Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup

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Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup has lots of veggies and the perfect seasoning blend. This easy, hearty, and delicious soup can ready in 30 minutes!

Course Dinner, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings -8 servings

Calories 445kcal

Cost $5.24

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, separated
1 small yellow onion diced (~1 cup; 140g)
1 large carrot, diced (3/4 cup; 95g)
1-2 stalks celery, diced (3/4 cup; 80g)
1 red pepper, diced
1 and 1/2 teaspoons finely minced garlic (~2 cloves)
1/3 cup (40g) white flour
3/4 teaspoon EACH: dried thyme, dried oregano
1 and 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/16 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, optional
Fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 and 1/2 cups (375g) chicken broth
3 cups (715g) milk (1%, 2% or whole; whole will be creamiest and what I typically use)
1 cup (142g) frozen corn
1 and 1/2 cups (190g) shredded rotisserie chicken
1 cup (90g) freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 bag (9 oz) refrigerated tortellini (See Note 1)
Optional: fresh thyme and/or 3 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley

Instructions

VEGGIES: In a large pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the diced onion, carrots, celery, and bell pepper and saute 7-9 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds more.
TORTELLINI: In a separate pot, follow package directions to cook tortellini. Drain and set aside. (Don't forget to salt the pasta water when cooking the tortellini; I add in 1 teaspoon salt to every 4 cups of water.)
SEASONINGS: To the pot with the veggies, add in the seasonings -- dried thyme, dried oregano, Italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper (if using). Season to taste with salt and pepper; I add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, but add to personal preference. Stir seasonings for 30 seconds.
THICKEN: Increase the heat to medium high. Push veggies to the sides of the pot and add the remaining 4 tablespoon butter to the center and stir until melted. Once melted, sprinkle in the flour. Briskly mix to incorporate the flour and then stir for 1 minute to cook off the raw flavor of the flour. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of chicken broth until it starts to thicken (~1 minute); then add the remaining chicken broth. Whisk until it thickens (~2-3 minutes) and then gradually add in the milk continuing to stir constantly. Slightly reduce the heat, cook stirring constantly, until mixture begins to gently boil and thicken (another ~2-5 minutes).
CORN & CHICKEN: Reduce heat to medium low. Add in the frozen corn and rotisserie chicken. Stir to warm through. (If the soup has thickened too much, add in some additional chicken stock; I usually add up to 1/2 cup to 1 cup extra).
CHEESE AND SERVING: Remove pot from heat and add in the cheese. Stir to melt. Season soup to taste with any additional salt and pepper. Add in parsley (if using). Serve, adding tortellini to individual bowls. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve with crusty bread if desired.

Video

Notes

Note 1: I recommend good quality tortellini. There are frozen, fresh, and shelf-stable tortellini to choose from, as well as myriad brands, so it can be overwhelming. If you have a favorite tortellini, use that; otherwise there are some taste-tested recommendations here and here!

While it seems easiest to just cook the tortellini in this soup, I don't recommend it for a few reasons.

First, with all the different types of tortellini (shelf-stable, frozen, fresh), it's hard to give recommendations for how to cook each specific type of tortellini in this soup.
Next, if there is leftover soup, the tortellini soaks up all the soup liquid and becomes overly bloated resulting in an unpleasant texture. For leftovers, it's better to store the tortellini separately from the soup.
Finally, it's actually faster to cook the tortellini separately. Yes, it dirties another pot, but you'll have the tortellini ready to go about the same time the soup is ready instead of waiting on the tortellini to cook through in the soup liquid.

Nutrition