Italian Pastina Soup, also known as Italian Penicillin Soup, is simple yet incredibly flavorful, perfect for chilly days or when you’re feeling under the weather.
You will love the flavor of this easy Italian Pastina soup recipe; it will remind you of the soup your Italian nonna used to make! This is super healthy comfort food that your kids will love! This cooks up in your Instant Pot in under 10 minutes and is a quick way to make a large pot of soup for your family!
What is Italian Penicillin Soup?
“Italian Penicillin” is a name for Italian chicken soup, often used to describe a comforting, healing soup that Italians serve when someone is sick; this soup is supposed to be as powerful as penicillin for healing colds, flu, or general ailments.
What is Pastina?
Pastina is a small pasta often used in Italian cuisine, particularly for making simple, comforting dishes. The word “patina” literally means “little pasta” in Italian, and it typically refers to small, star-shaped, or other miniature pasta varieties. Pastina works well in this recipe because it cooks super quickly!
Examples of pasta you can use in this soup
Acini di peppe– small round pasta
Tiny star-shaped pasta, also known as stelline
Orzo– Rice-shaped pasta
Ditalini– tiny tube-shaped pasta
Ingredients
One tablespoon of olive oil
One small onion, diced
Two cloves of minced garlic
Three medium carrots, peeled and diced
Two celery stalks, diced
6 cups of chicken broth, chicken stock, or vegetable broth
1 cup pastina (tiny pasta like acini di pepe, orzo, or any small shape)
One teaspoon of Italian Seasoning
salt and black pepper to taste
Optional Ingredients: Spinach, Kale, or other veggies. Fresh Parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, dill, or other fresh herbs. For a garnish, you can also choose to add bay leaves. I like to top mine with grated parmesan cheese. You can also add chicken breasts to this soup, although it is unnecessary. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice for an additional depth of flavor.
Recipe Note: I highly suggest using homemade chicken stock with this recipe.
Instructions
1. Set the Instant Pot to the “Sauté” function. Once hot, add the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery for 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables soften.
2. Pour the broth and add the herbs, salt, and pepper.
3. Add the Pastina. Stir well, then close the lid and cook on High Pressure for 2 minutes ( This is enough to cook the tiny pasta perfectly in the hot broth.
4. Do a Quick Release once the cooking time is up.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with grated Parmesan and other garnishes.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 3 medium carrots diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup pastina
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Set the Instant Pot to the "Sauté" function. Once hot, add the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery for 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables soften.
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Pour the broth and add the herbs, salt, and pepper.
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Add the Pastina. Stir well, then close the lid and cook on High Pressure for 2 minutes ( This is enough to cook the tiny pasta perfectly in the hot broth.
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Do a Quick Release once the cooking time is up.
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Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with grated Parmesan and other garnishes.
Can I make this soup with gluten-free pasta?
Yes! but you may want to consider lowering the cooking time to 1 minute if you don’t like the pasta to turn out soggy.
Storage: You can store this soup in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days.
Side dish options
Hamburger Bun Garlic Bread
Garlic Parmesan Hawaiian Roll Garlic Bread
Copycat Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Salad
Pumpkin Banana Oatmeal. Muffins
Nutrition: This is a filling meal that is high in fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and calcium. Depending on the pasta you choose, it is also low in calories, cholesterol, and carbohydrates.
Did you make this easy Instant Pot Italian Chicken Pastina Soup? I would love to hear how it worked out for you! Please comment below this blog post or tag me on social media and tell me how you enjoyed this delicious chicken soup! You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
