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Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup is a fantastic rich & thick soup made in the instant pot. It's filled with carrots, corns, celery, pre-cooked chicken & perfectly cooked frozen tortellini in an extra creamy cheese sauce. This soup is an instant hit with everyone just like this Instant Pot Tortellini Soup.
Check out our easy Instant Pot Recipes.

Easy Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup
This is a great soup to use up your frozen tortellini & rotisserie or pre-cooked shredded chicken. The leftovers taste fantastic and the creamy soup base is to die for!
This white creamy soup gets done under 30 mins in the instant pot & it's extremely satisfying. Everyone will love it including your picky eater just like this creamy Instant Pot Tortellini recipe.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
- Tortellini: Use either frozen tortellini (no need to thaw) or fresh tortellini (the ones available in the fridge section of stores). The cook time time fresh tortellini would be just 1 min on high pressure followed by quick pressure release.
- Chicken: Pre-cooked & pre-shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken would work well in this recipe.
- Veggies: Carrots, celery, frozen corn (no need to thaw).
- Aromatics: Yellow onion & garlic create the best flavors here. You can definitely go heavy with the garlic.
- Seasonings: Thyme, oregano, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, nutmeg. Do not miss the nutmeg, it creates a world of difference. The red pepper flakes adds a subtle kick to the soup, however, if you are making it for kids skip them.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: For a lighter soup sub the cream with either half & half or milk. In that case the soup won't be rich, thick and extra creamy.
- Thickener: All purpose flour. Now there's two ways to thicken this creamy chicken tortellini soup. You can either use flour before the pressure cooking cycle or use cornstarch at the end (after the pressure cooking cycle). You need to follow specific tips if you decide to use flour as a thickener. The tips are shared below at the "BEST TIPS" section.
- Cheeses: Shredded sharp cheddar cheese and grated parmesan cheese. You can either grate them from a block or use pre-shredded ones from the package.
- Better than Bouillon chicken base: This stuff is crazy good! Use it stirred in water to make an instant flavorful chicken stock. No need to use store bought chicken stock ever again!
- Cooking fat: Butter. For a healthy alternative you can use extra light or light olive oil.
Best Tips
- Flour as Thickener: Flour needs to be added before the pressure cooking cycle. However, you need to be extra careful if you decide to use flour as it sticks in the bottom of the pot & burns easily if left unattended. You MUST turn off the instant pot before adding the flour & allow the pot to cool down a bit, than add the flour, stir briskly for just 30 seconds & immediately pour the stock and deglaze the pot very well. If you do this differently it'll trigger the BURN error!
- Cornstarch as thickener: You can also avoid the flour and use a simple cornstarch slurry (1:1 cornstarch : water mixed well to form a slurry) to thicken the soup. Add it at the end just before adding the cheeses. You can also control the consistency of the soup by choosing the amount of cornstarch slurry. Use more for a thicker soup and add less for a thinner soup.
- Fresh Tortellini: If you choose to use fresh tortellini - the ones available in the fridge section of stores the cook time would be 1 min instead of 2 mins.
- Less rich, less creamy option: Sun the cream with half & half or 1% or 2% milk. Add less cheese or you can totally skip the cheeses and keep the soup light a healthy.
- More veggie option: If you want you can also red bell peppers and baby spinach. You have to adjust the amount of liquid. Add the baby spinach at the end after turning of the instant pot. The residual heat will perfectly cook down and wilt the spinach without turning them soggy or too soft.
- Chicken sub: This creamy tortellini soup also tastes very good with pre-cooked and shredded turkey.
How to make creamy chicken tortellini soup in instant pot?
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #1 Sauté aromatics, veggies
- Sauté aromatics, veggies: Sauté the aromatics & veggies along in butter in the instant pot on sauté mode set at normal heat. Add salt to quicken the process. Sauté until the onion begins to turn soft.
- Add flour: Turn off the instant pot and wait for the pot to cool down a bit. This step is very important & shall prevent the flour from from sticking at the bottom of the pot & triggering burn! Add the flour and stir briskly for just 30 seconds.
