Chicken Minestrone Soup is an easy and comforting dish to serve for an easy lunch or dinner. It's full of delicious vegetables and fall-apart-tender chicken, with a secret ingredient that gives the most fantastic flavor! Plus, make it in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love Minestrone Soup with Chicken
- Ingredients Information and Substitutions
- How to Make Chicken Minestrone in the Instant Pot
- How to Make Slow Cooker Minestrone
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Tips For Making Authentic Italian Minestrone
- What To Serve With Italian Minestrone Soup
- Other Soups With Chicken To Try...
- Chicken Minestrone Soup (Slow Cooker + Instant Pot)
Why You'll Love Minestrone Soup with Chicken
Full of delicious vegetables, beans, and pasta, minestrone is a well-loved soup that often gets passed down through the generations. I know my family has a minestrone soup recipe that we've all eaten since we were kids.
So I figured, why not add some chicken into the mix? Everyone loves chicken, too, right?! The great thing about making it crockpot or instant pot style is that you just dump it all in and after the machine does its work, your chicken basically shreds apart if you gently touch it.
That's why this IP/slow cooker minestrone soup recipe is a great dump-and-go recipe It's all about making delicious food with minimal prep, no pre-cooking, and the ability to freeze for a good make-ahead meal. And trust me when I say, easy never tasted so good!
If you're not convinced yet, here's why you should try it:
- Made with wholesome ingredients
- Hearty and comforting
- Can be made in the slow cooker or Instant Pot
- Only 10 minutes of prep time
- Perfect freeze or prep ahead dump-and-go dinner!
- Family-friendly
Ingredients Information and Substitutions
- Vegetables - You'll need carrots, celery, green beans, kidney beans, canned diced tomatoes, and zucchini. This soup is seriously veggie-packed and you can also substitute other favorite veggies and beans if you'd like!
- Aromatics - Onion and garlic start all of the flavors in this minestrone with chicken. Talk about small yet mighty!
- Chicken Broth - Also adds a lot of flavor. I don't recommend replacing with water, but you can certainly use vegetable broth instead if you'd like.
- Parmesan Rind - Yup, you guessed it — to add more flavor. Parmesan rind boasts a savory and umami taste that will elevate the broth flavor. These can be found in the cheese section of your grocery store and are often super cheap to buy. They also last for a long time in the fridge, so I always have some on hand. Remove this just before serving.
- Chicken Breasts - It wouldn't be a chicken minestrone without the addition of chicken, of course. I usually use breasts, but boneless, skinless thighs also work.
- Ditalini Pasta - To make the whole thing even more heartier, add pasta. You can technically use any shape you like — elbow macaroni is another popular option. I like to cook it separately and serve on the side so they don't suck up all the broth.
- Seasonings - I'm using a combination of Italian seasoning, kosher salt, and black pepper. Feel free to switch things up and add your favorites!
How to Make Chicken Minestrone in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Place the vegetables, onion, garlic, chicken broth, Parmesan rind, and seasonings into your Instant Pot and stir well to combine, then add the chicken breasts.
Step 2: Cover and cook on High Pressure for 15 minutes then perform a Natural Pressure Release for 15 minutes. Remove chicken and shred.
Step 3: Change the setting to Sauté and add the zucchini and shredded chicken back into the pot. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the zucchini has softened. Serve immediately over cooked pasta with extra Parmesan on top!
How to Make Slow Cooker Minestrone
Step 1: Place the vegetables, onion, garlic, chicken broth, Parmesan rind, and seasonings into your slow cooker and stir well to combine, then add the chicken breasts.
Step 2: Cover and cook on High for 4-6 hours or on Low for 8 hours. Add the zucchini during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
Step 3: Add the cooked pasta and serve immediately with extra Parmesan on top!
Frequently Asked Questions
Minestrone means "big soup" in Italian, which is pretty fitting considering the fact that's it's full of all sorts of veggies, meat, beans, and pasta. The word actually originated from minestra which means to serve.
I prefer ditalini for my minestrone soup with chicken, but as mentioned, any small pasta that you prefer will work!
Technically speaking, vegetable soup can be made from any veggies whereas minestrone soup is traditionally made with thick Italian vegetables.
I generally don't thicken my chicken minestrone. If you like yours a bit heartier, I recommend adding a few tablespoons of tomato paste or a corn starch slurry.
