Pastina soup is cozy, delicious, and incredibly simple to make! My vegan version of this classic Italian features tender little pasta bits with veggies in a soothing broth. This soup is exactly what you need, whether you’re battling a cold or just craving some delicious comfort food!
This classic soup is known as "Italian Penicillin," and for a good reason. No matter what's got you down, it will make you feel better! Isn't it always those simple, soothing, brothy soups that we all love to enjoy when we're not feeling great? I know I tend to find myself whipping up batches of vegan miso soup, chickpea noodle soup, vegan chicken noodle soup, or vegan chicken and rice soup. They're all pretty comforting, but I think this pastina soup is the most comforting, and it's probably the easiest one to throw together as well!
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There really isn't much to this soup. It's not much more than broth, some veggies, and tiny pasta bits — LOTS of pasta bits. In fact, you'll probably end up with more pasta than soup, making this soup almost like a porridge. It's SO cozy, and the perfect meal when you're in need of a little pick-me-up!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Olive oil. You can substitute another high heat oil, or even vegan butter if you'd like.
- Leek. I like to use a leek in my pastina soup, because it adds a nice flavor but is super mild. You're welcome to substitute a medium onion if you don't normally buy leeks.
- Carrots.
- Celery.
- Garlic.
- Vegetable broth. Any type of veggie broth will do, but since traditional pastina soup is made with chicken broth, I like to use something like Imagine brand No-Chicken Broth or Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Base.
- Pastina. Pastina is the smallest variety of pasta. It's available in a variety of shapes, but stars seem to be the most popular, which if fine by me (they're so cute!). You can use your favorite shape, or whichever one your grocery store happens to carry.
- Salt and pepper.
- Fresh parsley.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Heat your olive oil in a large pot, then add chopped leeks (just the pale parts, please!), sliced carrots, and diced celery. Cook the veggies for a few minutes to start softening them up.
Step 2: Push the vegetables aside, then add minced garlic to the pot. Cook the garlic briefly. Make sure to stir it the whole time, to prevent it from burning.
Step 3: Stir in the broth, raise the heat, and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for fifteen minutes.
Step 4: Stir in the pastina, then let the soup continue simmering until the pasta is tender.
Tip: The pastina will expand quite a bit and soak up lots of broth when it cooks, making the soup quite dense. Feel free to add more broth if you'd like.
Step 5: Take the pot off of heat, then taste-test the soup and season it with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley as well.
Step 6: Ladle your pastina soup into bowls and enjoy! I like to top mine with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese.
Variations
- Add some greens. Add a few handfuls of roughly chopped fresh greens to your soup! I like to stir in some spinach just a few minutes before it's done cooking. Harder greens like kale will work, but should be added a bit earlier since they'll need more cook time.
- Add some beans. Stir in a can of your favorite beans. Personally, I like chickpeas or cannellini beans in this soup, but pretty much any variety will do.
- Make it vegan "chicken" pastina soup. Add some chopped up seitan to your soup.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover pastina soup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days, or in the freezer for about three months. The pasta will continue to soak up broth as it sits, so it may not be very soupy by the time you get to the leftovers! Feel free to add some more broth when you reheat it.
Frequently Asked Questions
It can! Try using a small gluten-free pasta, such as Jovial's gluten-free stelline.
Most of the salt comes from the broth, so try using a reduced sodium variety.
Simply add some extra broth or water.
More Pasta Soups
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📖 Recipe
Pastina Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 leek, white and pale green parts only, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 2 medium celery stalk, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups dried pastina pasta
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the olive oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the leek, carrots, and celery. Sweat the vegetables for about ten minutes, until they start to soften up, stirring frequently.
- Push the vegetables to the side, then add the garlic. Sauté the garlic for about one minute, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, then raise the heat to high. Bring the broth to a boil. Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the pastina pasta. Raise the heat to high until the soup comes back to a boil, then lower the heat again and let the soup simmer until the pastina is tender, which should be about six minutes, but may vary depending on what brand of pasta you're using. Stir the soup occasionally as it simmers.
- Remove the pot from heat and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
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This is a lovely soup. The leek flavor is dominant, which I really appreciate. My husband and I are both feeling congested, and true to its reputation, this soup had us feeling a smidge better right away. This is great for those times we need to keep the fluids up and eat something soothing. The stars won over our little ones, too. I'll keep this in rotation anytime we're under the weather.
This is a delicous and easy recipe. It is also easy to adjust, as you noted. I used an onion instead of a leek, and I added a can of navy beans for some protein. Thank you for another wonderful recipe.