Chicken tortellini soup is everything you love about a classic chicken noodle soup recipe, but better. This is a 30-minute one pot soup recipe perfect for any night of the week. The best part? We’re replacing boring noodles with cheese-filled tortellini!

This Chicken Tortellini Soup is filling, bright, and fresh thanks to lemon zest and tons of fresh dill. All you need for a meal is to serve some crusty bread on the side for dipping!

Chicken Tortellini Soup

I love a good soup any night of the week, but mid-week when I’m bogged down I want something simple and nourishing. This Chicken Tortellini Soup is all that and more! This is an easy one-pot soup recipe that you can easily adapt to your tastes.

Think of this recipe as a blueprint for a delicious chicken soup that you can adjust to suit what you like and have on hand! You can add any veggies and herbs that you like. Chicken tortellini soup is rich and hearty and will taste like it’s been simmering for hours.

The truth? It only takes about 30 minutes to whip up! I love an easy low-stress recipe with a high reward at the end. I love using rotisserie chicken for this easy chicken soup recipe which makes my life even easier.

If you love chicken soup as much as I do, you’ll turn to this easy Chicken Tortellini Soup recipe over and over again! Looking for a vegetarian soup? Try my easy one-pot Tomato Tortellini Soup.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

Comforting – There’s nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of chicken noodle soup, but we’ve made it even better! This Chicken Tortellini Soup recipe is so flavorful and rich without being too heavy. It’s the soup we turn to over and over again for cool nights.

One Pot – The best part of this soup? It’s made entirely in one pot! I love any dinner that saves me from tons of clean up. You’re going to love how easy this recipe for is.

Healthy – We love a healthy and nourishing dinner! Homemade chicken broth, cheese (or veggie!) tortellini, shredded chicken, and fresh veggies make this a balanced and delicious soup.

How to Make Chicken Tortellini Soup

As with all my soup recipes, I highly recommend investing in a 4 qt dutch oven! This piece of cookware does all of the heavy lifting in my kitchen and I love it so much! I’ve linked my favorite dutch oven below.

TOOLS NEEDED

• 4 QT DUTCH OVEN
• SHARP KNIFE
• CUTTING BOARD
• SOUP STORAGE CUBES

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Olive oil. Use an olive oil that can stand up to high heat (not a finishing oil). You could also swap in any neutral oil or butter.
• Veggies. Carrots, onion, and celery are classic for chicken soup. You could also add in some extra of whatever you have on hand!
• Chicken. I buy shredded rotisserie chicken, but you could also poach chicken in the soup and then shred it before adding tortellini.
• Tortellini. I used a classic 4 cheese and spinach tortellini here, but use your favorite! Scroll down to the section detailing the best types of tortellini to use for Chicken Tortellini Soup for more information.
• Chicken broth. I always have a stash of homemade chicken stock in my freezer, and I always recommend using homemade. Otherwise, just use the best-quality store bought that you can find.
• Dill. I love fresh dill in my chicken tortellini soup! You can skip it or add whatever herbs you prefer like parsley, tarragon, basil, thyme etc.
• Lemon zest and juice. A bit of lemon zest and juice at the end really brightens this soup and makes it something special!

The Process

1. Saute the veggies. Add the oil to a dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat and add the veggies and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the onions are starting to get soft.
2. Add the broth and chicken. Add the broth and chicken to the pot and bring to a simmer. Again, I use rotisserie already cooked chicken, but you could use uncooked chicken. Just let it simmer with the veggies until cooked through, then shred and return to the pot.
3. Add the tortellini. Once the veggies are soft, add the tortellini to the pot and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
4. Finish. Stir in the lemon zest, juice, and dill and season with salt and pepper. That’s it!

The Best Type of Tortellini for Chicken Tortellini Soup

There are a lot of options when it comes to choosing the right tortellini for Chicken Tortellini Soup! My favorite tortellini (or ravioli!) to use are the fresh ravioli in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. 

Trader Joe’s has an amazing selection of ravioli in their refrigerated section. The flavor you choose is totally up to you! I love a classic spinach-ricotta tortellini, their burrata ravioli, or a 4-cheese tortellini.

You can also opt for frozen tortellini! There are a lot of great options in the freezer section for tortellini and ravioli and they last quite a while in the freezer. I like to stock up on these freezer options for easy dinners!

There are dried tortellini in the pasta section. Truth be told, these are my least favorite tortellini to use. I find that they aren’t as flavorful and the texture isn’t as great as the fresh tortellini. You can absolutely use them, but instead of cooking them in the soup I would boil them separately in a pot of water and then add them to the Chicken Tortellini Soup.

Customizing Chicken Tortellini Soup

Think of this recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup as a blueprint! It’s a base recipe that you can very easily adjust to your tastes and to what you have on hand. Here are my favorite ways to customize Chicken Tortellini Soup:

Swap the protein – Cooking up some spicy Italian sausage with the onions and garlic adds tons of flavor! You could also add some meatballs, vegetarian sausage or tempeh, etc. The sky is the limit!

Add some veggies – You could really add some veggies to amp this soup up! Toss in some hearty lacinato kale or spinach! Add some chopped peppers! I love cabbage so I’ve made a variation where I saute a bunch of chopped cabbage with the onions and garlic. Adding veggies adds some extra fiber and really bulks up the soup.

Change up the herb situation – If you know me, you know I am a fanatic for dill in my chicken soup! You could also toss in some fresh basil, tarragon, thyme, etc and they’d all pair so well with the lemon zest.

Play around with the recipe and add things that you love and make you feel good!

Storing, Freezing, and Reheating Chicken Tortellini Soup

Leftovers of this soup will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container, but keep in mind that as time goes on, the pasta will soak up the broth and get puffy.

If you anticipate a lot of leftovers, leave the tortellini out and add it fresh when you’re warming up individual portions of the soup.

Ideally, reheat on the stove over a low heat. You could microwave it as well in small increments.

I wouldn’t recommend freezing this one with the tortellini as the texture will change, but you can freeze it without the pasta for up to 3 months.

Next time you’re in the mood for a cozy soup, try this Chicken Tortellini Soup recipe! It’s one of our year-round favorites, and I know you will love it just as much as we do! If you do give it a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!

More Soup Recipes to Try Now

MISO GINGER CHICKEN UDON SOUP
CREAMY CHICKEN AND DUMPLING SOUP
CREAMY WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
RED POZOLE WITH CHICKEN

This post contains affiliate links from which I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links allow me to keep providing great recipes for free and I never recommend products that I don’t love and personally own.