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.
1parmesan rindoptional but I highly recommend you use it- it makes the flavor so much better!
1teaspoonItalian seasoning
1teaspoonKosher salt
¼teaspoonground black pepper
3boneless skinless chicken breasts
1cupdiced zucchini
2cupsCooked Ditalini pastaoptional
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.