Rotisserie Chicken Soup with Tortellini
Rotisserie chicken soup with tortellini is an easy, comforting meal. It’s ready to eat within an hour thanks to a few simple short cuts that keep prep time to a minimum.
Chicken noodle soup is the classic comfort food and this easy version uses rotisserie chicken and cheese tortellini to make a hearty chicken soup that is a perfect lunch or dinner.
This easy chicken tortellini soup recipe uses two great hacks to give you fabulous flavor fast. First, you use rotisserie or leftover chicken breasts to cut down time on cooking the chicken.
The second is using refrigerated, not frozen, tortellini.
Both of these steps reduce the total cook time and make this a super easy dinner for just about any night of the week.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this fast cooking comfort food:
- Chicken broth – You can use either regular or lower sodium broth if you prefer.
- Water – This helps to fill out the broth.
- Chicken Bouillon – We use approximately 4 chicken bouillon cubes to help boost the flavor of the broth.
- Rotisserie Chicken – If you had a baked chicken dinner recently, you could use that instead.
- Vegetables – We use the big three here: 3-4 medium carrots, 3-4 stalks celery, and an onion.
- Seasonings – We use black pepper and Kosher salt.
- Cheese tortellini – We use the refrigerated, not frozen, version. You could also use frozen, but you will need to boil the soup for longer and cook according to instructions on the package. Finally, you could use meat, cheese, or spinach versions if you prefer.
- Lemon – a big squeeze of lemon juice at the end helps bring all of the flavors together.
Optional: To add a little more flavor to this dish we like to garish it with some fresh Italian (or flat leaf) parsley and fresh green onions or chives. Simply finely chop one of both of these herbs and add approximately 2 tablespoons of each to the pot before serving.
Tip for Homemade Chicken Stock
After you have removed the meat from the chicken for your soup save that rotisserie chicken carcass to make your own homemade chicken stock using our recipe for bone broth in the Instant Pot.
The bones paired with a few simple vegetables cook down into a delicious broth that is packed full of flavor. I use chicken broth in so many recipes that it’s super handy to keep a jar of homemade stock in the fridge at all times.
Instructions for Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Step 1 – Bring the veggies to a boil. In a large stock pot or dutch oven, add the chicken broth, water, chicken bouillon cubes, shredded chicken, carrots, celery, onion, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes or until the carrots have softened.
Step 2 – Add in the tortellini. After 35 minutes have passed add the cheese tortellini. Cook for 5 minutes or until the tortellini is cooked through.
Step 3 – Serve. Ladle into bowls and serve with your favorite salad or bread.
If your chicken soup is a little bland try adding a big squeeze of lemon juice to the broth. This adds a bit of acidity to the soup which heightens all of the flavors.
You can also try adding different herbs and spices to the chicken soup recipe to enhance the flavor. Bay leaves, red pepper flakes (if you like a little heat), rosemary, thyme, and fresh dill all pair well with chicken soup.
Whether or not rotisserie chicken is healthy depends on several factors such as whether you eat or remove the skin, what additives are used in the chicken’s preparation, and the amount of salt you are allowed in your diet.
In general rotisserie chicken is a good source of lean protein and it is also a good source of niacin, selenium, vitamin B12, and zinc.
The downside is that commercially prepared rotisserie chicken is often brined in a salty solution or had salt injected into it before cooking. You should be aware of this if you are on a low salt diet.
What Type of Tortellini Should I Use?
For the best results, we use the tortellini that you find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. This version cooks faster and has a better texture than frozen. If you do use frozen, you’ll need to bring your soup to a boil and cook the frozen tortellini based on the package’s instructions.
If you like, you could use meat, cheese, or spinach tortellini.
How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat
Like most soups, you can make this one ahead of time or easily store leftovers.
If you want to refrigerate the soup, allow it to cool completely. Once cooled, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.
To keep the soup for longer, allow it to cool completely before placing it in a freezer safe container and freezing for up to 2 months. Place in the fridge overnight the day before you want to serve it to thaw.
My favorite soup storage containers are these Ziploc food storage containers. You can easily portion your soup into 2-4 cup servings before refrigerating or freezing. This is perfect for freezing so you don’t have to thaw out an use all of your soup at once.
To reheat, place the soup in a pot on the stove and heat over medium high heat for 10 minutes or until warmed through.
What Goes Well With Chicken Tortellini Soup?
We like serving soup either with a salad or with a nice side of bread. Here are some of our favorites.
If you love salad, you could try the soup alongside some of these:
- Endive Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
- Italian Green Bean Salad
- Panzanella Salad – Italian Bread Salad
- Winter Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette
For some great homemade bread ideas, you can check these out:
Looking for More Easy Soup Recipes?
- Slow Cooker Taco Soup
- Creamy Asparagus Soup {Instant Pot & Stove Top}
- Caldo Verde – Portuguese Kale Soup
- Instant Pot Cabbage Roll Soup {Stove Top instructions}
- Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup {Stove Top Instructions Included}
- Fire Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- Easy Carrot Soup {Instant Pot & Stove Top Instructions}
- More Soup Recipes…
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Rotisserie Chicken Soup with Tortellini
Ingredients
- 10 ounces Rotisserie Chicken, shredded
- 64 ounces Chicken broth
- 16 ounces Water
- 4 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
- 12 ounces Carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 8 ounces Celery, sliced
- 8 ounces Onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 20 ounces Cheese tortellini, refrigerated not frozen for best results
- 1 Lemon
Instructions
- In a large stock pot add chicken broth, chicken bouillon cubes, shredded chicken, water, carrots, celery, onion, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium low heat and cook for 35 minutes or until carrots have softened.
- After 35 minutes add cheese tortellini and cook for 5 minutes or until the tortellini is cooked through.
- Cut your lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the soup. Stir together and serve.
Nutrition
When do you add the shredded chicken?
When you add the broth and other ingredients. Thanks for catching that!