Summer Minestrone Soup (with chicken)
I love soups, but I wanted a soup recipe that felt like Spring and Summer. Light, refreshening, full of seasonable vegetables, chicken for protein, and a bright broth full of lemon and garlic. Enter, Summer Minestrone Soup with Chicken. This easy recipe comes together quickly, and makes for great leftovers!
Summer Minestrone Soup Recipe
Soup is often regarded as a winter dish, but with the right flavors, it is perfect for a crisp Spring or Summer evening. This Summer soup is so bright and fresh tasting, it’s perfect for a patio meal with big slice of sourdough bread.
Ingredients for Summer Minestrone Soup
- Celery
- Carrots
- Onion
- Lemon
- Zest and juice of about 1 lemon.
- Zucchini
- Or yellow squash, or both.
- Peas
- Frozen, not canned for the best flavor. Trader Joes’ has fresh English peas in their produce aisle which are great, too.
- Corn
- Fresh off the cob, or canned.
- Fresh Garlic
- You can use granulated in a pinch but fresh has the best flavor.
- Chicken Broth
- My favorite brand is Kitchen Basics. Love the deep, rich flavor.
- Spices/Seasonings: Salt, pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme
- Chicken
- You can use a rotisserie chicken for this recipe to keep it easy.
Making Summer Minestrone Soup
Start off using a medium to large size soup pot. I have an Instant Pot Slow Cooker I love. It’s got a dutch oven interior and it’s perfect for soup because you can sear everything in it, and then flip it to the slow cooker setting. If I make soup in this slow cooker, I’ll often just make it and leave it in the slow cooker on the warm setting until we’re ready to eat.
Add a little bit of olive oil to your pan, and then add the veggies (celery, onion, carrots, and zucchini) along with the thyme and oregano. Saute until the onion is translucent and there is a light golden brown on the veggies. Next, add in the corn and the peas, and the garlic. Let it become fragrant, and then add the chicken stock, followed by the chicken. Let it simmer for about 10-20 minutes, and dinner is done!
This recipe is so simple, and you can really modify it to your liking. You’ll notice I left out pasta, I just really love the clean flavor of the chicken, the veggies, and the broth. If you want to add in pasta, I recommend using orzo or ditalini. With most soup recipes, I recommend cooking the pasta separately. This helps retain the broth for the soup, rather than the pasta absorbing it.
Serving, Variations & Storing this Soup
I like to serve this soup with a handful of arugula, it pairs so well with the lemon and the garlic! I’ve also served this with feta cheese and I love for the tartness.
This recipe is easy to modify, and you can absolutely use it to clean out your refrigerator with different vegetables you have on hand! I’ve used more zucchini, yellow squash, green onions, green beans, broccoli, and cauliflower. Because the flavor is so bright and fresh, it really yields well to most vegetables. I’ve also added in great northern beans and really enjoyed them in this soup. Chickpeas would also work great.
If you have leftovers of this soup, you can keep them in a lidded container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. You can also put this in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, simply microwave in a microwave safe dish for 30 seconds at a time, stirring until it’s warm.
If you like this recipe, you’ll also like:
- Light Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Rotisserie Chicken & Ditalini Soup
- Lemon Potato Salad
- Feta Cheese Lemon Salad
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Enjoy! – Kathi and Rachel
Summer Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup carrots (diced)
- 1/2 cup onion (diced)
- 1/2 cup celery (diced)
- 1/2 cup zucchini
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 whole lemon (only the zest and juice)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh garlic (chopped)
- 1/4 cup corn (off the cob, or frozen, or canned)
- 1/4 cup green peas (frozen, or fresh)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups shredded chicken
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or dutch oven, add olive oil. Add onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Saute until onions are lightly translucent and veggies have a slight golden brown.
- Add in corn, peas, lemon zest, lemon juice, and garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, and chicken. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes.
- Serve as desired and enjoy.
Nutrition
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