- 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.
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!
- 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.
Calorific details are provided by a third party application & are to be used as indicative figures only. If you are on a specific diet please do use your own nutritional calculator.
Calories: 387kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 243mg | Potassium: 247mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3055IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 244mg | Iron: 1mg