Recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup

Soup is one of my all-time loves. It’s always so easy, filling and so delicious. This week we all came down with a little cold and I wanted to make sure everyone’s belly was warm and full of good things. Instead of making my traditional chicken noodle soup recipe, I mixed it up and made a delicious recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup. This recipe is a cure-all to whatever ails you whether its hunger or even a little bit of cold weather blues. This is certainly a chicken soup for the soul.

I have to admit, tortellini is one of my favorite pasta noodles. When it came to making soup, it was kind of a no-brainer for me to make a recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup.

Making Chicken Tortellini Soup in parts

I kind of make this soup in parts, which will honestly be helpful for you if you want to make it for dinner during the week but work outside of the home.

The first part of this recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup is made in the Instant Pot. I love to use pulled or shredded chicken in my chicken soups and the easiest way for me to make that happen is to make the chicken in the Instant Pot or the Crock Pot.

I start by adding the chicken to the Instant Pot with an onion, a shallot, two cloves of garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and garlic salt. Then I also sprinkle on a little seas salt and cracked pepper before adding in a cup of chicken broth. This is basically the base for the recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can do this same thing and add it to a Crockpot in the morning and cook the chicken mix for at least 6 hours on low. Ideally, 8 hours works better to make sure the chicken shreds appropriately for you. If you’re looking for an Instant Pot, this is the one I have {HERE} and I love it.

Since I work from home, I usually make this right before I start Part 2 of the recipe.

Getting Part 2 simmering along

After getting the chicken breast going in the pressure cooker, I start to cut more onion and garlic, celery and carrots. I add these to my favorite Dutch Oven with some olive oil when making the recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup. This is the soup-y part of the recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup.

Before adding in any broth, I’ll also add in two full bay leaves and sea salt and pepper. I let this all cook down together until the vegetables start getting a little soft. Once everything has softened just a bit, I add the chicken broth. This will really help the vegetables reach their full flavor within the broth (thank you to the salt) and helps to get them soft enough without just straight out boiling them.

Bringing it all together in the recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup

Once the chicken is done in the Instant Pot, it needs to be shredded and then added to the Dutch oven. I also add in all the other contents that were in the Instant Pot. It really helps to give the soup a nice, robust flavor.

Lastly, I will cook the tortellini. I like to do this in a separate pot for a few reasons:

1. If you accidentally overcook the tortellini it can fall apart and get too mushy. I tend to let soups simmer for a few hours if I have the time (although this one can be made in 40-ish minutes).
2. When reheating the soup – because I always make enough for leftovers – the tortellini often won’t hold if you’re reboiling it in the Dutch Oven like I tend to do.

Tips when making this recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup

• As mentioned above you can make the shredded chicken in either an Instant Pot or a slow cooker. It makes it much easier than baking it or sautéing it in a pan on the stove.
• Use the freshest herbs you can find. I get it if you can’t always find or buy fresh herbs, but using them fresh – even in soups – makes a huge difference in flavor.
• Use the best tortellini you can find. I like to use the kind that is in a package in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. I find it has the best flavor.
• This recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup can be reheated and used for several days as long as it’s store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can either reheat it on the stove or in the microwave.
• If you don’t have a Dutch oven, just make sure you’re using a pot that’s large enough to hold this once it’s all cooked.
• Try adding in additional veggies as you like! I always add kale to my bowl before adding in the hot soup. You can see it in the photos. I tend not to add it directly to the soup because if you boil it, you will end up with green broth.

Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! I hope that you enjoyed this recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup! You can find the full, printable recipe below. If you’re looking for more soup recipes from the farmhouse, click {HERE}.

Recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup

This recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup is good for the soul and a delicious family dinner idea that is easy! Plus, there's almost always leftovers!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Chicken Tortellini Soup, recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Servings: 8 bowls

Author: Rachel

Ingredients

Ingredients for the pulled chicken

• 1 1/4 lb. chicken breast
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic. minced
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1 shallot, diced

Ingredients for the Chicken Tortellini Soup

• 32 oz. chicken broth
• 1 cup carrots, sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup celery, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large yellow onion
• 1 1/4 cup peas, frozen
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped and lightly packed
• 1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped and lightly packed
• 2 Tbsp. thyme leaves
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Parmesan rind If you don't know what this is. It is literally the end of the parmesan triangle. You want to use about 1 inch of it.
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 20 oz. three cheese tortellini
• Optional: Kale
• Additional ingredients to top: Finely grated parmesan cheese.

Instructions

• Combine all the ingredients for the pulled/shredded chicken in the pressure cooker or slow cooker. Put the onions, shallots and garlic on the bottom. Add the chicken, the chicken broth and then add the seasoning on top of everything. Cook in the pressure cooker for 25 minutes. Cook in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours.
• In a Dutch oven, add the olive oil and heat through. Then add the onions and carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the celery and the bay leaves. Cook for about 3 minutes.
• Add the chicken both and bring everything to a boil.Once it is boiling, immediately reduce the heat and simmer.
• Heat a pot with salted water on another burner. Once boiling, add the tortellini and cook according to package directions.
• Shred the chicken and add it and everything else that was in the pressure cooker to the Dutch oven.
• Continue to simmer and add in the sage, basil and parmesan rind. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add in the peas and simmer for about another 5 minutes.
• Once the tortellini is done, drain it and add it to individual bowls.
• Ladle soup on top of it and add in kale if you like. Serve immediately. Top with additional parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste and a little thyme.