Chicken Parmesan Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) package penne pasta
• 1 pound cooked breaded chicken breast (such as Perdue®), cut into chunks
• 0.5 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 0.5 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• coarse sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Steps

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir in hot oil until tender, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and red pepper flakes until well combined. Pour in chicken broth and diced tomatoes.
2. Bring soup to a simmer. Add pasta; cook until tender yet firm to the bite, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in chicken; simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.
3. Mix mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese into soup before serving. Season with salt and pepper.