With basic canned goods and a few other staples, you can make this comforting soup in just minutes. The trick to achieving a full-bodied homemade flavor from canned chicken broth is to freshen it up with a handful of herbs, some garlic cloves and crushed red pepper. For a meatier flavor, add a little crumbled cooked Italian turkey sausage to the soup.
Serves: 8
Preparation time: 35 minutes
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Ingredients
- 4 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
- 4 4-inch sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 tablespoon dried
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 15-1/2-ounce or 19-ounce can cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed, divided
- 1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup medium pasta shells or orecchiette
- 2 cups individually quick-frozen spinach (6 ounces)
- 6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
- 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
1. Combine broth, garlic, rosemary and crushed red pepper in a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven or soup pot; bring to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes to intensify flavor. Meanwhile, mash 1 cup beans in a small bowl.
2. Scoop garlic cloves and rosemary from the broth with a slotted spoon (or pass the soup through a strainer and return to the pot). Add mashed and whole beans to the broth, along with tomatoes; return to a simmer. Stir in pasta, cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just tender, 10-12 minutes.
3. Stir in spinach, cover and cook just until the spinach has thawed, 2-3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each serving with a drizzle of oil, if desired, and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Per serving:
133 calories
2 g fat (1 g sat, 0 g mono)
6 g cholesterol
21 g carbohydrates