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Chicken Tortellini Soup

Chicken tortellini soup with a golden herb broth, tender refrigerated cheese tortellini, and shredded chicken. Ready in under an hour with sautéed onion and carrots, then finished with wilted spinach and parmesan.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian-American
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken
  • 1.5 lb chicken breast cooked and shredded
Soup base
  • 6 cup chicken broth
  • 1 onion diced
  • 3 carrots sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 salt to taste
  • 1 black pepper to taste
Tortellini and greens
  • 20 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
  • 3 cup baby spinach
Serving
  • 1 parmesan for serving
  • 1 fresh basil for serving

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Sauté the vegetables
  1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add onion and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent and the carrots begin to soften.
  2. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, and dried basil to the pot and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for 1 minute, just until fragrant.
Build the soup
  1. Pour in the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Reduce as needed to keep a steady boil.
  2. Add refrigerated cheese tortellini and cook for 4-5 minutes until just tender. Look for tortellini to float and the centers to be cooked through without getting mushy.
  3. Stir in shredded chicken and baby spinach, then cook for 2-3 minutes. Continue until the spinach wilts and the chicken is heated through.
Season and serve
  1. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Give the soup a final stir and serve hot with generous parmesan and fresh basil.

Notes

Pro tip: keep the broth at a steady boil when cooking the tortellini so they cook through evenly, and don’t overcook once they’re tender. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days; reheat gently to avoid mushy tortellini. Freezing: not recommended because refrigerated tortellini can soften and break during thawing. Dietary swap: use low-sodium chicken broth if you want a lower-salt version.