Homemade Authentic Italian Chicken Soup
This homemade authentic Italian chicken soup is the kind of soup that Nonna the doctor ordered!
Google “Italian chicken soup”, and most of what you see is simply not Italian chicken soup, but what people think is “Italian” chicken soup.
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Authentic Italian chicken soup is a far cry from those recipes. Instead of a heavy, vegetable and noodle laden pot of soup, it’s a light, brothy, and deliciously simple chicken soup. I cannot stress the word “simple” enough.
It used to be that one could buy an “older” chicken called a “boiler”, which was really much better for making soup, but that is not the case anymore, so I just buy any whole organic chicken or chicken necks and back, which are also a good choice.
How to roast a chicken with excellent results.
You don’t have to add pastina to the soup, if you’d like to make it gluten-free, but my favorite type of pastina is called “acini de pepe” which translates to “peppercorns” in English.
You can find it in most grocery stores, but if you can find DeCecco or other brands which are made in Italy, they will make a big difference in the outcome (no mushy, starchy pasta in your soup). I do not recommend Barilla brand unless it’s made in Italy.
If you don’t have chicken, here’s an alternative soup to make.
Whenever I make stracciatella, people seem to think it is very difficult to make, but nothing could be farther from the truth. So let’s make some really simple and delicious homemade, authentic, Italian chicken soup!
Homemade Authentic Italian Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- one whole organic chicken (or some necks and backs)
- Kosher salt or sea salt
- 1/3 cup pastina, such as acini de pepe, or orzo
Stracciatella can be added, if desired.
Wash the chicken, remove and wash the giblets and neck, if included, and place everything in a large pot (I used an 8 qt pot). Add the water, add two teaspoons of salt, place over medium high heat, and bring to a boil.
When scum starts to appear, remove it with a spoon, and discard. Lower the temperature, so that the soup is simmering gently.
Let the soup simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half, then remove from heat. Using a flat metal strainer, lift the chicken out of the pot and place on a plate. Remove the giblets and neck, if they are also in the soup. Strain the broth into another pot, taste for salt, adding more to taste. Place half of the broth into a container to freeze for another time.
Use the chicken to make chicken pot pie, chicken salad, or any way you like. You may also add some pieces of chicken to the soup.
About 10 minutes before you want to serve the soup, cook the pastina in a separate pot until al dente.You can cook the pasta directly in the broth, but it will make the soup cloudy. If you don’t mind it not being clear, and you don’t want to wash another pot, just cook the pastina right in the broth.
Meanwhile, bring the broth to a low simmer, and prepare the stracciatella, if desired.
If you like a little more flavor, you can add a little Better Than Bouillon Chicken paste, however, if you used a good quality, organic chicken, this should be unnecessary. That’s all you need to do, and you’ll have another batch ready for another meal. You can also use the chicken broth to make Leek and Potato Soup, for example, or any other broth based soup. It will make the soups taste better and is more natural than using bouillon.
I hope you don’t get sick this winter, but if you do, don’t reach for a can–make this authentic Italian chicken soup instead. You’ll be so glad you did.
TIP: no one feels like cooking when they’re sick, so making this homemade authentic Italian chicken soup with stracciatella when you’re not sick, and freezing some, is like a form of insurance! If you do, don’t freeze it with the pasta or stracciatella, just freeze the broth.
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Homemade Authentic Italian Chicken Soup
Special Equipment
- 1 8 quart pot/ 7 ½ liter (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 whole organic chicken (2 ½ to 3 lbs/ 1 to 1 ½ kg, or some necks and backs)
- 4 quarts water
- 2 tsp Kosher salt (or sea salt, to taste)
- ½ cup pastina (such as acini de pepe, or orzo)
Instructions
- Wash the chicken, remove and wash the giblets and neck, if included, and place everything in a large pot. Fill about ¾ full of water, add salt, place over medium high heat, and bring to a boil.
- When scum starts to appear, remove it with a spoon, and discard. Lower the temperature, so that the soup is simmering gently.
- Let the soup simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, then remove from heat.
- Using a flat metal strainer, lift the chicken out of the pot and place on a plate. Remove the giblets and neck, if they are also in the soup.
- Strain the broth into another pot, taste for salt, adding more to taste (I can guarantee that it will need more salt at this point) then place half of the broth into a container to freeze for another time. (Use the chicken to make chicken pot pie (recipe coming soon), chicken salad, or any way you like. You may also add some pieces of chicken to the soup.)
- About 10 minutes before you want to serve the soup, cook the pastina in a separate pot until al dente (you can cook the pasta directly in the broth, but it will make the soup cloudy. If you don’t mind it not being clear, and you don’t want to wash another pot, just cook the pastina right in the broth.)
- When the pastina is ready, drain the water and add it to the simmering broth. Add the stracciatella, if using. (Stracciatella recipe below.)
- Taste for salt again, and add some black pepper if desired, and serve.
Notes
- If you like a little more flavor, you can add a little Better Than Bouillon Chicken, however, if you used a good quality, organic chicken, this should be unnecessary. That’s all you need to do, and you’ll have another batch ready for another meal.
