Chicken Parmesan is a big time favourite of mine. What could possibly be better than crispy fried chicken with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella served alongside a heap of pasta? So good! Well, I’ll tell you what’s better… Chicken Parmesan Soup. It’s easier to make and so incredibly satisfying!
With filling pasta, succulent, shredded chicken, gooey cheese, hot & flavourful broth and the texture of crispy fried bread crumbs, this is not a thin and sad soup. It’s a hearty, delicious meal that never disappoints!
What’s great about this recipe is that you can use leftover chicken if you have some and it can be white or dark meat – in fact a mix of both is what I typically use and it works so well. I tend to make Chicken Parmesan Soup when I have leftover roast chicken, but if you don’t have any leftovers you can absolutely buy some cooked chicken from the deli section of your grocery store or pick up a rotisserie chicken and use some of the meat from that. If you don’t have leftover chicken on-hand regularly, let this be the reason why you finally start bringing home a whole chicken instead of pieces or make a little extra for dinner because leftover chicken is often the best for adding into soups or pasta dishes and it’s cheaper to buy more in the long run. Click here to see some great chicken recipes to get you started.
When it comes to the breadcrumbs, you can make as many of these as you want, but I usually find about 20-25g per person is a good amount for optimal crunch. Let’s get started!
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled & minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
- 400g passata
- 1.5 litres chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon sugar or caster sugar
- 300g penne pasta
- 350g cooked chicken
- 250g shredded mozzarella cheese
- 50g grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- Salt & pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 100-150g white bread crumbs (or about 25g per person or more if you like)
- Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Method
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot that has a lid. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
- Add the tomato paste and chilli flakes. Stir to combine and cook for another minute.
- Pour in the passata along with a little water in the jar swished around to get the dregs, the chicken stock and a tablespoon of sugar. Season with a little salt and a generous crack of black pepper, stir to combine, crank up the heat to high and bring to the boil.
- Meanwhile fry the breadcrumbs in a skillet on medium heat with little olive oil and toss in a bowl with some chopped parsley. Set aside.
- Add the penne pasta and reduce the heat to low, pop on the lid and cook for about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and stir in the chicken, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, pop on the lid again and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes minutes or until the chicken is heated through, the pasta is the right consistency and the cheese is melted. You might need to stir occasionally and scrape the bottom of the pan a bit so the pasta doesn’t stick and the cheese doesn’t all plunge to the bottom.
- To serve, ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and the parsley laced breadcrumbs and finish with a crack of black pepper. Serve piping hot with extra breadcrumbs on the side if you like so you can add a little crunch as you eat.
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