Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe
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An Easy Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe anyone can make! This delicious chicken tortellini soup with spinach is hearty, cozy and so yummy!
This creamy and delicious chicken tortellini soup with spinach is everything we love about a healthy soup.
It’s loaded with protein, nutritious veggies (like spinach, carrots, and celery), and cheese-filled tortellini, all in a warm, flavorful broth!
This healthy chicken tortellini soup is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a comforting and satisfying meal that is both nutritious and delicious, plus it’s made with pantry staples you probably already have in your fridge/pantry. We also love our Chicken Corn Chowder!
liz’s top tip for chicken tortellini soup
- To save time, you can use rotisserie or leftover chicken. Just cut the cooking time in half if you’re not using raw chicken.
Ingredients
Substitutions and Variations
Olive Oil: You can substitute olive oil with avocado oil or melted butter.
Herbs: You can use most herbs interchangeably here. If you don’t have thyme or sage, use rosemary, parsley, dried basil, or italian seasoning. Any of them will be delicious! You can also use dried or fresh thyme. The recipe calls for dried herbs, but if you’d like to use fresh herbs double the amount.
Chicken: You can make this using chicken tenders or chicken thighs if you prefer. You can also use pre-cooked/shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken!
Leftover Chicken: You can use this instant pot shredded chicken, slow cooker shredded chicken, or chicken from a rotisserie chicken or roasted chicken. Cut the cooking time in half if you’re not using raw chicken.
Spinach: I usually double the spinach for extra veggies. You can sub fresh baby spinach with another leafy green like kale or swiss chard.
Tortellini: You can use any tortellini in this recipe. We recommend cheese! You can also just sub with regular pasta or noodles.
Broth: Any broth or stock (broth and stock are the same) can be used in any soup recipe. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no-salt broth.
Milk: Milk is optional in this recipe. You can skip it! We haven’t tried this recipe with dairy-free milk. Heavy cream is also delicious.
Vegetarian: You could substitute beans for chicken in this recipe, which would be delicious. You’d also need to sub for vegetarian broth.
Parmesan Cheese: I recommend tossing in a parmesan cheese rind with the soup while it’s cooking – it adds so much flavor! Discard at the end like you would with a bay leaf.
How to make Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Heat butter or olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, and sauté for 5-7 minutes until they soften. Add in garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in 2 cups of chicken broth. Cook for 2-3 minutes over low heat, until it thickens.
- Add in remaining broth, chicken breasts, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper, and stir well.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove chicken breast and shred with two forks.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pot, add tortellini, and bring to a gentle boil, cooking for 8-10 minutes (follow package cook time directions!)
- Once the tortellini have cooked, reduce heat and add in the spinach and cream. Stir together to combine, and serve warm.
How to serve Tortellini Chicken Soup
- Warm bread – this sourdough is our favorite!
- Veggies, like Lemon Asparagus or Garlic Brussel Sprouts
- A side salad, like our Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad or our refreshing Greek Salad
Tortellini And Chicken SToup FAQs
Tortellini is pasta that is filled with meat, cheese, or veggies like spinach!
The shape is the main difference between ravioli and tortellini. Ravioli is usually square, with a flat underside and rounded top. Tortellini is usually shaped like a circle or a ring.
Storage
How long does tortellini soup last in fridge? : This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Can you freeze chicken tortellini? : You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing! Check out our post on How to Freeze Soup!
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove.
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
Looking for other soup recipes? Check out these 40+ Healthy Soup Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy soup cookbook.
Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 1 cup diced yellow onion 1 small onion
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 1 cup diced celery
- ½ tablespoon garlic minced
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 8 cups chicken broth low or no salt
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 9 ounces package cheese tortellini
- 3 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
- ¼ cup whole milk optional
Instructions
- Heat butter or olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and sauté for 5-7 minutes, until they start to soften. Add in garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour and let it cook for 1 minute, then whisk in 2 cups chicken broth. Cook for 2-3 minutes over low heat, until it thickens. Add in remaining broth, chicken breasts, sage, thyme, salt and pepper and stir well.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove chicken breast and shred with two forks.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pot, add tortellini and bring to a gentle boil, cooking for 8-10 minutes (follow package cook time directions!)
- Once the tortellini have cooked, reduce heat and add in the spinach and cream. Stir together to combine, and serve warm.
Was feeling under the weather so I made this for dinner and we loved it!! My 2.5 old is obsessed with soup and she definitely wanted seconds. Might try this with chicken thighs next time since those are my favorite. I actually skipped the celery since we didn’t have any and it still came out great!
I doubled the recipe and cut time by using Aldi tortilini and after the soup and pasta cooked I added one half skinless rotisserie chicken white and dark with the spinach and cream. Cut off 15+ minutes with the precooked chicken and it didn’t dry out. It was so tasty on the eve of east coast ice storm. I used no salt everything for hubby’s high BP! 😉
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was delicious. It is easy to make and very satisfying. Just what we needed on the dreary winter day.
Made with chicken thighs a couple times but tried chicken breast and it got so overcooked and dry in prescribed cook time it really wasn’t so good.
I suppose I can try with shorter cook time.
Otherwise this soup is wonderful and full of comforting flavor. I’ll keep tweaking the recipe. Not one to loose!
I haven’t had this happen before. The chicken really doesn’t cook for long so I’m not sure how it could’ve gotten dry!
What a perfect soup that everyone can enjoy! My whole family ate every last bit,even my pickiest eater. I will definitely make again! My boys even asked to take it to school!
Thank you for the quick,easy and delicious recipes!! You are a life saviour!!!
This was delicious and easy to prepare – best part 5 out of 5 family members ate it for dinner, even the one who said he hated spinach. It is really a great soup and tastes great. I can’t believe I even have any leftovers, but can’t wait to have them for lunch! This will go on rotation for sure.
Followed the recipe exactly and this turned out perfectly! My whole family loved it 😊
Blown away. This soup is SO GOOD. Better than any chicken noodle soup recipes I’ve tried. I used the rotisserie chicken from Costco (already shredded) and for the cream used heavy whipping cream. Perfection. Definitely making this again.