Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup
Creamy chicken tortellini soup is a delicious and comforting mix of juicy shredded chicken, hearty vegetables, cheesy tortellini, and a lightly creamy broth. It's the perfect cozy soup to keep you warm in the chilly winter months.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb precooked shredded chicken
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 8 oz mushrooms (baby bellas, white button), sliced
- 6 c low sodium chicken broth
- ½ c dry white wine
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 c 2% milk
- 4 oz ⅓ less fat cream cheese
- 12 oz cheese or spinach tortellini (shelf stable or fresh*)
- 2 c spinach, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until the carrots begin to soften. Add the mushrooms and saute another 2 minutes, or until liquid is released.
- Pour in the chicken broth, white wine, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, thyme and salt and pepper, to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the milk and cream cheese to the broth and stir until fully incorporated. Fold in the chicken and tortellini and cook another 7 to 8 minutes, or until pasta is al dente.*See notes on alternate method for cooking pasta.
- Fold in the spinach 1 minute before serving. Serve with Parmesan cheese and homemade white bread, if desired.
Notes
- When cooking the tortellini, you have a few options:
- For serving a large group (5-6 people), we tend to add the pasta straight to the soup since we rarely have much soup left over when we are entertaining guests. To store, use a slotted spoon to drain and scoop the chicken-pasta ingredients into one bowl. Then pour the leftover broth into a separate second bowl. This prevents the pasta from getting excessively soggy, although it will absorb some moisture when it is stored.
- For meal prepping or for serving a small group (2-3 people), we cook the pasta separately. When it is time to serve, add a spoonful of tortellini to the bowl and top with as much broth as desired. This allows easy and separate storage of the broth and pasta, which prevents the pasta from getting water logged, soggy, and broken up.
- This recipe was based on shelf-stable tortellini. If you use fresh tortellini, it may cook faster. Refer to the package directions for cook time.