We’re in Big Bear right now, and my toes and nose are ice! I’m used to our 18 years in the desert, loving our new home on the coast, and definitely a total baby in the mountains. I won’t pretend I actually want to be cooking, since we’re on a trip, but I DO wish I had a pot of this chicken minestrone in a huge pot on the stove! We made it twice in two weeks because it was SO easy and my whole family loved it!
I wish that were typical, but I have two stubborn little boys who’d sell each other for chicken nuggets, and two teenage girls who eat like me — and we are very much a house divided. HA. And also boooooo.
This soup is loaded up with lots of fresh veggies (only way to do soup in my opinion), plenty of spices, and tons of chicken to make it hearty, but super macro-friendly. I use rotisserie chicken breast which makes it so easy to throw. together in about thirty minutes, start to finish. This is also a great one to make in advance and reheat anytime! While Minestrone is typically a vegetarian soup, I like to add chicken and a little bacon for protein, and BECAUSE YUM.
How to Make Chicken Minestrone Soup
You’ll Need:
- Frozen diced onion (or fresh, diced of course. I just love stocking up on frozen diced onion for soup season! Such a great short cut. )
- Celery, chopped
- Carrots, chopped
- Bacon, chopped
- Zucchini, chopped
- Tomato paste
- Frozen garlic cubes (or cloves of garlic, minced)
- Frozen basil cubes (may sub 5 tsp basil paste, or ⅓ cup loosely packed fresh basil, minced)
- San Marzano tomatoes
- Chicken broth
- White beans, drained
- Rotisserie chicken, chopped
- Fresh parsley, minced
- 2 tsp kosher salt (more to taste)
- Dried oregano
- Black pepper
Heat a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat (I prefer pretty high) and spray with a mist of olive oil spray. When it’s nice and hot, add your diced onions and bacon and sauté for about five minutes, stirring often, until bacon is crispy and onions are tender. Add your celery and carrots, and sauté for another five minutes covering between stirs to soften the veggies faster. Add zucchini and cook for 2 more minutes.
Turn the heat down to medium and add your tomato paste, garlic cubes, and basil cubes. Let it cook for two minutes, careful not to let the garlic burn.
Using a blender, blend the San Marzano tomatoes until smooth. You can also just use canned tomato puree. I just love the flavor and quality of San Marzano. Add the blended tomatoes, chicken broth, drained white beans, chopped chicken, parsley, and dried spices to the pot and combine everything well. Add any additional salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and a drizzle of pesto if you’ve got it, and you’re feeling fancy! I like a little fresh basil on top. We also like to make a short pasta noodle on the side for those who want to add it to their bowls. This allows me to decide if I want to spend my carbs on pasta or not!
And of course a hunk of crusty bread is always a good idea!
Similar Recipes
I love a good one-pot recipe! (I’ve got a whole cookbook full of one-dish recipes!) Here are a few of my favorite soups and stews to serve up on a chilly day,
Easy Beef and Veggie Soup – Lillie Eats and Tells
Lighter Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup – Lillie Eats and Tells
Creamy Chicken Pot Pie Soup – Lillie Eats and Tells
Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Chicken Soup – Lillie Eats and Tells
Wanting more? Check out my other cookbook, Lillie Eats and Tells Cookbook – Macro Friendly Recipes! And be sure to follow along on Instagram for macro friendly tips, tricks, recipes, and more!
Chicken Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 12 oz bag frozen diced onion or fresh, diced 340 g
- 2 cups celery chopped (225 g)
- 2 cups carrots chopped (250 g)
- 3 pieces of bacon chopped (30 g)
- 1 zucchini chopped (220 g)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste 30 g
- 5 frozen garlic cubes or cloves of garlic, minced
- 5 frozen basil cubes may sub 5 tsp basil paste, or ⅓ cup loosely packed fresh basil, minced
- 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 lb box of chicken broth 4 cups or 907 g
- 15 oz can white beans drained
- 4 cups rotisserie chicken chopped (650 g)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley minced (10 g)
- 2 tsp kosher salt more to taste
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat (I prefer pretty high) and spray with a mist of olive oil spray. When it’s nice and hot, add your diced onions and bacon and sauté for about five minutes, stirring often, until bacon is crispy and onions are tender. Add your celery and carrots, and sauté for another five minutes covering between stirs to soften the veggies faster. Add zucchini and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add your tomato paste, garlic cubes, and basil cubes. Let it cook for two minutes, careful not to let the garlic burn.
- Using a blender, blend the San Marzano tomatoes until smooth. Add the blended tomatoes, chicken broth, drained white beans, chopped chicken, parsley, and dried spices to the pot and combine everything well. Add any additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and a drizzle of pesto if you’ve got it, and you’re feeling fancy! I like a little fresh basil on top. We also like to make a short pasta noodle on the side for those who want to add it to their bowls. And of course a hunk of crusty bread is always a good idea!
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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I just made this to feed my kids after skiing all day and my husband said it was the best soup he’s ever had! I used ground turkey instead of chicken and it was amazing! All that fresh basil makes it extra good!
Perfect for a rainy day!
Amazing recipe! Is it possible the calories and serving size is mixed up? I’ve been going ~350 g servings cause I think any more I would be very full and I’m not sure I could get 6 servings out of 555 g.
Hi! The 555 is correct .. I love a huge bowl of soup because the ingredients are so light! Haha. But there’s definitely always a margin of error especially in a big one dish meal like this since your broth could’ve operate a little bit more your veggies could be more cooked down or less etc. If you want to make sure yours is accurate, you could weigh your entire batch and split that into the six servings and that would be the size that would match the macros.. if that makes sense! Since it’s just generally a light recipe, I wouldn’t worry too much because the difference in macros probably won’t be as great as you think even if we are a little off!
Thumbs up from even my pickiest eater. So good!
First time making this soup, another LEAT hit even without the bacon! Didn’t miss is at all.
Rainy day and this was perfect as first soup of the season. Yummy!
A new family favorite! We love this one!
It is freezing in NJ – and a daily bowl of this warms me right up! I have been making a big batch every Sunday to enjoy thorough out the week!
MY absolute FAVORITE soup RECIPE! Tons of flavor, satisfying and incredibly easy
So deliSh. Perfect winter cozy meal. All my kids loved it too.
Excellent! So easy to make and perfect for the subzero Temps!
This soup was a hit in my house, and I havE SOME PICKY TEENAGERS! i MADE SOME fusilli pasta on the side for my kids to add. Topped it with a little pesto and parmesan. Yum! I will make this again for sure.
Good flavor… one thing I would change is to brown the bacon … it was limp in my soup… if browned first it would have tasted even better and added yummy flavor!
So good! I want to add this to our weekly rotation for the winter. Everyone loved it!
This soup was amazing, flavorful and hearty- don’t forget the Parm cheese and pesto!
This soup is SO easy…and SO good!!! Thank you Lillie!
Delicious soup. Used an open marinara sauce in my fridge instead of canned tomatoes. Loved it!!
We pretty much love all recipes created by Lillie, and this is no exception! Love that this minestrone is hearty with the addition of chicken and just a few beans (kids like that!). Love making noodles on the side for those who want them. This is a soup we will be making on repeat for sure! Thank you!
This will become a staple in my house. I made this last night and it was DELICIOUS. It made an entire pot full and is plenty to take for lunch for work the rest of the week. Take Lillie’s tip and put a little pesto and parmesan *chefs kiss*