This homemade Chicken and Stars soup is going to take you all the way back to your childhood! Inspired by Campbell’s Chicken and Stars soup, this recipe uses itty bitty star-shaped pasta (pastina) that is cooked in chicken broth along with carrots, celery, and onion. The nice thing about making your own soup at home is that you get to control the amount of chicken, pasta, and vegetables. As you will see in the pictures, this recipe does not skimp on any of those ingredients! This soup was created with my youngest son in mind, but everyone in our family really enjoyed it. I hope you and yours enjoy it.
Star-Shaped Pasta
I used Barilla brand “Pastina” pasta for this soup. It’s literally the cutest pasta on the shelf! This tiny little star pasta is exactly like what you get in Campbell’s Chicken and Stars soup that you ate as a kid, and it will spark some SERIOUS joy.
Ronzoni also makes Pastina pasta. Another small pasta that is also the shape of a star is called “Stelline” pasta.
How much star pasta should I use?
I used one cup of the pasta when I made this soup. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it fluffs up as it cooks, and the soup becomes very full. You would be surprised how much this little pasta can fill up a large pot of broth! If you want to, you could use 1/2 cup, 2/3 cup, or 3/4 cup pastina and still have great results! I only used as much as I did because I was making it for dinner and wanted everyone to be satisfied. If you are making the soup as a light lunch, you may choose to use less pastina.
Here is what you need:
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 garlic clove, minced
8 cups fat-free chicken broth
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
1 cup star-shaped pasta
Parsley (optional)
Here is what you do:
In a large stockpot, heat oil. Add onion, carrots, and celery; cook 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 30-60 seconds.
Add broth and chicken to the stockpot with the veggies; bring to a boil.
Add pasta and cook 4-5 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.
Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. (I chose to leave out the parsley, because I was making the soup with my son in mind, and I knew he wouldn’t want it.)
Makes 6 servings.
One serving is 1-3/4 cups.
One serving is 5 Green, 4 Blue, or 4 Purple MyWW points.
Homemade Chicken and Stars Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 8 cups fat-free chicken broth
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup star-shaped pasta (pastina)
- Parsley (optional)
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, heat oil. Add onion, carrots, and celery; cook 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 30-60 seconds.
- Add broth and chicken to the stockpot with the veggies; bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook 4-5 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.
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Loryne says
Do you cook the chicken before you put it in the pot with the veggies?
Alisha Hughes says
No.
Sue says
Quick,easy and best of all, yummy. I have made this several times and it is easy to adjust this recipe for serving a larger crowd. I have used Pastina pasta, Dilalini pasta and Fideo cut spaghetti ( all from Barilla).