As soon as September hits – I become a psycho crock pot maven. It’s something about the cooler temps – they just make my crock pot crazy come out. So the other day I wanted Chicken Parm. Bad. Why… I have no idea. But I did. But what I didn’t want to do was stand in my kitchen for hours dipping, breading, frying the chicken, then making the sauce, and then cleaning up my crazy mess. Yeah. NO. So… Skinny Chicken Parmesan Soup was born.
To be honest I had no idea if it would be good. No idea. I literally threw everything I would usually use for chicken parm in the crock pot all at once with some chicken stock. I mean… I knew the flavors would be there… I just didn’t know how it would turn out.
Lucky for us… it was everything I had imagined. Hearty. Cheesy. Delicious. Comfort in a bowl. mmm mmm mmm. And when you top it with the toasted breadcrumbs, parm and a little fresh basil – you seriously can’t tell you’re not eating the best chicken parm of your life. I think I actually like this better than chicken parm because the chicken is so damn tender.
Another plus – the kids LOVED it. That is always a win. Side note **** I think this skinny chicken parmesan soup recipe is one of those recipes that you could totally hide a bunch of chopped up veggies in – like carrots or red/yellow bell peppers. I will try that next time. Any way to disguise veggies from my kids… I’m doing it. I also added in some shredded kale the next day for lunch. It was like a chicken parm soup salad. AMAZING!
If you have extra – throw it in the freezer. It keeps really well!
Anyhow – try it for yourself. Let me know what you think! AND PLEASE USE A LARGE CROCK POT! This will not work in a small crock pot.
Shop My Crockpot:
Skinny Chicken Parmesan Soup:
Ingredients:
6-8 Chicken Breasts
1 yellow onion – chopped
6 garlic cloves – chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flake and more to taste
3 tbsp salt
2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 can pureed san marzano tomatoes (32 oz)
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 large boxes of chicken stock
1 1/2 cup acini di pepe (you can use whatever pasta you want here!)
4 tbsp of butter
1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
Parmesean (to top with)
Fresh basil (for garnish)
Fresh Ricotta (if you want to make it a little more decadent and a little less skinny)
Directions:
- Place chicken breasts in the crock pot
- This step is optional. I like to sauté my onions and garlic in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and salt to get them nice and soft and fragrant before I add them to the crock pot. You don’t HAVE to do this. If you want, you can just throw the raw garlic and onion in the crock pot with the chicken. For me it is a texture thing. But it’s totally up to you.
- Add the garlic, onion, oregano, basil, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flake, salt, diced tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken stock all into the crock pot.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours.
- Remove the chicken and shred with 2 forks.
- Put the chicken back in the soup and add in the acini de pepe (the small pasta). If you want to make this recipe GF – you can use whatever kind of GF pasta you have available. If you are trying to be SUPER healthy, feel free to omit this step and you can serve the soup over cauliflower rice!
- At this point – taste your broth. If it needs salt – add it here. Salt is a really personal thing, so I always think it is best to salt to your liking. I am a salt fanatic… so I added some at this point. I also added a little more red pepper flake as well… but that is also personal preference. 🙂
- Cook on low for another hour.
- Right before you are ready to serve….
- In a small pan melt the 4 tbsp of butter over medium heat.
- Once the butter is melted, add in the breadcrumbs and coat them with the butter to make a delicious, toasty breadcrumb topping. This will take about 1 minute. If you want to make this recipe GF, you can use GF breadcrumbs, or you can omit them altogether.
- Ladle the soup into bowls
- Top with breadcrumbs, a generous heap of parmesan, some ricotta, and some fresh basil!
- After I serve I sometimes add more chicken stock.
- Enjoy this delicious skinny chicken parmesan soup!
I love this recipe for so many reasons. The main reason is that you can make it as healthy or as decadent as you like. To make it really skinny, you can just do a pinch of parm and breadcrumbs. Or you can omit them altogether. To be super indulgent… sprinkle away to your heart’s content.
This Skinny Chicken Parmesan Soup Recipe is also great because it is fantastic for a crowd. You make the base… and let everyone do their own toppings.
This soup is whatever you want it to be. But all in all it’s healthy, easy, comfort in a bowl. In the fall and winter months – I am ALL about that. I hope you enjoy it just as much as we did!
Other Two Peas Recipes You May Love:
-
Lemon Garlic Kale Salad
-
Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole
-
Greek Turkey Burgers
-
Egg White Bites
-
Slow Cooker Carnitas & Spicy Grapefruit Margs
-
Healthy Chicken Fajita Soup
