Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup with Pasta
Recipe video above. This is my homemade version of Chicken and Sweet Corn Cup-a-Soup with noodles. It's quick and easy, and the flavour is in a completely different league to the instant kind! I love how the broth is thickened without using flour or cornflour - just a can of creamed corn and the starch from the pasta!TIP: Use the empty cans to measure the milk and stock. No need to pull out a measuring cup!
Servings: 4 - 5 people
Calories: 488cal
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil or butter
- 350 - 400g/ 12 - 14oz chicken breast , cut in half horizontally to form 2 thin steaks (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt
- Pinch of black pepper
For the soup:
- 1/2 onion , finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves , finely minced or minced using garlic crusher
- 400g/14oz can sweet corn , drained (or 2 cups frozen or fresh corn)
- 400g/14oz can creamed corn
- 3 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (2 empty cans! Note 2)
- 3 cups milk , full or low fat, dairy or non-dairy (2 empty cans, Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups broken angel hair pasta , or other small pasta like risoni/ditalini, or break long strand pasta (Note 2)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese , or tasty cheese, Colby, Monterey jack, or any other flavourful melting cheese
- 3 tightly packed cups kale leaves (torn into bite size pieces) or baby spinach
Sprinkling (optional)
- Something green - sliced green onion, chopped parsley
- Shredded cheese
Instructions
- Season chicken - Sprinkle each side of the chicken with the salt and pepper.
- Sear chicken - Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat. Put the chicken in and sear each side for 1 1/2 minutes or until light golden, then remove (it doesn't matter if it's not cooked through).
- Make soup broth - Into the same pot, add the onion and garlic. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until translucent. Add the creamed corn, corn, stock, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
- Chop chicken - Meanwhile, cut the chicken into 1cm / 0.4" cubes.
- Add pasta - Add the pasta and chicken (and any juices on the cutting board). Cook for 3 minutes (or whatever the pasta cook time is).
- Stir ins - Add cheese and stir to melt. Add the kale and stir until it wilts.
- Serve immediately, with a little sprinkle of green onion and extra cheese if you want!
Notes
1. Chicken - Feel free to use a little more if you want. You can also use skinless boneless thighs or tenderloin, not need to split these, just sear then chop.
2. Use the empty cans to measure the stock and milk! 750ml / 3 cups is about 2 cans worth (technically it's 800ml, close enough!)
3. Pasta - Broken angel hair pasta cooks in 3 minutes which makes this soup super fast to make. Other tiny pasta will work well here without any alternations to the recipe - stars, risoni/orzo, alphabet, small novelty shapes.
If using pasta that takes more than 6 minutes to cook or larger pasta (like small shells, ditalini), add 1 cup of water else your soup may end up a little too chunky.
Leftovers will keep for 3 days. Pasta will continue to absorb liquid as it sits in the soup, so if you know you will have leftovers, scoop all the stuff out with a slotted spoon or drain using a colander. It's best to store separately if you can but if that's not practical, at least let them cool down fully before combining again (cool = pasta absorbs liquid less).
Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.
Nutrition
Calories: 488cal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 1698mg | Potassium: 853mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 1879IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 388mg | Iron: 2mg