Pantry Chicken Soup with Homemade Croutons
This pantry soup is very easy to make and you can basically put any ingredients you have in your pantry in it. You can also make a vegan version by using vegetable broth and omitting the chicken.
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Ingredients
- 1 quart-sized jar vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 pint or quart-sized jar tomato juice
- 2 potatoes chopped
- 3-4 cups kale washed and chopped with spines removed
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 box of pasta optional
- 1 cup chicken, sliced or shredded
- sea salt and pepper to taste about 1-2 tsp of each
- additional spices oregano, thyme, rosemary, and garlic powder are good
- For Croutons
- Old bread chopped into cubes
- Olive oil
- sea salt and pepper
- garlic chopped, or 2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- In a pot, add 2-3 tbsp olive oil and heat on medium heat. Add in your onions and sauté them until translucent.
- Add in the chopped potatoes until slightly browned on the outsides.
- Add the vegetable broth and tomato juice into the pot with the onions and potatoes. If adding pasta, boil water in a separate pot and follow instructions for cook time. Otherwise, add the dry pasta directly to your main pot once broth is boiling so that the pasta can cook, which will take about 10-12 minutes.
- Add in your spices and let simmer until the potatoes are fork tender and the pasta is al dente, which will be about 10-20 minutes. Season with any additional flavorings you may like, making sure to add salt generously.
- Add in your shredded chicken, and then about 5-10 minutes before you are going to serve, add in your chopped kale to let it simmer down.
- Meanwhile, to make your croutons, put your chopped bread pieces onto a baking pan or toaster pan. Coat them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder (or chopped garlic cloves), and put in the toaster for 3-5, or in the oven on 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes until they are crispy and crunchy but not too black.
- Garnish the soup with homemade croutons and enjoy!
- For longer storage, keep the soup in the fridge for 3-5 days, and keep the croutons separately in a plastic bag at room temperature for 3-5 days.