Although everyone has a different idea of what "healthy" means, I'd say it is. It's light and full of vegetables and protein.
Yes, this freezes wonderfully! You can freeze either before or after cooking. Allow it to cool completely before placing it in an airtight, freezer-safe container — it will keep in the freezer for about 3 months. I'd encourage you to avoid adding pasta, as freezing could adversely effect the texture.
Again, let it cool completely before placing leftovers in an airtight container. Minestrone soup with chicken lasts for around 4-5 days when properly stored in the fridge.
I usually reheat individual portions in the microwave in 30-second bursts. For larger quantities, heat in a pot on the stove over medium for 10-15 minutes until warmed through.
Tips For Making Authentic Italian Minestrone
- Hold off on adding the zucchini until later in the cooking time (the last 30 minutes for the slow cooker or after pressure cooking on the sauté setting for Instant Pot). That way they don't break down to nothing throughout the cooking process.
- I know this sounds strange, but the secret ingredient I use to make the flavor extra awesome is a parmesan rind. They usually sell it for a couple of bucks in the cheese section of the grocery store. I know that sounds really strange because you typically don't actually eat the rind, but if you put it in with stews and sauces, it brings out all the other flavors in the soup. And then you just pull it out before serving (the way you do with bay leaves in other recipes). Trust me on this.
- For fall-apart chicken in the Instant Pot- do a natural release for 15 minutes instead of a quick release- this allows the meat the break down and makes it super tender and easy to shred.
- I always boil and keep the pasta on the side until I'm ready to actually eat the soup. I've found that if you add it into the soup and cook it there, it sucks up too much of the broth and gets kind of overcooked and mushy.
- Prep ahead- This entire recipe can be prepped ahead and frozen or held for a day or two in the refrigerator before cooking.
- Leftovers and storage- This lasts for around 4-5 days covered in the refrigerator.
What To Serve With Italian Minestrone Soup
A few great recipes to round out and complete this meal would be:
- Three Cheese Garlic Bread
- Roasted Beet Salad
- Summer Bounty Strawberry Salad
- Four Ingredient Chocolate Mousse
Other Soups With Chicken To Try...
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Chicken Minestrone Soup (Slow Cooker + Instant Pot)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced onion diced
- 1 cup diced carrot diced
- 1 cup diced celery diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 1 cup trimmed and roughly diced green beans
- 1 14 ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 46 ouncess chicken broth (1 32 ounce box + 1 14 ounce can)
- 1 parmesan rind optional but I highly recommend you use it- it makes the flavor so much better!
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 2 cups Cooked Ditalini pasta optional
Instructions
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Place onion, carrot, celery, garlic, green beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, parmesan rind, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into pot.
- Stir well to combine.
- Add chicken breasts.
- Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8 hours.
- During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add zucchini.
- Serve immediately over cooked pasta and additional Parmesan cheese.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Place onion, carrot, celery, garlic, green beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, parmesan rind, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into pot.
- Stir well to combine.
- Add chicken breasts.
- Cover and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes and then do a natural pressure release for 15 minutes.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting and add the zucchini. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the zucchini has softened a bit.
- Serve immediately over cooked pasta and additional Parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
- Hold off on adding the zucchini until later in the cooking time (the last 30 minutes for the slow cooker or after pressure cooking on the sauté setting for Instant Pot). That way they don't break down to nothing throughout the cooking process.
- I know this sounds strange, but the secret ingredient I use to make the flavor extra awesome is a parmesan rind. They usually sell it for a couple of bucks in the cheese section of the grocery store. I know that sounds really strange because you typically don't actually eat the rind, but if you put it in with stews and sauces, it brings out all the other flavors in the soup. And then you just pull it out before serving (the way you do with bay leaves in other recipes). Trust me on this.
- For fall-apart chicken in the Instant Pot- do a natural release for 15 minutes instead of a quick release- this allows the meat the break down and makes it super tender and easy to shred.
- I always boil and keep the pasta on the side until I'm ready to actually eat the soup. I've found that if you add it into the soup and cook it there, it sucks up too much of the broth and gets kind of overcooked and mushy.
- Prep ahead- This entire recipe can be prepped ahead and frozen or held for a day or two in the refrigerator before cooking.
- Leftovers and storage- This lasts for around 4-5 days covered in the refrigerator.
Mary S says
Phoebe says