Hi, Creamy Pesto Chicken Soup. I know we just met, but I think I love you.
Hello! How has your week been? Mine has been filled with a lot of quality time at home with my youngest because he had a fever for most of the week. He is OK now, but this afternoon my husband started coming down with it. Nothing cures what ails you like soup, right? At first I thought about making Lemon Chicken Soup, which is a family favorite, but then I remembered that I am a food blogger and need new recipes.
I’m so glad I came up with this one because it is seriously my new favorite soup. It’s creamy, flavorful, and loaded with texture. I think you’ll love it too, but I should encourage you NOT to get seconds. This tasty soup is hearty and filling. I refilled my bowl, and now I’m almost too stuffed to type! I hope you can learn from my glutenous mistake.
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 minutes |
| Servings |
-4
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- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion diced
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- pinch kosher salt
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 3 tbsp. pesto
- 2 c. chicken broth
- 1 c. bite-sized pasta
- 14 oz. quartered artichoke hearts drained and roughly chopped
- 4-6 oz. baby spinach leaves
- 1 1/2 c. milk
- 1 c. shredded Italian blend cheese
Ingredients
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Rate this recipe!
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- Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and chicken, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Saute until chicken is mostly cooked on the outside, about 7 minutes.
- Stir in flour to coat chicken, and then stir in pesto. Add chicken broth about ½ c. at a time, stirring well until broth mixture is smooth before adding more. Add ½ c. water, and bring to a simmer.
- Stir in pasta and artichoke hearts, and bring to a low boil. Cook for the amount of time recommended on the pasta package. Two minutes before pasta is done, stir in spinach leaves.
- Add milk, and return to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and stir in cheese. Continue stirring until cheese is completely melted and incorporated and soup is heated through.
We LOVED this!!! I added it to a group Pinterest board with the following to describe any changes that were made:
Creamy Pesto Chicken Soup – The Weary Chef
This was DELICIOUS!!! Made on 3/22/14.
I did add a large clove of garlic, and a diced red pepper that needed to be used to add some color. We needed to add another cup of water (not listed in the ingredients, but it is in the directions) to keep the noodles covered. We used Cavatappi noodles. I served with a little crushed red pepper on top. SO GOOD! Comfort food in a bowl!
Thank you, Angie! I’m so glad to hear you liked it! The way I have learned to write recipes is to leave out water in the ingredient list since it’s always available and not really an ingredient, but I’m sorry if that made it confusing! Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)
Can you substitute coconut milk for milk?
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, Beth. I think the coconut milk would change the flavor quite a bit. If I wanted to use coconut milk, I might use about 2 tsp. of green curry paste instead of pesto. Let me know how it goes if you adapt the recipe. Thanks so much for your visit!
Tried to print recipe since it looks so yummy. All that printed was the word ingredients and no list of ingredients and instructions with no instructions. Anyone else have a problem?
I’m sorry about that, Donna, but thank you for letting me know. This has happened to me on a couple recipes before, and I have to go in and update the post to fix it. I’ll contact the developer who makes this recipe software again. Thanks again for telling me so I could get it fixed! You should be able to print now, and I hope you like the soup :)
Oh that looks amazing!! Will you come cook for me? lol. #SITS
Yes, but only if you’ll come over and decorate my house! :D
I love everything about this soup! Chicken pesto is the best. Awesome recipe Andi!
Thank you, Chelsea! I can’t wait to make this one again. :)
What a great recipe! I would love to try this, however, do you think fresh artichoke would work? I recently received some through my veggie co-op and don’t know what to do with them!!
Hi, Jocelyn! I’m sure fresh artichoke would work great, but honestly I haven’t really worked with them because I’m intimidated! I’m not sure if you would need to cook them first or if they could just cook in the broth. Sorry I’m not more help, but I hope your soup turns out well :) Thanks so much for your visit.
Andi, this looks amazing! And nothing would keep me from seconds, trust me. I’m about to pin it for use in the very near future.
Thanks for sharing, and I hope your family is doing better health-wise. This cold weather is a bummer! #SITSBlogging
Thank you, Alison! It’s not even cold here in San Francisco, but I guess colds know it’s winter anyway ;) Thanks so much for your visit and well wishes. Happy Valentine’s Day!
This looks so good! It’s so cold here and soup sounds perfect for dinner these days.
Thank you, Allison! I won’t tell you how not cold it is here ;) Stay warm, and I hope you get some spring weather sooner than later. Thanks so much for your nice comment!