Nutrition
Stracciatella (Easy Italian Soup Addition Using Eggs)
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 3 Tbsp dried breadcrumbs (or semolina)
- 3 Tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (grated)
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt (or sea salt)
- ⅛ tsp black pepper (to taste)
- ⅛ tsp fresh Italian parsley (chopped, a sprinkle)
Instructions
- Beat the eggs in a small bowl and add the breadcrumbs/semolina
- Next, add the Parmigiano cheese, salt, pepper and parsley, if using, and mix well.
- The consistency will be like a runny paste. When the pastina is ready, drain the water and add it to the simmering Italian chicken soup or broth you are using. Next, pour in the stracciatella mixture, and stir it into the soup. It will immediately turn fluffy and float on top of the soup.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Please note that the measurements for the egg/breadcrumb (or semolina)/cheese ingredients are not critical. I never measure them, but I do use equal amounts of crumbs and cheese. Sometimes it's thicker, and sometimes more runny, but it always tastes great.
- Parsley is not a typical addition, but it can be added for more flavor and color.
- Recipe: Italian Chicken Soup
Nutrition
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Your site is my go-to for cooking, I know if it’s on here it will be amazing :) by the way, I have a bit of a Lucini obsession now haha. I can’t believe I bought that cheap olive oil for so long, never again lol. Also, anything that has crushed tomato or tomato sauce in it I always use Red Gold crushed tomatoes or Cento San Marzano crushed tomatoes. I tried many store bought canned tomato brands with your simple red sauce recipe and those two specific ones turned out the best without breaking the bank. I also throw in some fresh tomatoes too if I have any. Anyways, I’m rambling haha, love your site, keep it up! :)
How wonderful to read this, Alex! I’m so grateful and happy to hear it! I haven’t heard of Red Gold tomatoes, but stay tuned as I’m sharing all about The Greatest Tomatoes from Europe which is where the most flavorful tomatoes in the world come from. And yes, there should never be the need to “break the bank”! That’s important, too! Thank you so much for your comment and for your loyalty! :) Happy cooking! CC
Red Gold tomatoes is a product of Indiana. That’s what I buy too.
OMG am a new subscriber as I accidentally hit on one of your recipes. So good to see your simple recipes. My mother made most of your recipes our whole life and for the children and grandchildren. They loved this soup. Only change was that she used just egg and cheese. No bread crumbs or semolina. I am so enjoying reading your recipes as it still feels that my mom is here with us and I have found recipes that were all in her head and never written down. All by memory especially the Christmas baking. Thank you.
Oh Netta, what a lovely thing to wake up to! You are so kind to let me know that you really are happy in finding my site. You grew up with good and authentic Italian food, but so many others in the US and other countries are so misled by what is “Italian” food! Olive Garden is what they think is Italian!! Ugh. Anyway, I’m very happy that you’ve found my recipes and that they reconnected you to your mom. Grazie, and keep in touch, CC
If I’m using store bought chicken broth, how much should I use?
Hi Valerie, for 2 eggs, I’d use 2 to 3 quarts of broth for this 2 egg stracciatella recipe. Enjoy!
Although I’d already planned to make this, it turned out a test of its mettle as a broth for the sick, since I had an intermittent stomachache all day. It passed the test, even though I fiddled with the base recipe.
Doing the math, this recipe calls for 6 quarts of water to cover a free-range organic chicken, half of which is used to complete the soup. Since my stewing hen looked about half the size of a normal chicken, I cut it up with kitchen shears to fit in my 5-quart pot and added between 3 to 4 quarts to cover, with 1 teaspoon salt. We saved the chicken meat out for another meal.
As the pastina, I tried making Ada’s Grattini all’Uovo: Grated Egg Pasta for Soup from elsewhere on this site, but I couldn’t figure out how to actually grate it, since my dough turned out so sticky and too soft to fall into pieces. I probably could have fixed it with added flour, but since I wasn’t feeling great, I just pulled it into rough dumplings and took a break, instead. It made for pretty dense dumplings, but they worked okay.
My spouse stepped in to finish the dish while I cared for our little one, and I was amazed how clear the soup appeared when served! But since egg whites work in consommes to purify the broth, it makes good sense that the stracciatella serves a similar function in catching the murkiness. I didn’t have flat parsley available, so I opted out.
Even with dumplings and stracciatella, the broth alone only served as a single meal for my spouse and I, but if you chopped and added some meat back in, opted for the parsley, and served alongside a salad, I bet it would stretch further. Since I felt under the weather, a broth so simple to make and simple to eat really hit the spot!
Lovely, Hana! I’m sorry I missed this comment until now. I hope you’re doing well. CC
Your wonderful blog posts you share always remind me of my grandmother’s food. Thanks for putting a smile on my face.
Awww, that’s the nicest comment! Thank you so much, Heidy!
I was a bit under the weather this weekend, so this would have been perfect!! Perhaps I’ll make it tonight :)
Never a bad time for homemade chicken soup, Brandon! :) Hope you feel better!
I love finding new ways to make chicken soup! This looks simply wonderful!
Very old-fashioned Italian recipe, Carol. Love to get back to the basics. :)
That soup looks and sounds delicious Christina! Especially since I’m in the middle of fighting off a head cold. This would do wonders for me!
Oh no! That’s not good! :(