Part I · Heart Healthy
Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: about 35 mins Yield: about 16 cups with the pasta (about 12 cups of soup)
A classic chicken noodle soup rebuilt for the plan: lean chicken breast, carrots, celery and onion in low-sodium broth, with chickpea pasta in place of wheat noodles for more protein and fibre and a gentler effect on blood sugar.
A chicken and chickpea pasta soup. Written October 2026 from a grocery delivery: chicken breast, celery, low-sodium broth and chickpea pasta, with carrots and onion already in the kitchen. Named for Cicero, the Roman orator, whose family name comes from the Latin cicer*, chickpea (Plutarch says an ancestor had a cleft in his nose shaped like one). It keeps company with the Hordearius Bowl: a barley-man and a chickpea-man.*
Why It Works
- Poaching the chicken in the broth: The breast cooks gently and stays tender, and it gives its flavour to the soup instead of to a pan.
- Chickpea pasta: It has about half again the protein and over three times the fibre of ordinary pasta, and a lower glycemic load. It turns mushy if it sits in hot broth, so it is cooked separately and added per bowl.
- Low-sodium broth plus water: Low-sodium broth stretched with water keeps the salt modest; salt is added only at the table, to taste.
- The classic base: Onion, carrot and celery (a mirepoix) sweated in a little olive oil give the soup its body.
Ingredients
The Base:
- Olive Oil: 1 Tbsp
- Onion: 1 medium, diced
- Carrots: 3 medium, sliced into coins
- Celery: 3 stalks, sliced
- Garlic: 3 cloves, crushed and rested 10 minutes (optional)
The Broth:
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth: 32 oz (4 cups)
- Water: 3 cups
- Parsley Flakes: 2 Tbsp
- Bay Leaves: 2
- Dried Thyme: 1 tsp (optional)
- Rosemary: 1 sprig, or ½ tsp dried (optional)
- Black Pepper: ½ tsp, plus more to taste
- Crushed Red Pepper: a pinch, optional
The Chicken:
- Chicken Breast: 2 lb (one package), boneless and skinless
The Pasta:
- Chickpea Pasta: one 8 oz box (rotini, penne or elbows)
To Finish:
- Lemon: a squeeze per bowl (optional)
Execution Protocol
Phase 1: The Base
- Heat the olive oil (1 Tbsp) in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion (1 medium), carrots (3 medium) and celery (3 stalks). Cook, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft, about 6–8 minutes.
- Stir in the rested garlic (3 cloves), if using, for the last minute.
Phase 2: The Poach
- Pour in the low-sodium chicken broth (32 oz) and the water (3 cups). Add the parsley flakes (2 Tbsp), the bay leaves (2), the thyme (1 tsp) and rosemary (1 sprig) if using, the black pepper (½ tsp) and the crushed red pepper (a pinch), if using.
- Bring it to a simmer and lower in the whole chicken breasts (2 lb).
- Simmer gently, partly covered, for 15–20 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F in the thickest part.
- Lift the chicken out onto a board.
Phase 3: The Pasta
- While the chicken poaches, cook the chickpea pasta (8 oz) in a separate pot of boiling water for the time on the box, usually 7–9 minutes.
- Drain it and rinse it briefly to stop the cooking. Chickpea pasta foams heavily, so use a big pot.
Phase 4: The Finish
- Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces with a sharp knife (or shred it with two forks) and return it to the soup. Simmer 2–3 minutes more.
- Fish out the bay leaves (2) and the rosemary stem. Taste, and adjust the pepper.
- To serve, put some pasta in each bowl and ladle the soup over it. Finish with a squeeze of lemon, if you like.
Variations
- Seared, with Mushrooms: deeper and more savoury. Pat the chicken breasts (2 lb) dry and brown them whole in the olive oil (1 Tbsp, plus 1 Tbsp more if the pot looks dry) over medium-high heat, 3–4 minutes a side, just for colour; set them aside. In the same pot, brown 8–16 oz sliced mushrooms until their liquid has cooked off and they take on colour, about 8–10 minutes, then carry on with Phase 1 (onion, carrots, celery). When the broth (32 oz) goes in, scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot, return the chicken, and poach as written. Across the whole pot this adds roughly 100 kcal per pound of mushrooms, plus 120 kcal for the extra oil.
Meal Profile
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient in the amounts above (the whole pot), then divided by about 16 cups. One serving is 2 cups. A value marked † is partial: at least one ingredient has no published value for it, so the true figure is somewhat higher.
The basics
| Whole pot | Per cup | Per 2-cup serving | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 2,270 kcal | 142 kcal | 284 kcal |
| Protein | 272 g | 17 g | 34 g |
| Fat, total | 56.0 g | 3.5 g | 7.0 g |
| Saturated | 8.9 g | 0.6 g | 1.1 g |
| Monounsaturated † | 18.8 g | 1.2 g | 2.4 g |
| Polyunsaturated † | 6.8 g | 0.4 g | 0.9 g |
| Carbohydrate, total | 169 g | 11 g | 21 g |
| Fiber | 53.8 g | 3.4 g | 6.7 g |
| Sugars | 20.3 g | 1.3 g | 2.5 g |
| Cholesterol | 662 mg | 41 mg | 83 mg |
| Sodium | 968 mg | 61 mg | 121 mg |
| Potassium | 7,089 mg | 443 mg | 886 mg |
| Available carbohydrate (total minus fiber) | 115 g | 7 g | 14 g |
Ratios and shares
- Sodium : potassium: 0.14 (below 1 favours blood pressure; the WHO goal is near 0.6).
