Whether you use cubed raw chicken breast or already cooked rotisserie chicken this soup to save time, this delicious soup can be on your tables in less than 40 minutes from start to finish.
Chicken Florentine soup is usually creamy by adding large thick strands of Parmesan cheese, we left that as an option along with the addition of a lemony fresh citrus flavor.
This is a basic chicken soup recipe with the addition of chickpeas, and wilted fresh spinach, loaded with tiny pasta, vegetables, and chicken.
The soup can be made with all canned products or with our favorite homemade broth using Grandma's Classic Chicken Soup, so adapt to your personal preference using canned or fresh ingredients.
Our soup can be made with turkey also, or even another meat you may have leftover from another meal.
Chunky hearty soups our the family favorites around here, it's certainly a whole meal in itself in one bowl.
Scroll down to this printable recipe at the bottom and don't forget to read our alternatives check out our tips below.
Step By Step Easy Chicken Chickpea Florence Soup Recipe
- Saute the garlic in olive oil with onion for a few minutes.
- Add the raw chicken if using for 3 more minutes then add the broth
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
- Simmer for around 30 minutes then add the spinach until wilted another 5 minutes
- Salt, and pepper to taste
- Garnish with grated Pecorino Romano cheese and serve with garlic bread and a salad if desired
Tips and Suggestions
- put fresh celery, carrots, and onion in a food processor and pulse until fine saute in olive oil with garlic to cook quicker in this recipe
- use rotisserie chicken instead of fresh boneless chicken breast
- add some lemon zest for a lemony-flavored soup
- instead of dried herbs use fresh Italian parsley, basil, thyme
- try this soup with other cooked meats like Italian sausage link sliced or another cooked meat like boneless pork tenderloin, leftover chopped steak, leftover turkey or kielbasa
- use a ham bone with meat on it instead of chicken
- add beef and beef broth instead of chicken
- for tomato based soups add a small can (4 ounces) of tomato sauce
- add mushrooms or another vegetable sauteed in the oil with onion and garlic
- substitute tortellini for small mini ravioli or another pasta (gnocchi however you need to cook them separately first before adding them to the broth in this soup) for a heartier soup
- Optional Serving suggestions: Italian garlic croutons, Tuscan garlic bread, Italian antipasto salad, breadsticks, hard-crusted Italian bread with butter
- If you love everything from scratch try our Homemade Chicken Broth
- Small pasta suggestions: broken spaghetti, acini di pepe, ditalini, small elbows, small baby shells, orzo, baby star pastina
Ingredients You Will Need (see the recipe card below for amounts and instructions scroll to the bottom)
- cubed chicken or rotisserie chicken
- fingerlings or use canned sliced carrots
- olive oil or butter
- chicken broth
- fresh spinach fresh garlic cloves granulated garlic powder
- freshly minced Italian parsley
- salt and pepper to taste cayenne pepper for a little heat is optional
- canned rinsed chickpeas
- small pasta of choice see below for suggestions
- Garnish: Pecorino Romano grated cheese (you can use Parmesan if you prefer)
- Optional: for a lemony soup add fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and grated Parmesan cheese long strands
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Hearty Easy Soups
This Chicken Chickpea Florentine Soup is great alongside Bruschetta or a Panzanella Salad.
This soup is really a whole meal in itself but served with some homemade breadsticks, homemade bread and our 9 assortments of flavored butter is a wonderful addition to this meal.
Chicken Chickpea Florentine Soup
Yield: 10
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 40 Min
This is a chicken soup with chickpeas and spinach with small pasta rich, hearty chunky comfort soup
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 can of chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 4 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 cup of fingerling carrots cut into halves to cook faster
- 3 stalks of celery are left whole and removed when the soup is completed cooking
- 1 tablespoon minced onion
- 1 cup of grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 6 cups chicken broth (add some water if soup boils out too much chicken broth)
- 3 to 4 cups cooked cubed chicken,(or use leftover rotisserie chicken)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, oregano, dried basil, and Italian flat-leaf parsley
- 2 cups of fresh spinach (just use the smallest bag)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups of boiled mini small pasta of choice acini di pepe, orzo or tiny baby shells, ditalini, all work well ( in a pinch break up spaghetti)
- Note: pastine/pasta should be boiled separately in salt water to package instructions and then added at the end. See our tips for quick soup and pasta suggestions below.
- Optional: add a pinch of red pepper flakes or hot sauce for heat
- For a lemony Florentine: add 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of lemon zest. When serving sprinkle the top of your soup with grated Parmesan cheese long strands
- Serve with Pecorino Romano cheese grated on top of the soup with garlic bread croutons
Instructions
- In a 4 to the 5-quart soup pot, add the oil and saute the onion and garlic for two minutes.
- If using raw chicken add the cubed chicken to the oil and saute for around 3 more minutes stirring constantly.
- Pour in the broth, (if using rotisserie chicken add in this step) add the celery, carrots, tomatoes, chickpeas, all spices, then add salt, and pepper to taste ( if using hot sauce or red pepper flakes add in this step).
- Simmer on low heat for around 35 minutes.
- Add water if the soup evaporates to around 1 cup.
- 5 minutes before the soup is completely cooked remove the celery stacks, then add the fresh spinach simmering until wilted.
- Boil the small pastine/pasta of your choice to package instructions,(when cooked should be around 2 cups).
- Stir in cooked drained small pasta.
- Heat through for just a minute.
- Ladle in bowls served with croutons, and grated cheese (refer to the tips and suggestions below).
Notes
Tips and Suggestions
- put fresh celery, carrots, and onion in a food processor and pulse until fine saute in olive oil with garlic to cook quicker in this recipe
- use rotisserie chicken instead of fresh boneless chicken breast
- add some lemon zest for a lemony-flavored soup
- instead of dried herbs use fresh Italian parsley, basil, thyme
- try this soup with other cooked meats like Italian sausage link sliced or another cooked meat like boneless pork tenderloin, leftover turkey, leftover chopped steak, or kielbasa
- use a ham bone with meat on it instead of chicken
- add beef and beef broth instead of chicken
- for tomato based soups add a small can (4 ounces) of tomato sauce
- add mushrooms or another vegetable sauteed in the oil with onion and garlic
- substitute tortellini for small mini ravioli or another pasta (gnocchi however you need to cook them separately first before adding them to the broth in this soup) for a heartier soup
- Optional Serving suggestions: Italian garlic croutons, Tuscan garlic bread, Italian or antipasto salad, breadsticks, hard-crusted Italian bread with butter
- If you love everything from scratch try our Homemade Chicken Broth
- Small pasta suggestions: broken spaghetti, acini di pepe, ditalini, small elbows, small baby shells, orzo, baby star pastina
Nutrition Facts
Calories
219.89Fat (grams)
9.03Sat. Fat (grams)
2.03Carbs (grams)
16.27Fiber (grams)
2.98Net carbs
13.3Sugar (grams)
1.45Protein (grams)
18.12Sodium (milligrams)
757.17Cholesterol (grams)
42.72
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Try Some of My Other Favorite Recipes
Our Best Soup Recipes
Escarole and Beans)green and beans)
15 Bean Soup
Italian Wedding Soup
25 Ways to Repurpose Rotisserie Chicken
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2011. It was edited and re-published in 2023.