Tuscan-Style Chicken Soup

Tuscan Style Chicken Soup
The Spruce
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Tuscan-style food is simple Italian countryside cooking, using oil instead of butter and humble ingredients such as white beans. This hearty, rustic chicken soup recipe fits the bill. It is packed with veggies, plus tender chicken breasts and cannellini beans.

The soup is nourishing enough to take center stage at the dinner table. Serve it with wholesome fresh bread or garlic bread and grated Parmesan for a warming fall or winter meal.

The recipe calls for cooked chicken breasts. These can be leftovers from another dish or from a rotisserie chicken. Red potatoes work well in this soup because they hold their shape and they also add nice color to the soup. As for the kale, cooks in Italy would use Tuscan kale but you can use any other type of kale too.

For convenience, this recipe uses canned cannellini beans but if you like to make things from scratch, you can also start with dried cannellini beans and cook them yourself. Great Northern beans are a good substitute for cannellini beans, they have softer skin and their inside is a bit less creamy but they are similar in taste to cannellini beans. 

Like many hearty soups, this Tuscan-style chicken soup also tastes great reheated. Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen. Stored in airtight containers, the soup can be refrigerated for three to four days or frozen for three to six months.

 

1:35

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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 stalk celery, sliced

  • 2 mdium carrots, peeled, chopped

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 medium potatoes, diced

  • 4 cups chicken stock

  • Salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed

  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded

  • 2 packed cups chopped kale

  • Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onion and cook until softened.

  3. Add the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, chicken stock, and some salt and pepper. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.

  4. Add the beans and cook for about 5 minutes.

  5. Add the shredded chicken and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

  6. Add the kale. Raise a heat a bit to make sure the pot is at a simmer. Cook for a few minutes until the kale is wilted. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

  7. To serve, top with grated parmesan cheese, a crusty piece of bread and fresh parsley or thyme based on your preference.

  8. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
473 Calories
10g Fat
61g Carbs
37g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 473
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g 12%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Cholesterol 59mg 20%
Sodium 982mg 43%
Total Carbohydrate 61g 22%
Dietary Fiber 10g 37%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 37g
Vitamin C 41mg 203%
Calcium 197mg 15%
Iron 6mg 36%
Potassium 1686mg 36%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)