have a taste and add a little more salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Serve the hot soup in bowls with a generous grating of Parmesan cheese on top, if you like.

Expert Tips for the Best Chicken Vegetable Soup

If you’d like to take your soup from being merely good to absolutely outstanding, here are a few professional hints that we always rely on in our own kitchen.

  • Opt for Chicken Thighs: While chicken breast can be used, we find that thighs offer a far richer flavour and a more succulent, tender texture that resists drying out during the simmering process.
  • Be Patient with the Soffritto: Taking your time with the first step of gently sweating the onion, carrots, and celery is vital. This slow cooking draws out their inherent sweetness, building the essential flavour base for the entire chicken vegetable soup.
  • Achieving Perfect Pasta (Particularly for Leftovers): If you anticipate having leftovers, be aware that the pasta can turn soft and lose its texture as it sits in the broth. To prevent this, we suggest cooking the pasta for your ditalini pasta soup separately and adding it to individual bowls right before serving.
  • Harness the Freshness of Herbs: Although dried oregano is perfect for simmering, adding fresh parsley right at the end is essential. Its vibrant, clean flavour brilliantly lifts the whole dish.

FAQ

Q: Can I make this soup ahead of time?
A: Yes, certainly! This soup is brilliant for preparing in advance. Our recommendation is to make the soup base itself, but hold off on adding the pasta. When you’re ready to serve, just reheat the soup and cook the pasta in it until tender, or boil the pasta separately and add it to each bowl.
Q: How should I store leftovers?
A: Keep any leftover soup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four days. It’s good to remember that the pasta will carry on absorbing the broth, which will make it softer. The soup might also thicken, so you may want to add a little extra broth when you reheat it.
Q: Can I use leftover roast chicken in this recipe?
A: Of course, that’s a brilliant way to make use of leftover chicken. You can just omit the step where you cook the raw chicken in the broth. Shred your pre-cooked chicken and simply add it to the soup at the same time as the pasta to warm through.
Q: Is it possible to freeze this soup?
A: We advise freezing the soup base without any pasta in it, as pasta can become quite mushy and fall apart after being frozen and thawed. Allow the soup to cool down completely, then portion it into freezer-safe containers for up to three months. When you fancy eating it, thaw it in the fridge overnight, reheat thoroughly, and cook some fresh pasta to stir in.

Conclusion: Your New Go-To Comfort Meal

And there we have it: a straightforward, flavourful, and immensely satisfying Sicilian Chicken Soup that we’re confident will earn a regular spot on your meal rota. This recipe is more than just dinner; it’s a celebration of simple ingredients and a reminder of how a well-made soup can nourish and comfort. It’s the quintessential hearty winter soup, yet its bright character makes it a welcome dish at any time of year. As noted by health professionals, chicken soup is excellent for hydration and nutrients, making it a wise choice when you’re feeling a bit run down. You can learn more by reading about the health benefits of chicken soup on WebMD.

We do hope you’ll gather your ingredients, enjoy the simple cooking process, and delight in the wonderful results. This is the kind of recipe that’s made for sharing with loved ones—a bowl of warmth that truly brings people together. If you had fun creating this comforting meal, perhaps you’d like to try another of our family favourites, such as this enjoyable and tasty Cheeseburger Lasagna Recipe? Please do let us know how your soup comes out in the comments section; we always enjoy hearing from our readers!

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