This creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup is comfort in a bowl! We’ll make a quick, flavorful tomato soup base with onions, garlic, fresh basil, thyme, and canned tomatoes (though certainly you could use fresh tomatoes in summer!), purée it until smooth, then add cheese tortellini and pulled rotisserie chicken. Finish the soup with fresh baby spinach (gotta get those veggies in!) and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
You can hardly beat the convenience of store bought tortellini, but this soup takes it to another level! The result is thick and creamy, with the added flavoring of fresh parmesan.
Added bonus? We’re cooking the tortellini right in the soup pot!
Chicken tortellini soup is cozy, comforting, and easy enough for busy weeknights. Couldn’t ask for more!
For more tomato based soup recipes, be sure to try our Tomato And White Bean Kale Soup and our easy Roasted Tomato Soup next!
Ingredients For Chicken Tortellini Soup
The body of the soup is a creamy tomato base made from onions, garlic, fresh thyme, crushed red peppers, and canned tomatoes.
To this, we’ll add lots of fresh basil, a Parmesan rind, cheese tortellini, and chicken. We love the convenience of rotisserie chicken, but certainly you can use any type of chicken you love (grilled chicken, roasted chicken breasts, etc.) or leave it out entirely to keep the soup vegetarian.
A few minutes before serving, stir in one bag of fresh baby spinach. You could easily substitute this with kale, but we love the tender texture of fresh spinach.
How To Make Chicken Tortellini Soup
Melt 3 Tbsp butter (or olive oil) in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 diced onion, season with Kosher salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes. Add 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, and ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat, then cook 1 minute more.
Add 2 (28 ounce) cans of whole peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes, 4 cups of water or chicken broth, and 1 cup of packed basil leaves. Place a Parmesan rind (if using) into the pot, then bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the temperature to a simmer, then cook for 20 minutes.
Remove and discard the Parmesan rind, purée the soup in a blender (or use an immersion blender and purée it right on the stove top), then return it to the pot. Bring to a boil, then add the cheese tortellini. While the tortellini cooks, chop, pull or shred the rotisserie chicken. Stir this into the soup. When the pasta floats to the top, it’s fully cooked. Add a bag of fresh baby spinach, then turn off the heat. The spinach will wilt from the heat of the soup. Season with Kosher salt and pepper.
If desired, stir in ¼ cup of heavy cream. Taste, adjust seasoning as necessary, then serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper, and additional basil leaves.
How To Freeze Soup
While both tomato soup and tortellini pasta freeze well independently, soups with pasta tend not to freeze well. Upon reheating, the pasta often turns to mush. Case and point: chicken noodle soup. Every time you freeze and reheat, the noodles disintegrate. So if you’re planning to freeze this soup, we recommend doing so without the tortellini.
Additionally, soups with added cream can separate when reheated. If you’re making this ahead of time to freeze and enjoy later, do not add the tortellini and heavy cream until the soup has been thawed and you’re sitting down to eat.
Allow soup to cool completely to room temperature then transfer to a large Ziplock bag. Seal tightly, removing as much air as possible, then lay flat in a freezer. Freeze until solid, at least a few hours, then you can store the bags laying flat or upright in the freezer. Soup will keep for up to 3 months.
Alternatively, you can freeze soup in individual portions using these Souper Cubes, which we are crazy in love with!
To reheat from frozen: allow soup to thaw overnight in a refrigerator or place in a saucepan over medium heat and warm through until hot — then add cooked tortellini and cream, if using.
Can This Soup Be Made In A Crockpot or Slow Cooker?
Okay, listen. I don’t like slow cookers. I gave mine away a few years after we got married because I prefer cooking low and slow in a Dutch oven on a stovetop or braised in an oven over low heat. But we know that they are well loved by man Well Seasoned readers.
Yes, you can make just about any soup in a crockpot. A few things to note:
- There is a lot of liquid in this soup (because pasta absorbs a good deal of liquid), so make sure your slow cooker is large enough.
- If you’re cooking fresh chicken breasts or thighs in the soup, remove them and the Parmesan rind before puréeing, then discard the rind, shred the chicken, and return it to the soup. At this point, you can stir in the heavy cream.
- And this is just a general rule: tortellini (or any pasta) should be added after the soup has finished, then cooked in the pot for 10-15 minutes, or until tender. Otherwise, it will become mushy.
So cozy on up with a big bowl — and perhaps a crusty baguette? — cause this one is serious comfort food that will warm you up with each bite.
If you make this Chicken Tortellini Soup recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
More soup recipes to try!
- Creamy Cauliflower and White Bean Soup
- Crab Bisque
- Green Chicken Chili Soup (one of our all time favorite chicken soup recipes!)
- Tomato And White Bean Kale Soup
- Hungarian Mushroom Soup
- Mozzarella Caprese Gazpacho
Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 medium garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes
- 4 cups water or chicken broth
- 1 cup packed fresh basil plus more for serving
- Parmesan rind optional
- 9 oz cheese tortellini
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast cubed or shredded, about 2 chicken breasts (we recommend a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
- ¼ cup heavy cream plus more for serving, optional
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 5 oz fresh baby spinach
Instructions
- Sauté the onion. Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add 1 diced onion, season with ½ tsp Kosher salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes. Add 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, and ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes. Cook 1 minute more.
- Cook the soup. Add 2 (28 oz) cans of crushed or whole tomatoes, 4 cups of water, and 1 cup of packed basil leaves. Add the Parmesan rind if using, then bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the temperature to a simmer, then cook for 20 minutes.
- Purée the soup. Remove and discard the Parmesan rind, then carefully transfer the soup to a blender (working in batches as needed) and purée until very smooth. Return the soup to the pot. Alternatively, you can purée the soup directly in the pot with an immersion blender.
- Add remaining ingredients. Bring the soup to a boil, then add the tortellini and chicken. When the pasta floats to the top, about 3-4 minutes later, it's fully cooked. Add a bag of fresh baby spinach, then turn off the heat, then stir in ¾ tsp Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. The spinach will wilt from the heat of the soup.
- Add cream, then serve! If desired, stir in ¼ cup of heavy cream. Taste, adjust seasoning as necessary, then serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper, and additional basil leaves.
Video
Notes
- Soups with pasta in them tend not to freeze well. Here’s how to freeze this soup: do not add the tortellini and heavy cream! You can add it when you thaw and reheat the soup later. Allow soup to cool completely to room temperature then transfer to a large Ziplock bag. Seal tightly, removing as much air as possible, then lay flat in a freezer. Freeze until solid, at least a few hours, then you can store the bags laying flat or upright in the freezer. Soup will keep for up to 3 months.
- Alternatively, you can freeze soup in individual portions using these Souper Cubes, which we are crazy in love with!
- To reheat from frozen: allow soup to thaw overnight in a refrigerator or place in a saucepan over medium heat and warm through until hot — then add cooked tortellini and cream.
This is crazy delicious. Rich and so cosy, everyone loved it.
Soooo cozy and comforting! xo, Ari