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This chicken and tortellini soup is exactly what I crave on a cold UK evening. It’s a lighter dinner (using milk, instead of cream), but it feels filling and satisfying.
“It’s the perfect soup to have in a cool fall day, just open the windows and let the breeze roll in while you eat. I love it!”
Nicky’s Notes
I’ve eaten SO MUCH of this soup lately.
Despite retesting this recipe recently (I made a few tweaks for better flavour and to simplify the recipe), then making it again to photograph it, I then made it AGAIN a few days later because I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
And now I’m writing up, I’m thinking it might be tomorrow’s dinner too.
A few notes:
- Go for tasty tortellini. Something you know you like and has flavour.
- Don’t miss out the lemon juice. It lifts the flavour of the whole soup – without making it lemony.
- I photographed this recipe with bread, but it doesn’t need it! It’s filling enough. Plus the tortellini should be the star carb in my opinion.
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients for Chicken Tortellini Soup
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
Stock – go with a strong stock. I use 3 oxo cubes or 2 stronger-flavoured stock pots.
What flavour tortellini to use
I love prosciutto/ham & mozzarella or mushroom & ricotta as I think it works best with the flavours of the soup. Use your favourite – although personally I’d steer clear of tomato or pesto-filled tortellini for this particular recipe.
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Simmer carrots, celery, seasoning and stock until tender. Meanwhile soften onions in a large saucepan with butter. Stir in flour, then slowly stir in milk. Stir and heat until thickened. Add the vegetables and stock, shredded chicken, lemon juice and tortellini. Heat for 3-4 minutes, until the tortellini is hot throughout.
Recipe Tips
- Go with your favourite tortellini. Cheese/chicken/ham based ones work best. You can also swap with fresh ravioli if preferred.
- Simmer gently, don’t boil rapidly – as this may cause the soup to split.
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Creamy Chicken and Tortellini Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped into chunks
- 2 sticks of celery sliced
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 sprigs of thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
- 600 ml (2 1/2 cups) chicken stock water plus 3 stock cubes is fine
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small onion peeled and finely diced
- 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- 300 ml (1 1/4 cup) milk full fat is best, but half-fat works too.
- 300 g (10.5oz) cooked shredded chicken this is approx 2 medium chicken breasts or 3/4 of the meat from a small rotisserie chicken
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 250 g (8.8 oz) pack of fresh tortellini I recommend ham+cheese or mushroom+cheese flavours
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
- Add the carrots, celery, salt, pepper, thyme and stock to a saucepan. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 15 minutes and then turn off the heat.2 medium carrots, 2 sticks of celery, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 sprigs of thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme, 600 ml (2 1/2 cups) chicken stock, 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Take another large saucepan and add in the butter and onions. Heat on low-medium and cook the onion for about 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until soft.2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 small onion
- Add in the flour and mix it into the onions and butter using a balloon whisk. It should form into a creamy paste (or roux).2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- Add the milk to the roux a little at a time stirring continuously with the whisk until all the milk us incorporated.300 ml (1 1/4 cup) milk
- Then pour in the stock and veggies you cooked earlier into the large saucepan with the milk mixture and stir until fully combined
- Add in the shredded cooked chicken. Bring back to *almost* boiling and add in half the lemon juice. Give it a stir and taste. Add the rest of the lemon juice if needed.300 g (10.5oz) cooked shredded chicken, 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Add the fresh tortellini and heat through for 3-5 minutes (depending on the size of the tortellini) until hot inside.250 g (8.8 oz) pack of fresh tortellini
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and then sprinkle on some fresh thyme, before serving.a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Notes
Make ahead
You can make this ahead, but I would recommend leaving out the shredded chicken until you come to reheat it. Rotisserie chicken has already been cooked once. Cooking it again in the soup, then reheating a third time is not recommended. So leave out the chicken, and add it in when reheating. If you’re using a tortellini that has a cooked filling, I would recommend leaving that out too, and adding it in with the chicken when reheating. Make the soup base up to two days ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate.Reheat in a saucepan with the chicken and tortellini, over a medium heat, until piping hot throughout. You may need to add a splash more stock to loosen up the soup.
Can you freeze it?
No, I don’t recommend freezing this soup. The milk in the soup may cause the soup to split or become grainy. Nutritional Information is approx per serving (this recipe serves 4). This is based on the tortellini being a refrigerated cheese tortellini, with the total pack calorie amount of 778.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This soup was first posted in January 2017. Updated since with recipe improvements, new photos and for housekeeping reasons.
🍲 More fantastic soup recipes
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It’s the perfect soup to have in a cool fall day, just open the windows and let the breeze roll in while you eat. I love it!
I love food you can eat out of a bowl, and this is such a great way to serve tortellini.