Step #2 Deglaze pot
- Deglaze pot: Add the stock immediately & deglaze the pot very well by scraping the sides & the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and hence prevent the burn! DO NOT ever rush this step. Any slightest amount of flour stuck at the bottom of the pot will trigger the BURN error! Add the seasonings, stir well & add the frozen corn.
Step #3 Pressure Cook
- Pressure Cook: Add the frozen tortellini. Secure the lid of the instant pot, seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for just 1 min followed by a quick pressure release. Cancel the pressure cook mode and hit the KEEP WARM function and set it on normal.
Step #4 Make creamy sauce, add chicken
- Make creamy sauce: Add the cream, stir well. Than add the cheddar and parmesan cheeses one by one and stir briskly until the cheeses completely melt to form the extra creamy sauce. Finally add the pre-cooked shredded or diced chicken and give everything a good stir. Do a taste test, adjust the consistency of the soup as per your personal taste preference. Serve hot and enoy!
Crockpot creamy chicken tortellini soup (method)
You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs to make the soup in the crockpot/slow cooker instead of pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken. Here's how to make it:
- Slow cook: Add the chicken, aromatics, veggies, seasonings and 6 cups chicken stock in a 6 quart crockpot or slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or on high for 4 hours.
- Add tortellini & slow cook: Remove the cooked chicken from the slow cooker & shred it with the help of a pair of forks or you may dice it into bite size pieces. Transfer the chicken back to the crockpot, In a small bowl whisk together the flour & cream and add it to the slow cooker along with the frozen or fresh tortellini. Give everything a good stir. Cover and cook for 25 mins or until the tortellini is cooked through and the soup has thickened.
- Mix cheeses & serve: Add the cheeses at the end and stir well until they fully incorporate into the slow cooker creamy chicken tortellini soup. Serve immediately and enjoy!
How to store
Fridge: Store the creamy chicken tortellini soup in air tight containers for upto 4 days in the fridge. Do follow the reheating directions below.
Freezer: This soup cannot be frozen because pre-cooked tortellini doesn't do well when frozen, thawed & reheated. The cream and cheese might also curdle and separate when frozen.
How to reheat
- Microwave Oven: The tortellini pasta will absorb a lot of the soup liquid when stored in the fridge. Add a splash of any of these - stock, cream, half & half, milk. Stir with a spoon gently and than reheat the soup in the microwave oven until warm or hot.
- Stove top: You can transfer the fridge cold soup in a heavy bottomed saucepan and add a splash of these - stock, cream, half & half or milk. Stir gently with a spoon and reheat over medium low heat. Avoid high temperatures and do not leave the soup unattended as it might stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
Serving Ideas
- Crusty bread like a sour dough or French baguette.
- Garlic Bread.
- Texas Toast.
- Corn bread.
- Jalapeno corn bread.
- Instant pot steamed broccoli.
- Instant pot steamed carrots.
- Any light side salad.
More Instant Pot Soups
- Creamy chicken tortilla soup instant pot.
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup instant pot.
- Lemon chicken orzo soup instant pot.
- Chili's chicken enchilada soup instant pot.
- Instant pot easy lasagna soup.
- Olive Garden Copycat Pasta e Fagioli instant pot.
- Instant pot stuffed pepper soup with sausage.
- Unstuffed cabbage roll soup instant pot.
- Alaskan Salmon Chowder.
- Instant pot cheesy potato soup.
Recommended
I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU! If you try this Creamy chicken tortellini soup recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I would love to hear how it turned out for you, or any changes you make. You can also follow me on Pinterest or subscribe our free NEWLETTER for new recipes every week!
Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup
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Ingredients
- 10 ounce Frozen Tortellini (**no need to thaw.)
- 2 cups chicken (**pre-cooked shredded or diced chicken. You can use shredded rotisserie chicken as well.)
- 1 cup onion (**yellow onion roughly chopped.)
- ½ tbsp garlic (**minced.)
