This flavorful and delicious Pastina Soup, also known as Italian nonna’s penicillin soup, will warm up your soul on chilly days. Made with chicken broth, hidden veggies and pastina (small pasta), this healing soup is my go-to when I’m under the weather. Serve each bowl topped with chopped parsley, grated Parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper. It’s like magic.
This simple soup recipe has classic flavors and a short ingredient list. It comes together fast and is ready in half an hour. It’s low-effort, too: Simmer the vegetables in chicken broth until tender, then puree until smooth. Simmering a Parmesan rind in the broth is a smart way to add flavor without adding fat. For this recipe, I use orzo pasta, but this soup can be made with any small pasta shape like acini di pepe, stelline, alphabet, anelli, ditalini, and more.
To make the Pastina Soup, you will need the following ingredients:
In a large pot with a lid, combine 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 1 quartered onion, 2 sliced carrots, 4 sliced celery stalks, 4 garlic cloves, 1 Parmesan rind, and a pinch of salt.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot with a lid. Cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook 1 ½ cups pastina or another small pasta of choice according to package directions. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top to avoid the pasta from sticking together.
Discard the Parmesan rind. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a high-speed blender or food processor.
Ladle in 2 cups of the broth from the pot and blend until the vegetables are smooth.
Pour the pureed vegetables back into the pot and stir.
To serve, add the cooked pastina to a bowl and pour the hot broth over the top. Serve topped with chopped parsley, grated Parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy!
This Pastina Soup is a delight for cold days and a go-to when feeling under the weather. It is healthy, delicious, and easy to make. Try it soon and please come back to leave a review.
So simple, love it
Really nice. I added a bit more garlic and some herbs (chives, parsley, thyme) and cooked my gluten free stelline pasta in the stock after I had removed the veggies for liquifying in the blender and the remnants of the Parmesan rind to refreeze and use again later. Added everything back together and finished with some fresh parsley and cracked black pepper. Add a swirl of EVOO if you’re feeling fancy. Delicious
Adding extra herbs, used gluten free pastina
Wow! This Pastina Soup is a lifesaver! I made it when I was feeling under the weather and it brought me so much comfort. It was super simple and delicious. Thank you for sharing this warm recipe!
Reconfortante
This soup is magic! It reminds me of my childhood when my mom made it to warm us up on cold days. Such simple ingredients yet sooo comforting. Perfect for sick days!
Perfect comfort food.
This soup is fantastic! My kids loved it when they were sick.
This Pastina Soup is simply great. I made it for my husband and he loved it, especially when we were sick. So easy and comforting.
Whipped this up when the kids were sick. Instant fam fave for sure
Simply delicious soup!
Delicious!
So simple soup!
Cozy and flavor soup! I love it! Thanks!
