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Tuscan Style Chicken Soup – a hearty soup with veggies and beans to warm up your belly! The broth is really flavourful, yet simple to prepare, and you can use leftover cooked chicken too!
“Absolutely loved this soup, Served it with seeded sourdough croutons sprinkled with dry rosemary and Thyme.”
Hooray for Soup Season!
I LOVE soup season! There’s something about bowl food that’s so comforting.
This is a lovely, easy soup, full of goodness, but not in a boring or bland way. The flavour sings. It’s one of my favourite soups and an Autumn staple for us.
What makes this so good:
- It’s filling-yet-light. Lot’s of flavour, but without the cream. It’s naturally hearty due to the beans and potatoes.
- Leftover friendly – it uses leftover roast chicken (or you can use rotisserie chicken). It’s also a great way to use up veg that’s looking a little sad (many a bendy carrot have been added to my soup)
- It’s flexible on the substitutions (different beans, greens, vegetables and herbs – see the notes section of the recipe card for ideas)
Table of Contents
What is Tuscan soup?
A Tuscan soup is basically an Italian-style soup that contains beans, kale and vegetables. The famous Zuppa Toscana (translated as Tuscan soup) contains Sausage and or bacon. This version is my chicken version.
There are lots of different Italian soups – tomato and bread based ones (Pappa al pomodoro), ones that contain vegetables and bread (Ribollita) and pasta soups (Minestrone) to name a few.
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Soften onions in a pan with oil, then add garlic and thyme. Next in goes carrots, potato and celery, followed by chicken stock, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes then add cannellini beans and simmer again for 5 minutes. Add cooked shredded chicken and kale and bubble for another 2-3 mins until heated through.
Recipe Tips
- Bean Boost – Mash up a few of the beans in the soup – this adds a bit of creaminess and thickens the soup a little
- Make sure you dice the carrots, potato and celery so they’re about the same size – this helps everything to cook evenly and gives you the perfect balanced spoonful!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
Your favourite bread for dunking! I love:
Make ahead and Leftovers Guide
- Make the soup, then quickly cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2-3 days. Reheat in a pan until piping hot before serving.
- To Freeze: Make the soup, then quickly cool, cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a pan until piping hot before serving.
📺 Watch how to make it
Tuscan Style Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 stick of celery sliced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 litre (4 cups) good-quality chicken stock ideally homemade, but water with stock cubes will work too. Use water plus bouillon for gluten-free
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 400 g (14 oz) cooked cannellini beans washed and drained
- 2 skinless cooked chicken breasts shredded
- 100 g (3.5 oz) chopped kale
- small bunch fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp finely grated parmesan
To Serve:
- fresh thyme
- Fresh or toasted bread
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until softened.1 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion
- Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a further 2 minutes.2 cloves garlic, 2 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
- Add the celery, carrots, and potatoes, stir, then add in the chicken stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.1 stick of celery, 2 medium carrots, 2 medium potatoes, 1 litre (4 cups) good-quality chicken stock, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
- Add in the drained cannellini beans and cook for a further 5 minutes400 g (14 oz) cooked cannellini beans
- Add the shredded chicken and heat through for 2-3 minutes, then add the kale. Stir and simmer for 1-2 minutes until the kale has wilted. Test and season with more salt and pepper if needed.2 skinless cooked chicken breasts, 100 g (3.5 oz) chopped kale
- Divide between four bowls, topped with fresh parsley, grated parmesan and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme. Serve with hunks of bread.small bunch fresh parsley, 2 tbsp finely grated parmesan, fresh thyme, Fresh or toasted bread
Video
Notes
Can I make it gluten free?
Yes – use gluten free stock and serve with gluten free bread.Can I make it ahead?
The kale won’t be quite as vibrant, but yes, you can make this soup ahead. Make the soup, then quickly cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2-3 days. Reheat in a pan until piping hot before serving.Will it freeze?
Yes! Make the soup, then quickly cool, cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a pan until piping hot before serving.Other modifications:
- Stir in chunks of slightly stale bread (like a Ribollita soup) about 15 minutes before the soup is done. This will thicken the soup.
- Make it a vegetarian version, leaving out the chicken and using a really good quality vegetarian stock. You’ll also need to replace the parmesan with vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese.
- Replace the cannellini beans with tinned chickpeas or butter beans (lima beans)
- Add extra veggies or replace with different veggies – such as leeks or mushrooms.
- Stir in a couple of tablespoons of double (heavy) cream and a squeeze of lemon juice at the end, for a creamy version.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Tuscan Soup was first posted in November 2016. Updated since with video, additional information and for housekeeping reasons.
🍲 More Warming Soups
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Wow! What a tasty soup! A hearty meal. My husband loved it. This recipe is a keeper. Thankful for amazing chefs who share their victories. Thank you.
We can’t find the time to watch Planet Earth. But it would me the best movie to watch! Would love to see your kitchen tour, when it’s ready 🙂
The best soup I’ve had in a long time !YUM –
I added a little parsnip – everything blended together so nicely – made cheddar herb biscuits
Thanks so much – Barbara from North Central
Washington state
Tried this tonight and it was a big hit. I used baked thighs and baby kale but follow everything else as written. Served it with homemade garlic bread. Awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Nicky! I made this delicious soup all last fall/winter and am excited to do it again. Do you know how I would translate this to Instant Pot (just got it and am hosting 7 people this weekend so would like to see if it’s possible to make it more efficient)? Thanks in advance!
Having roast chicken for dinner today. Having seen this delicious looking soup I know what to do with the leftovers. Going to make my own stock first, but already looking forward to tomorrows dinner.
looks so delicious! Ive included this fab soup in my roundup of global winter soups. 🙂 http://casawatkinsliving.com/2018/01/7-hearty-winter-soups-around-globe/
Hi! What adjustments need to be made to prepare this in a slow cooker?
Hi Allie, I haven’t done this in the slow cooker, but if I was going to, I would complete the recipe until point 2 – the bit just before simmering the soup. Then pour into a slow cooked and cook on low-medium for 4-5 hours. Then stir in the beans, cooked chicken and kale and cook for a further 30-45 minutes. Hope that works out ok for you 🙂
Making tonight. Windchills -25*…..brrr……. I am subbing spinach as I do not have any kale on hand. I cannot wait!
Just made this for dinner tonight and it totally hit the spot in this 9 degree weather! I will be keeping this one in my back pocket for sure.