- ½ cup carrots (**dice into half moons. Refer the ingredients photo above.)
- ½ cup celery (**roughly chopped.)
- ¾ cup Sweet Corn (**frozen. No need to thaw.)
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour (**used as thickener. Read NOTES below for gluten free thickener option.)
- Salt (to taste) (**use according to your own personal taste preference.)
Seasonings
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (**skip if heat intolerant.)
- ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
Dairy
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (**I used sharp cheddar. Grate it from a block or use pre-shredded from the package.)
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese (**grate it from a block or use pre-shredded from the package.)
Liquid
- 4.5 cups Water (**warm.)
- 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon (**chicken base. Stir the better than bouillon chicken base in the above 4.5 cups water to make an instant flavorful chicken stock. )
Equipment Used
Instructions
Sauté aromatics, veggies
- Set the instant pot Sauté mode on NORMAL heat settings. You can change/control the heat by pressing the sauté button more than once. Add butter, when the butter begins to melt add the onion, veggies, garlic & sauté until the onion begins to turn soft. Add salt to quicken the process.
Deglaze pot
- Turn off the instant pot and allow the pot to cool down a bit. This step is VERY important, otherwise the flour will stick at the bottom of the pot and shall trigger the BURN! Now, add the flour and stir briskly for just 30 seconds. Doing anything differently in this step will trigger the burn! (Flour is used as a thickener, you can also skip the flour in this step & thicken the soup with cornstarch at the end, read NOTES below for more details).
- Immediately pour the chicken stock and deglaze the pot very well by scraping the sides & the bottom of the pot with the help of your spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and prevent the BURN error. DO NOT rush this step.
Pressure cook
- Now, add the seasonings and give everything a good stir. Add the frozen tortellini (no thawing needed) and the frozen corn (no need to thaw). Give everything a quick stir and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for just 1 min. Once, the cooking cycle is over the instant pot will begin to beep, allow 5 mins natural pressure release and than release the rest of the pressure manually by moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position. Open the lid carefully when the floating pin on top of the lid has dropped.
Make the creamy soup base
- Cancel the pressure cook mode & hit the KEEP WARM button and set it on NORMAL heat. You can adjust the heat setting by pressing the "keep warm" button more than once. Now, add the cream, mix well. Add the cheddar and parmesan cheese one by one and stir well until the cheeses completely melts to form the creamy soup base.
- Do a taste test and than add the pre-cooked shredded or diced chicken into the instant pot. Give everything a good mix and serve the creamy chicken tortellini soup immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cornstarch as gluten free thickener: If you are skeptical to use the flour before the pressure cooking cycle than do skip it and use about 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch mixed into the heavy whipping cream and than add it to the soup. This will thicken the soup beautifully. Cornstarch is also naturally gluten free.
- Soup consistency: You will have a rich & insanely creamy soup if you follow this recipe. However, you can totally control the consistency of the soup and keep it on the thinner side by subbing the cream with 1%-2% milk & adding less cheese.
- Red pepper flakes: The red pepper flakes will add a subtle kick to the recipe and won't make it spicy. But, if you are making the soup for kids do skip the red pepper flakes.
- Can I use rotisserie chicken? Yes, you can use rotisserie chicken.
Melissa Clark says
This is one of the best soups I’ve ever had! It was so yummy and creamy. My whole family loved it. I will definitely be adding it to my favorites! Thanks for sharing!
Foodies Terminal says
Hey Melissa thanks so much for the amazing feedback, appreciate it 🙂 We are so glad your family enjoyed this soup recipe so much 🙂 - Meghna.
Jamie says
This soup was so good, and easy to make. My friend is having a soup party where everyone brings one and I’m taking this for sure. I used canned corn because I didn’t have frozen, and that worked just as well.
Foodies Terminal says
So glad you loved this soup recipe so much 🙂 Thanks a lot for the amazing feedback, appreciate it. - Meghna.
Emiy says
This was great!
Foodies Terminal says
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Emiy 🙂 Thanks much for the amazing feedback 🙂 - Meghna.