Pastina Soup (a Simple Italian Soup When the Pantry is Bare: Pastina in Brodo)
Pastina soup is a traditional Italian peasant dish (cucina povera) which truly almost makes something out of nothing. The most minimal ingredients come together in this pastina recipe to make a delicious soup both children and adults will love.
Do you ever have “nothing” to eat in your kitchen? Pastina soup is the answer!
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You know, when you have a few ingredients, but it seems as if there’s not enough of anything to make an actual meal? This authentic Italian pastina recipe will be something you’ll use over and over again.
More of us are probably struggling for recipes to make something from “nothing” nowadays, so try this pastina soup recipe that my mother has dubbed, “quick soup”, for lack of another name. In Italian it is called “pastina in brodo”, in English “little pasta in broth”.
The funny part is that it should probably be called “easy soup” as it’s super easy to make, but isn’t the quickest soup we make. It will be ready to eat in 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how you make it, but you honestly won’t need many ingredients.
UPDATED Jan. 8, 2023: regarding the discontinued Ronzoni pastina upheaval all across the internet,
PLEASE DON’T BE UPSET!
I never, ever purchased Ronzoni pasta of any sort because it is an
ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT. Whenever you see that, leave it on the shelf.
You see, these pastas are so processed, stripped of their nutrients, and then have vitamins and minerals added back in. This is one of the reasons we have such a problem with gluten in the US: our pasta and bread isn’t made the way it is in Europe! Case in point, this is the organic alphabet pastina I bought in Italy (99 cents), but De Cecco only sells enriched pasta here in the USA (apparently the US gov’t is requiring all pasta to be enriched!)
My goddaughter, Delaney, who some of you will know if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, absolutely adores this soup (as do most children!) Want to entice them even more? Use alphabet pastina, if you can find it.
What is Pastina?
Pastina, in Italian, simply means “little pasta.” However, most times, it’s given that pastina is referring to the soup with little pasta in it, as well as the little pasta itself. There are lots of pastine (plural of pastina) you can choose from in the US/Canada/UK, such as acini di pepe (peppercorns), orzo, stelline (little star pasta), etc.* (Read more on Pastina-Gate below.) The dish itself is truly Italian comfort food and when made with chicken soup, is consided “Italian penicillin”.
Recipe for Authentic Italian style chicken soup with stracciatella
Is There Another Name for Pastina?
Contrary to misinformation you’ll find online, as noted above, “pastina” simply means “little pasta”. Pastina is NOT the name of one specific pasta. Acini di pepe is considered pastina, but it is not the only pastina there is. It’s like someone telling you an apple is called fruit, a pear is not fruit, only an apple is fruit. You’d be outraged if you understood the category of fruit and all the different fruits there are, right?
If you crush up angel hair pasta, that could be called pastina, if it’s tiny pieces of pasta. Orzo is definitely pastina, stelline is pastina–essentially, ANY TINY PASTA IS PASTINA.
What is the Difference Between Orzo and Pastina?
As I just explained, ORZO IS A VARIETY OF PASTINA. Please don’t be misinformed by sites telling you otherwise. This is very frustrating to see this blatant sharing of information which is incorrect. :(
Do You Drain Pastina?
There are two ways to cook pastina and so you can drain it, or not drain it. There is no correct or incorrect way to choose to drain pastina (or not). You can cook the pastina directly in the soup or whatever you’re making, in which case you clearly would not drain it. You can also choose to cook the pastina separately, drain it, then add the cooked pastina to your dish. Do the latter if you want a clear, un-cloudy broth.
Don’t worry if you don’t have any pastina as you can make your own, too! I’ll link to a recipe at the bottom of this post, but here is one my cousin, Ada, taught me how to make: grattini all uovo.
If you have chicken stock on hand, either homemade or in a box, feel free to use this in place of the water, but this is more like a regular Italian chicken soup instead of a pastina soup recipe.
Try this meatball and greens soup often known as “Italian wedding soup” in North America
How to Make Pastina Soup
(Pastina in Brodo)
a family recipe by Christina Conte serves 4
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- water
- extra virgin olive oil
- (optional: vegetable or chicken bouillon)
- celery
- carrot
- medium onion
- salt
- pastina of choice
- egg
Step by Step Directions
Make the broth.
Put the water, oil, bouillon (if using), carrots and celery, shallots or onion, and salt into a pot and bring to a boil. If you have celery leaves, you can add those, too. Lower the heat so that the soup simmers for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the pastina.
Next, add the pastina (the one I linked to is just an example as you can use any small pasta you like. Acini di pepe and stelline are favorites. Cook until the pastina is al dente then remove any of the ingredients you don’t want to serve, for example, stalks of celery and/or celery leaves.
Add the egg.
Break an egg into the pot and swirl with a fork until cooked.
