Brodo di Pollo con Pastina (Chicken Soup With Pastina)

By Naz Deravian

Updated January 18, 2026

  • Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Rating
4(3,750)
Comments
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Pastina means “tiny pasta,” and it’s often the first pasta shape Italian children are introduced to, typically cooked in broth. Pastina comes in a variety of shapes, like little stars and rounds. For this recipe, you can use any tiny shape you like, or use noodles broken into small pieces. Typically, the pastina is precooked in a separate pot and added to each soup bowl alongside shredded chicken, but this version cooks everything together for an easy one-pot meal. And this comforting chicken soup does not require premade or even store-bought broth: Instead, boneless, skinless chicken breasts cook in water with aromatics like onion, carrots, celery and garlic — and a good drizzle of olive oil — for a rich, flavorful broth that comes together fairly quickly.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

  • 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)

  • 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), or to taste

  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

  • 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch half moons

  • 3 large celery ribs, sliced into ¼-inch half moons

  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 2 teaspoons tomato paste

  • ½ cup pastina, such as Acini di Pepe, or orzo (about 4 ounces)

  • ½ cup finely chopped parsley

  • Grated Parmesan, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

22 grams carbs; 58 milligrams cholesterol; 274 calories; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 10 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 467 milligrams sodium; 22 grams protein; 4 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the chicken and 10 cups of water in a large pot. Partly cover and bring to a boil over high heat, keeping a close eye so that it doesn’t overflow and skimming off any foam that rises to the top.

  2. Step 2

    Add the onion, olive oil, salt, garlic powder and pepper; stir and allow to come back up to a gentle boil. Cover completely, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and tomato paste, stirring to incorporate the tomato paste. Increase the heat to high and allow to come back up to a gentle boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired.

  3. Step 3

    Remove the cooked chicken and place in a large bowl. Add the pastina to the soup, stir and increase the heat to high and allow to come back up to a gentle boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the pasta according to the package instructions for al dente, stirring occasionally.

  4. Step 4

    While the pasta cooks, shred the chicken with a fork. Add the shredded chicken and parsley to the soup, stir, cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Serve topped with grated Parmesan.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
3,750 user ratings
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Comments

Figaro

Please don't boil chicken breasts; it makes them tough. I've been cooking for 55 years and I never 'boil' a soup. Simmer and skim until scum stops rising; add remaining ingredients, bring to simmer, with lid ajar; simmer until vegetables are tender. Garlic powder? Sacre bleu. Smash 3 garlic cloves to add instead of chopping. I used low sodium chicken stock instead of water. Chicken breasts in water delivers very little chicken flavor, bone-in is better; also it could use a sprig of thyme.

AJ

I will make this with bone-in, skin-on chicken. The extra 30 seconds of pulling the meat off the bone as you shred it is easily outweighed by the superior flavor and texture of the broth.

Anne La Rocco Forcinito

I grew up eating this chicken soup. Our mom used Acini di Pepe instead of the finer pasta, Pastina. Also she used the whole chicken for richer flavor and no garlic. She made the soup most Monday nights and I remember looking forward to it each week. It was delicious!

Coco

I agree with the below comment with this recipe is far too salty for my taste. Luckily, that is an easy fix with dilution; I removed some broth, saved that as a concentrate and then added water to the soup. These steps make me believe that you can reduce the amount of salt by half of what the recipe originally states.

Lesa

Delicious. I needed to use up some expiring boxes of broth so used one box of veggie broth and one box of beef broth and the rest water. Only had thin sliced chicken breast so simmered instead of boiled. Didn't have parsley. Was tempted to use more pastina because I LOVE pastina, but followed recipe. Wow, it's so good! Not too time-consuming to make, either. No dicing of veggies--I like that. (Used pre-chopped garlic). My husband is on his second big bowl.

Lauren

2 tbps of salt is WAY TOO MUCH AH! Lesson learned

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