Chicken Tomato Soup

This chicken tomato soup has it all. The comfort of a classic tomato soup loaded with veggies, chicken, and noodles. Finished off with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. It's filling, comforting, and a family favorite.

Can't get enough of soup season? We can't either! The best part of soups is that the options are endless. Creamy tomato soup? Chicken Noodle? A good veggie soup? Soups could be on the menu all winter long.

This creamy chicken tomato soup recipe is really a combination of them all. A creamy tomato basil base filled with chicken, loaded with veggies, and finished with shell noodles. It's a complete meal the whole family will love.

It's so packed it's almost borderline stew or casserole. Which is how we prefer our soups.

If you are looking for a soup that checks all the boxes this is it!

Serve along side this overnight sourdough bread recipe or some sourdough focaccia.

If you love fresh basil don't miss my almond basil pesto.

Jump to:

• 🍅Ingredients
• 📝Tips to Make it Better
• 🥘How to Make
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🍲Other Soup Recipe
• 📋Recipe

🍅Ingredients

Chicken Breast: Use 1 pound of chicken breast. Dice into small bite-sized pieces and lightly toss with salt and pepper before cooking. Rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken can also be used. 

Olive Oil and Butter: Both are used to give this soup even more flavor and the butter helps with thickening the soup.

Shell Noodles: Cook the noodles in a separate small pot just until they are fully cooked but are still firm. This will make sure they will not get soggy. If you want a rice soup instead, consider swapping noodles for cooked rice. 

📝Tips to Make it Better

This chicken tomato soup is really simple to make, however, there are some tips to make it even better!

1. How to keep the pasta fresh.
   • When cooking pasta, in a separate pot, just leave it slightly undercooked. Then when added to the soup allow the noodles to finish cooking and bring back up to temp. 
   • Don't store the noodles in the soup. Keep leftover soup and noodles separate and just incorporate noodles when reheating. So when serving, pour the soup over the noodles. 
2. Use a heavy bottom pot like a Dutch oven or stock pot, at least 6 qt.
3. This soup is steller without the cream or parmesan cheese. These two things can be left out of your looking for a lower-fat option.
4. Add a little salt when sautéing the onions. This will help bring so much flavor out of the veggies.

🥘How to Make

Step 1: Cook the pasta in a small pot until al dente according to package directions.

💡Pro Tip: The pasta should be slightly undercooked that way when it is added to the soup it can finish cooking and not get too soggy.

Step 2: Heat a large Dutch oven (or other large pot) over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Step 3: Add diced chicken, lightly season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned and cooked all the way through. (Image 1). Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Step 4: In the now-empty pot add the other 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoon of butter. As the butter melts, scrape the bottom of the pot, incorporating all the brown bits stuck to the bottom.

Step 5: Once butter is melted, add in diced onions and sauté until soft and translucent. About 5 Minutes. (Image 2).

Step 6: Add in diced carrots and celery and continue to cook until they begin to soften. Another 2-3 Minutes. (Image 3).

Step 7: Add in minced garlic and let cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Step 8: Add in the ¼ cup flour and mix really well. It will be thick. Cook for another 1-2 min stirring occasionally so the flour doesn't burn.

Step 9: Slowly add in 6 cups of chicken broth. Make sure to stir while adding.

Step 10: Add in all the seasoning, bay leaves, cooked chicken, and crushed tomatoes then bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. About 10-12 min. (Image 4).

Add in more water if you would like to thin it out some more.

Step 11: Add in fresh basil and noodles and allow noodles to come back up to temp.

Step 12: This soup really could be enjoyed at this step. However, if you are looking for a more creamy consistency slowly pour in the heavy whipping cream, stirring to incorporate. (Image 5).

Step 13: Remove from heat and fold in the parmesan cheese and top with fresh basil. (Image 6).

Step 14: Serve Warm. Keep any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

❓Recipe FAQs

🍲Other Soup Recipe

📋Recipe