This chicken tortellini soup is made with tender shredded chicken, tortellini noodles, and creamy broth. An easy recipe that comes together quickly and is perfect for a cozy homemade dinner.
This creamy chicken tortellini soup is one of our favorites. Made with tender shredded chicken, tortellini, and spinach, it’s a hearty dinner idea that goes perfectly with slices of crusty bread. Cream cheese is mixed in just before serving, which adds a delightful richness to this soup!
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe
There are many reasons to love this creamy tortellini soup, but here are my top picks:
- Easy. If you can cook chicken and put things in a soup pot, you can make this tortellini soup!
- Hearty. Between the shredded chicken, pasta, and veggies, this simple soup is filling and satisfying.
- Flavorful & Creamy. Seasoned with oregano and parsley, then finished with cream cheese, every spoonful of this tortellini soup is full of flavor.
- Flexible. You can add more veggies, use different kinds of tortellini, and even vary the way the chicken is cooked for this recipe. I’ve shared lots of tips in the rest of this post. 🙂
Watch How to Make It
Want to see how to make chicken tortellini soup? Check out my step-by-step video below:
What If I Don’t Have an Instant Pot?
I like to use my Instant Pot to prep chicken before it is added to soups and casseroles. Why? Because it is quick, easy and the pressure cooker always makes the most incredibly tender chicken.
However, I realize not everyone has an Instant Pot. In fact, one of the most frequently asked questions on this site is: What if I don’t have an Instant Pot to cook the chicken?
Friends, I heard you! And to help solve this problem I put together a handy dandy guide about how to make shredded chicken in the Instant Pot, oven or slower cooker. Now you can choose your own adventure. 🙌 You can even use store-bought rotisserie chicken if you like.
Tips for the Best Chicken Tortellini Soup
This chicken and spinach tortellini soup is fairly simple, but there are two important tips I want to share:
- Add the cream cheese at the end. This is probably the most important thing about this recipe. You have to stir in the cream cheese at the end, once the heat has been turned off. If you add it while the soup is still cooking the cream cheese will curdle and separate instead of creating a creamy base.
- Can I add the chicken to the soup pot? I’m anticipating this question because often with chicken soup the meat is cooked directly into the pot. For this recipe as written, the soup does not cook long enough to properly cook the chicken. I also recommend cooking the chicken separately so that we can add flavoring to the meat itself.
Variation Ideas
- What kind of tortellini to use? I prefer using spinach tortellini, but cheese tortellini will do just fine!
- About the spinach. You can use full-grown spinach leaves or you can use baby spinach. Either one works as long as you are using fresh (not frozen) spinach.
- Can I use chicken breast? Yes, you can use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs.
- Vegetable broth? You can use vegetable broth instead of chicken stock/broth.
- Add more veggies. I sometimes like to add zucchini or summer squash to this recipe. You can just slice the squash into half moons and add it along with the carrots.
- Add sausage. Want to add some sausage to your tortellini soup? You can do that! I recommend cooking the sausage separately, draining it on paper towels, and then adding it to the soup along with the chicken.
- Dairy-free. If you want to make this a dairy-free soup, you can simply omit the cream cheese. The soup will still be totally delicious.
What Goes With This Creamy Tortellini Soup?
Deciding what to serve with soup is, honestly, one of my favorite things. Is that weird? I just feel like selecting the perfect side for a steaming bowl of soup ups the coziness factor and can really make the meal special.
In addition to topping this soup with Parmesan cheese, here are some of my favorite things to serve with this creamy soup:
- Crusty bread slices – Toast them up a bit and then add some melted butter. So good!
- Cathead Biscuits
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Cornbread Muffins – This is my kiddo’s all-time favorite. They love these muffins so much they even request them for school snack INSTEAD OF COOKIES. High praise folks. High praise.
- Sweet Potato Buttermilk Biscuits
- Apple Walnut Spring Mix Salad
- Apple Sandwich Bread – I like to use this bread to make grilled cheese sandwiches!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Fridge – Let the soup cool to room temperature, then ladle it into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat on the stove – Simply ladle your desired amount into a small pot and warm it over medium-low heat until it reaches your desired temperature. You may need to add more broth because the pasta will have absorbed some liquid.
- Microwave – You can also reheat single servings in the microwave, stirring halfway through the heating time to make sure the soup warms evenly.
More Easy Soup Recipes to Try
- Albondigas (Mexican Meatball Soup)
- Crack Chicken Noodle Soup
- White Bean Soup
- Vegetarian French Onion Soup
- Knoephla Soup
Chicken Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
For the Instant Pot Shredded Chicken*
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup water
For the Chicken Tortellini Soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 4 ribs of celery, chopped
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 15- ounce can tomato sauce
- 4 cups uncooked tortellini
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley
- 12 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
Instructions
Make the Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- In the bottom of an Instant Pot, place the chicken thighs, sea salt, ground black pepper, dried oregano, and water. Give everything a stir.
- Seal the Instant Pot and set it to cook on high for 10 minutes. Once the cook time is over, allow the pressure to naturally release.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a cutting board. (Discard everything else.)
- Shred the chicken (I like using two forks) and set aside.
Make the Chicken Tortellini Soup
- In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions, celery, carrots, and salt and sauté until the veggies start to soften.
- Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Add the tomato sauce, ground black pepper, dried oregano, dried parsley, and chicken stock
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the tortellini, the shredded chicken, and the fresh spinach. Stir to combine.
- Heat for until the tortellini is cooked, according to the package instructions.
- Turn off the heat. Add the cream cheese to the soup and stir until it has melted away into the broth.
- Serve with a nice piece of crusty bread!
Notes
Nutrition
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