Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup

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.

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