Chicken and Stars Soup – Emily Bites

This delicious homemade Chicken and Stars Soup is heartier than the original, and perfect to warm you up on a cold day! I actually love canned Chicken and Stars soup, and I especially crave it when I’m not feeling well, but I’m always wishing there were more chicken and veggies in the can. I decided to try making my own, and my version is positively packed full of chicken, carrots, celery, and of course, cute little star pasta. This Chicken and Stars Soup eats like a meal! Plus, it’s simple to make and the chicken cooks right in pot. Not only is soup flavorful, satisfying, and easy to make, each 1 & ¼ cup serving is just 260 calories or 4 WW Points! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app, click here!

Recipe Notes

• Pasta: If you want your Chicken and Stars Soup to have stars in it, you’ll need to look for Pastina or Stelline pasta (or some brands just call it Stars). I used Wegmans brand Pastina, but Barilla also makes Pastina which should be easy to find!
• Better Than Bouillon: I always keep this ingredient in my fridge. Rather than a powdered bouillon, BTB is like a concentrated paste, and it makes things delicious. It’s great for making broth, but it also adds so much tasty flavor to recipes. I like to add some to this soup for extra flavor in the broth. If you don’t yet have BTB in your kitchen, you’ll want to pick some up! I like to keep the chicken, beef, and vegetable bases on hand.
• Poultry Seasoning: This seasoning mix is a great addition to Chicken and Stars Soup and typically contains dried herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, marjoram, and nutmeg. Rather than add all these herbs separately, adding a teaspoon of poultry seasoning will do the trick. You should be able to find it in the spice section of the grocery store.
• Leftovers: You may find that your little pasta stars will continue to absorb broth as they sit, so your leftovers may be a bit less soupy. No need to worry! Just add water to each serving before reheating and it will become soup once again.

More Tasty Lightened-Up Soup Recipes

For more tasty, lightened up soup recipes like this Chicken and Stars Soup, check out my Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup, Sausage and Tortellini Tomato Soup, Butternut Squash Soup, Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, Black Bean Soup, Beef Taco Soup, Creamy Loaded Potato Soup, Buffalo Chicken Soup, Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup, Chicken Corn Chowder, Zuppa Toscana, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Italian Wedding Soup, Cheeseburger Soup, Spaghetti and Meatball Soup, and more in the soup section of my recipe index!

Chicken and Stars Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Yield: 6 (1 & ¼ cup) servings

This delicious homemade Chicken and Stars Soup is heartier than the original, with lots of chicken, veggies, and pasta!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup sliced or diced carrots
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
• 1 lb uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 bay leaf
• 7 oz uncooked star-shaped pasta, Pastina or Stelline
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, optional

• Add the olive oil to a soup pot or Dutch oven and bring over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and stir to coat with the oil. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and stir together. Continue to sauté the vegetables for another 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper, and stir. Cook for another 30-60 seconds until garlic is fragrant.

• Add the broth and Better Than Bouillon paste to the pot and stir together. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the bouillon paste. When the liquid is boiling, add the chicken breasts and bay leaf. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer for 22-26 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

• Remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board and re-cover the pot to allow the other ingredients to continue to simmer. Either cut the chicken breasts into small bite-sized pieces, or shred the breasts using two forks.

• Return the cooked chicken to the pot and add the star pasta. Stir to combine and bring back to a simmer. Simmer for 5-6 minutes to allow the pasta to cook. Remove from heat, locate and remove the bay leaf, and stir in the chopped parsley if using. Serve warm!

To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app, click here!
WW Points per (1 & ¼ cups) serving: 4 (SP calculated using the recipe builder in the WW app)
Nutrition Information per (1 & ¼ cup) serving:
260 calories, 30 g carbs, 3 g sugars, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 24 g protein, 1 g fiber, 721 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com)
Weight Watchers Points Plus:
7 per (1 & ¼ cup) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info)

Author: Emily Bites

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American