Italian Chicken Tortellini Soup

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Chicken tortellini soup is a hearty and nutritious dish perfect for any day of the week.

It’s a delicious combination of tender chicken, cheese tortellini (or any of your other favorites), and a flavorful, rich broth infused with herbs and spices.

If you have broth already prepared, this soup couldn’t be easier to make.

Both chicken broth and vegetable broth are good here. And if you don’t have broth, that’s okay. I have a basic chicken broth, and recipe vegetable broth from Heston Blumenthal, and even a complete guide to cooking vegetable broth with all the possible vegetable recommendations and other additions. Take your pick of any one you like!

I didn’t have any pre-made broth, so I thought it would be a good idea to film the cooking process once again, since I’m cooking it. So below, in parallel with preparing the ingredients for the soup, I will also show you how to cook the broth. But you should still keep the links to the broths above, they will come in handy!

⏱ Cooking time — 1 hours and 55 minutes overall. Includes 45 minutes of preparation and cooking + 1 hours and 10 minutes unattended.

🥣 Ingredients

🍽 For 4 servings:

For the broth:

• 800 g – 1,000 g (1,8 lb – 2,2 lb) chicken on the bone
• 2 l water
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 to 2 stalks of leeks
• 2 onions
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 5-6 sprigs of thyme (1/2 tsp. dried)
• 2 bay leaves
• Parmesan crust (optional)

For the soup:

• 1.2 l of chicken or vegetable broth
• 300 g (11 oz) stripped chicken meat (leftover after broth cooking)
• 250 g (8,8 oz) tortellini
• 50 ml (3,4 tbsp.) white dry wine (optional)
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp. oregano
• parmesan (to serve)
• 1-2 tbsp. neutral vegetable oil

 🔪Step by step Directions

Cook the broth (part 1)

Take 800 g – 1000 g (1,8 lb – 2,2 lb) of chicken on the bone, put in a large saucepan and pour 2 liters of cold water. Put on high heat.

Peel and halve 2 onions and add to the pot. You can throw the whole onion in the broth, directly with the husk, but be sure to rinse it or remove the top, dirty layer of husk.

Peel and cut 2 carrots in half and then in half rings. I had very large carrots, so I additionally cut them into quarters, but this is not necessary. Add to the pot.

Chop 2 stalks of celery coarsely and add to the pot.

Cut the stub off 1-2 leek stalks, cut them in half and rinse them under running water, washing away all the dirt between the layers. Slice into pieces about 3 cm (1,2 inches) long.

Add 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme (or use dried) and 2 bay leaves.

Prepare the ingredients for the soup

Let the broth boil while we take care of the ingredients for the soup.

Dice 1 carrot. To do this, slice the carrots lengthwise into plates about 1 cm (0,4 inches) thick. Put the wide side of the plates on a board and cut them into straws about 1 cm (0,4 inches) thick. Dice the slices.

Peel 1 onion, cut in half and cut into small cubes. To do this, make longitudinal incisions without cutting all the way through. Then one or two notches holding the knife parallel to the board.

Peel and finely chop or grate 1-2 cloves of garlic.

Cut off the parmesan crust and add to the pan with the broth. (optional)

Set the vegetables aside.

Cook the broth (part 2)

Add 1/2 tsp. turmeric to the broth and stir.

When foam begins to rise – reduce heat to medium-low and remove foam with a slotted skimmer.

Now adjust the heat so that the broth just barely simmers. Skim off the foam again, as needed. Boil for about 1 hour (home-cooked chicken for about 2 hours).

Take a sieve and strain the broth through it.

Take apart the chicken meat

Put the chicken on a plate and cool slightly. Use two forks to separate the meat into small pieces, removing the skin and bones. Set it aside.

Cook the tortellini

Pour about 2 liters of water into a pot or saucepan and salt generously.

Place on the fire and bring to the boil.

Add 250 g (8,8 oz) of tortellini and bring to the boil, stirring for about 30 seconds. Then cook according to the instructions on the package, for about 5 minutes, until fully cooked. Stir them occasionally to prevent them from sticking together.

Remove from heat and drain. Drizzle with olive oil and stir.

Cook soup

Heat 1-2 tbsp. neutral vegetable oil in a saucepan.

Add diced onions and carrots. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 tsp. oregano and garlic. Cook, stirring, for about 40 seconds, until fragrant.

Pour in about 50 ml (3,4 tbsp.) white dry wine and decaramelize the bottom of the pan. To do this, cook, stirring the contents of the pan frequently, until the wine has evaporated, about 30 seconds, (optional, but very Italian 🙂 )

Pour in the chicken broth, add the chicken, 1 tsp. salt, black pepper and stir. Taste for salt, add more salt if needed. Heat until boiling and remove from heat.

Serve the soup

Place boiled tortellini on bottom of soup plate, pour soup with vegetables and chicken.

Garnish the top with a few thinly sliced Parmesan (you can slice it with a vegetable peeler) or grate it finely.

Buon appetito!