Taste for salt and add if needed. Serve the pastina soup immediately.
For children, you can always pop an ice cube in their bowl. Not only does it make it safer for them not to get burnt, but they love watching it melt and it teaches them about the reaction of hot with cold.
What to Serve with this Pastina Soup Recipe
Truly, this soup recipe is always served on its own in Italy, but eating something else afterwards is usually always the case. If you are eating this because you feel unwell, that’s also another reason to eat it without a side or something else. However, feel free to have a sandwich, or salad afterwards.
Pastina Soup (Simple Italian Chicken Soup)
Ingredients
- 32 oz water
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 stalks celery (see notes)
- 1 large carrot (cut into pieces as desired)
- 2 shallots (or 1 medium onion)
- ¼ tsp salt (to taste)
- 2 Tbsp pastina (of choice)
- 1 egg (optional)
- 1 tsp vegetable bouillon (or chicken bouillon, optional)
Instructions
- Put the water, oil, bouillon (if using), celery, carrots, shallots or onion and salt into a pot and bring to a boil. If you have celery leaves, you can add those, too.
- Lower the heat so that the soup simmers for about 15 to 20 minutes, then add the pastina. Cook until the pastina is ready then remove any of the ingredients you don't want to serve, for example, stalks of celery and/or celery leaves.
- Break an egg into the pot and swirl with a fork until cooked. Taste for salt and add if needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Leave celery stalks whole to remove later, or chopped into pieces if you want to leave it in the soup.
- Pastina choices: acini di pepe, orzo, alphabet, etc., or you can break spaghetti, linguine, or angel hair pasta into little pieces. If you have no pasta see the recipes below.
- For children, you can always pop an ice cube in their bowl. Not only does it make it safer for them not to get burnt, but they love watching it melt and it teaches them about the reaction of hot with cold.
Nutrition
Don’t have pastina? Make your own~
*There are heated arguments on Facebook and other social media platforms over what pastina actually is. I believe I understand why this is the case.
Barilla (US) and other pasta companies have been marketing stelline (little star) pasta under the name PASTINA in the USA. This is not the case in Italy, as pastina refers to many tiny shapes of pasta.
This is why the confusion has occurred in the USA. I can almost guarantee that now that this “pastina-gate” has made headlines, more pasta companies will be marketing pasta under the name, “pastina”.
Just know that there is NO shape that is called “pastina”. It’s like specifying you want FRUIT when you mean an APPLE.
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This has come at a perfect time – and Delaney is such a lucky girl with such a clever auntie and grandmother to put such delicious ideas like this together. So cute with the pastini!
Aw, thank you, Jill!
I’ve made a recipe like this with spätzle – which would be similar to grating pasta into the soup. Love alphabet soup as a kid -why not as any adult?
This not only sounds good but is perfect for what many of us are facing now with limited pantry items due to staying home because of the coronavirus. Thanks for the idea.
You’re welcome, Peggy! Stay safe!
Simple and delicious.
Perfect description!
This brought back memories of my early childhood. My great grandmother made a soup she called pastina only she actually was making Greek egg lemon soup. It was similar to yours but the egg was beaten with lemon juice and then incorporated into the hot soup. I haven’t heard the term pastina since then.
Hi Joan, I’m so glad this brought back good memories of your great grandmother! Was there an Italian influence? I have never tried the egg with lemon juice! Thanks for the note, and stay safe! CC
Good for you, Christina. This is what we need. Simple frugal recipes that don’t have a lot of ingredients, or fancy ingredients, that stretch the pantry to feed several people. These are hard times coming up and we all need to hunker down and eat like we’re in a depression, because it might come close to that.
I’m looking forward to more simple frugal recipes.
I agree, we need to get back to basics. So many people need help as they are used to eating out, ordering in, and don’t know the basics of cooking. It’s sad, but it’s never too late to learn. Thank you for your support, Shirley!
Great idea! I haven’t had acine de pepe (sp?) for ages. I might have to add it to my next grocery list.
No need if you have any pasta you can break it up! But yes, acini di pepe is one of my favorites!
I grew up on Pastina, hands down, my favorite comfort food with a big piece of butter melted in it with grated cheese on it; good golly its only 9am and now Im drooling for a bowl of that !!!!! This soup sounds wonderful and will make this tonight. Although I make homemade soup at least 2-3 times a week, I had not thought about using the Pastina and the egg! Thanks again for some interesting twists on food! Be safe & well Christina !!
Good for you, Judy, that’s great that you make homemade soup often! That’s so healthy! Stay healthy!
It is truly comforting to feel the warmth of the soup w/ the texture of the no knead bread dunking in……… this was a beautiful soup, very flavorful; love the addition of the egg and the proteins it holds. Stay safe, be well~
Glad you enjoyed it, Judy! You stay healthy and well, too!