- Saturated fat share of energy: 3.5% (guideline: under 10%).
- Protein density: 12.0 g of protein per 100 kcal.
- Omega-3, per serving: 59 mg in total, including EPA + DHA 8 mg (DPA 7 mg, ALA 44 mg). Omega-6 : omega-3 ratio 13.2 : 1.
Fats by type (per serving)
| Fatty acid | Per serving |
|---|---|
| 16:0 palmitic (saturated) † | 819 mg |
| 18:0 stearic (saturated) † | 219 mg |
| 18:1 oleic (monounsaturated) † | 2,160 mg |
| 18:2 linoleic, LA (omega-6) † | 701 mg |
| 20:4 arachidonic, AA (omega-6) † | 54 mg |
| 18:3 alpha-linolenic, ALA (omega-3) † | 44 mg |
| 20:5 EPA (omega-3) † | 3 mg |
| 22:5 DPA (omega-3) † | 7 mg |
| 22:6 DHA (omega-3) † | 5 mg |
Essential amino acids (per serving, against the daily need of a 74 kg / 163 lb adult)
† Partial: amino-acid values cover 77% of the protein here (label-only foods give protein but not its amino acids), so every line is somewhat higher than shown.
| Amino acid | Per serving | Daily need | Share of the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Histidine † | 0.96 g | 0.74 g | 131% |
| Isoleucine † | 1.28 g | 1.48 g | 86% |
| Leucine † | 2.14 g | 2.88 g | 75% |
| Lysine † | 2.49 g | 2.21 g | 112% |
| Methionine + cysteine † | 0.96 g | 1.11 g | 87% |
| Phenylalanine + tyrosine † | 1.98 g | 1.84 g | 108% |
| Threonine † | 1.20 g | 1.11 g | 108% |
| Tryptophan † | 0.33 g | 0.30 g | 111% |
| Valine † | 1.35 g | 1.92 g | 70% |
Vitamins and minerals (per serving)
Daily references are the U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes for an adult man (31-50).
| Nutrient | Per serving | Daily reference | Share of the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A (RAE) † | 205 µg | 900 µg | 23% |
| Vitamin D, total | 0.0 µg | 15 µg | 0% |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) † | 1.08 mg | 15 mg | 7% |
| Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) † | 10.2 µg | 120 µg | 8% |
| B1 thiamin † | 0.13 mg | 1.2 mg | 11% |
| B2 riboflavin † | 0.27 mg | 1.3 mg | 20% |
| B3 niacin † | 12.8 mg | 16 mg | 80% |
| B5 pantothenic acid † | 1.81 mg | 5 mg | 36% |
| B6 | 1.13 mg | 1.3 mg | 87% |
| B7 biotin † | 4.4 µg | 30 µg | 15% |
| B9 folate, total (DFE) | 73.5 µg | 400 µg | 18% |
| B12, total † | 0.4 µg | 2.4 µg | 15% |
| Vitamin C † | 2.99 mg | 90 mg | 3% |
| Choline (vitamin-like) † | 101 mg | 550 mg | 18% |
| Calcium | 54.0 mg | 1,000 mg | 5% |
| Magnesium | 62.0 mg | 420 mg | 15% |
| Sodium | 121 mg | 2,300 mg (limit) | 5% |
| Potassium | 886 mg | 3,400 mg | 26% |
| Phosphorus | 370 mg | 700 mg | 53% |
| Iron, total | 2.15 mg | 8 mg | 27% |
| Zinc | 1.76 mg | 11 mg | 16% |
| Copper † | 0.13 mg | 0.9 mg | 14% |
| Manganese † | 0.09 mg | 2.3 mg | 4% |
| Selenium † | 26.0 µg | 55 µg | 47% |
Phytonutrients (per serving)
- Lutein + zeaxanthin: 105 µg †
- Beta-carotene: 1,937 µg †
- Phytosterols: 7 mg †
- Polyphenols: 1 mg GAE †
Glycemic impact (estimate)
The chickpea pasta carries nearly all the carbohydrate. It is not in the International GI Tables; chickpeas themselves test around 30, and legume pastas generally test low, so this is an estimate. With about 14 g of available carbohydrate per serving, the glycemic load works out to roughly 4–6 (low is 10 or under, high is 20 or over).
Watch-outs
- Sodium depends on your broth. USDA’s low-sodium broth is used here; store brands vary a lot, so check the carton.
Dog check
Not as written: contains Onion, marked ‘NEVER (onion is toxic to dogs)’; Chicken broth, low sodium, marked ‘NEVER as bought (most broths contain onion/garlic)’. Cook a dog’s portion separately: plain chicken and carrots in plain water. Most store-bought broth also contains onion or garlic.
Not counted: the bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, the optional garlic, black pepper, red pepper and lemon; pasta values come from the Banza label, converted to per 100 g. Values are from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), with mercury from FDA monitoring data; see the Master Nutrition & Food Facts workbook for every ingredient.
Notes
- Store the pasta and soup separately. Pasta left in broth swells and goes soft overnight.
- Not for dogs as written: the soup has onion (and garlic, if used), and most store-bought chicken broth contains onion too. For a dog’s portion, poach a few pieces of chicken and some carrot separately in plain water; chicken poached in the soup’s broth has picked up onion.
- Tastes sweet? Carrots and onion bring a lot of natural sugar, and with this little salt it shows. The bay leaves, thyme and rosemary pull it back toward savoury; more black pepper helps too.
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge; the soup (without pasta) freezes well.
Recipe by Tony Seliquini, October 2026. The bay leaves are for his Gigi, who put them in everything.
Written October 2026 · part of the Recipes collection.