Soup with pasta is a light chicken stock soup with ripe tomato and angel hair pasta, finished with Parmesan and chives, ready in about 20 minutes. It feeds 4 and works as a quick starter or a small weeknight supper.
Why This Recipe Works
The soup only has a few ingredients, so the stock does most of the work. Use a good chicken stock, homemade or a store-bought one you like the taste of, because every spoonful is built on it.
The tomato goes into the stock first and simmers for a few minutes. Peeling and seeding it keeps stray skin and watery seeds out of the bowl. The tomato softens into the broth and gives it a gentle sweetness and a pale orange color.
Capelli d’angelo is very thin, so it cooks in just a few minutes right in the soup. The pasta releases a little starch as it cooks, which gives the broth a slightly fuller body than plain stock.
Soup with Pasta Ingredients
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 1 ripe tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
- 5 ounces dried capelli d’angelo or spaghetti
- 1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped chives
- Salt, to taste
How To Make Soup with Pasta
Simmer the broth
- Boil the stock: Pour the 5 cups of chicken stock into a large pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.
- Add the tomato: Stir in the chopped tomato and let it cook for a few minutes. It softens and flavors the broth as it simmers.
Cook the pasta and serve
- Cook the pasta: Add the capelli d’angelo and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender. If you use spaghetti, snap it into short pieces first so it fits easily on a spoon.
- Season: Taste the soup and add salt only if it needs it. Stock is often salty already, so taste before you add any.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls while it is hot. Sprinkle each bowl with the Parmesan and chives.
Recipe Tips
- Taste before salting: Store-bought stock can be quite salty, and the Parmesan adds more. Taste the soup after the pasta is cooked, then decide.
- Peel the tomato easily: Score a small X in the bottom, dip the tomato in boiling water for about 30 seconds, and the skin slips off. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
- Serve right away: Thin pasta keeps soaking up broth as it sits and turns soft. Bring the soup to the table as soon as it is ready.
- Break up long strands: If your pasta is long, break it in half before it goes in the pot. Shorter strands are easier to eat from a spoon.
What To Serve With Soup with Pasta
Serve the soup hot in shallow bowls as a light starter before a roast or a main dish of chicken. A slice of crusty bread on the side is good for soaking up the last of the broth.
How To Store
- Fridge: Keep leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The pasta will soak up much of the broth, so you may want to add a splash of stock when you reheat.
- Reheat: Warm the soup gently on the stovetop until it is hot all the way through. Add a little extra stock or water if it looks thick.
- Make ahead: Make the broth with the tomato ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. Bring it back to a boil and cook the pasta just before serving.
FAQs
Can I use a different kind of pasta?
Yes. Capelli d’angelo or thin spaghetti works best because it cooks quickly. Any other small, thin pasta shape works too, but check the package time and cook it until tender.
Is this soup vegetarian?
Not as written, because it uses chicken stock, and the Parmesan is traditionally made with animal rennet. You can use a good vegetable stock for a meatless version, and check the Parmesan label if you avoid rennet.
Can I freeze pasta soup?
It is better not to freeze it with the pasta in it, since thin pasta turns mushy when thawed. Freeze the tomato broth on its own for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge, and cook fresh pasta in it when you reheat.
Why does my pasta soup turn thick and mushy?
Pasta keeps absorbing broth after the pot is off the heat. Cook it just until tender, serve right away, and add a splash of hot stock to leftovers when you warm them up.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving (1 of 4), worked out from the ingredients.
- Calories: about 190 kcal
- Total Fat: 4g
- Total Carbohydrate: 28g
- Dietary Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 10g
Soup with Pasta
4
servings10
minutes10
minutes20
minutesA light chicken stock soup with ripe tomato and thin angel hair pasta, topped with Parmesan and chives. Makes 4 servings in about 20 minutes with just six ingredients.
Ingredients
5 cups chicken stock
1 ripe tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
5 ounces dried capelli d’angelo or spaghetti
1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons finely chopped chives
Salt, to taste
Directions
- Boil the stock: Pour the 5 cups of chicken stock into a large pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.
- Add the tomato: Stir in the chopped tomato and let it cook for a few minutes. It softens and flavors the broth as it simmers.
- Cook the pasta: Add the capelli d’angelo and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender. If you use spaghetti, snap it into short pieces first so it fits easily on a spoon.
- Season: Taste the soup and add salt only if it needs it. Stock is often salty already, so taste before you add any.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls while it is hot. Sprinkle each bowl with the Parmesan and chives.
