Creamy chicken tortellini soup is a great weeknight dinner dish that feeds a crowd! It's also healthier, as it's made with cashew cream instead of heavy cream.
Despite it being mid-May, this past week or so hasn't been that warm! I made this soup a couple weeks back and the comforting tortellini warmed my soul and brought me back to life!
Sean is a big tortellini fan. I hadn't really played around with it much until I started to test out this chicken tortellini soup.
Traditionally, creamy chicken tortellini has heavy cream or half and half in it. I tried multiple methods, including 2% milk and it just wasn't working for me.
It wasn't until I tried using cashew cream that I really got the creamy velvety texture I wanted.
Ingredients
- Cheese tortellini: You can find cheese tortellini in the refrigerated pasta section of the grocery store. Typically this is down the pasta aisle!
- Chicken Breasts: I used 1 Costco packet of chicken breasts, which includes 2 large chicken breasts.
- Italian seasoning: Grocery stores sell this in the spice section!
- Cashews: You will need cashews for the cashew cream. If you don't want to use cashews or if you have a nut allergy, you can sub half and half.
- Low sodium chicken broth: This will be the base of the soup.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: I personally like the sun-dried tomatoes that are packed in oil and seasoning in a jar. You can also use the regular sun dried tomatoes you would find in a plastic bag near produce.
- Spinach: I used fresh spinach.
- White onion & Garlic: Need these for flavoring!
How to Make Chicken Tortellini Soup
You can follow this step-by-step video to learn how to make chicken tortellini soup.
First, you will need to soak the cashews in hot water (or broth if you have extra)
Next, saute the garlic and onion. Add in the chicken and Italian seasoning. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add chicken broth and cover with a lid.
When the soup comes to a boil, add in the tortellini and cook according to package instructions (generally 7 minutes or so) at a boil.
While the soup is cooking, blend the cashews and water together in a high speed blender.
Once the 7 minutes is up and tortellini is cooked through (I would test one just to be sure!), add in the cashew cream, spinach and sun dried tomatoes.
Garnish with parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper!
The soup will become thicker after it sits in the fridge. You might need to add more chicken broth to thin it out before re-heating it!
Is this a healthy chicken tortellini soup?
If I had to answer this question simply, I would say yes. It's made with low sodium chicken broth and cashew cream to help cut down on saturated fat that you would expect from half and half or heavy cream.
By adding chicken to this recipe, the protein per serving comes out to about 30 grams. This is a great amount for a well balanced meal!
Check out these other great chicken recipes!
Hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Be sure to leave a star rating/review in the comment section! It helps me get noticed in this big internet world!
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PrintCreamy Chicken Tortellini Soup {Step by Step Video!}
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Salt
Description
Creamy chicken tortellini soup is a great weeknight dinner dish that feeds a crowd! It's also healthier, as it's made with cashew cream instead of heavy cream.
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- ¼ cup white onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes and uncooked
- 18 or 20 ounce package of cheese tortellini, uncooked
- 1.5 quarts chicken broth, low sodium (about 6 cups)
- Big handful of spinach
- 1 cup (about 3oz package) sun dried tomatoes, julienned (loosely packed)
- Garnish: cracked black pepper, parmesan cheese
Cashew cream:
- 1 cup cashews (plain, unsalted)
- 1.5 cups water (or broth)
Instructions
- Soak cashews in 1.5 cups hot water or broth. Set aside.
- In a large stock pot, sauté the garlic and white onion in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium/high heat.
- Once the onion is translucent (about 1-2 minutes), add in Italian seasoning and chicken. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes to brown chicken over medium heat.
- Add in one and a half quarts of chicken broth, place lid on stock pot and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add in cheese tortellini and boil according to package instructions (generally its about 7-8 minutes).
- While the soup is cooking, blend cashews and water together in a high speed blender and process until smooth.
- Once the tortellini has finished cooking, turn down to medium heat and add in cashew cream. Stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated.
- Add in sun-dried tomatoes and handful of spinach, stir to combine and place lid on stock pot. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until spinach starts to wilt.
- Serve with grated parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper.
Notes
- I would check doneness of cheese tortellini before adding cashew cream. It may need to cook/boil for another 1-2 minutes.
- If you have a nut allergy or don't have cashews, you can use half and half but I would half the amount.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main course, soup, entree
- Method: Boiling, sautéing
- Cuisine: Italian
Erin
SO good! I added a whole bag of spinach cause it was going to go to waste if I didn’t. I also add a little more broth for reheating leftovers.