Oh, how I wish I had more of this in my freezer!
This soup is DIVINE.
It’s flavors are magical, as they spend the day melting and marrying together in the slow cooker.
The marinara, the fresh basil, the chicken stock. And then the tortellini and the cream.
D-I-V-I-N-E.
This is the perfect kind of soup to make to help push us through to spring! It’s ALMOST HERE.
A few quick notes…
There’s nothing worse than making a meal for your freezer and then pulling it out and getting it going, only to realize you still need a few ingredients. 😉 (Well, there are worse things, but when you’re in that moment and you realize you need cream or tortellini….dinner feels like a disaster waiting to happen.)
Anywho…you can freeze the tortellinis alongside the freezer meal. I don’t recommend freezing the cream, but you could in ice cube trays. But I think cream is best when swirled in fresh. If you’re out of cream or don’t have any, you could substitute regular milk in a pinch.
Also, please read recipe closely as to when to add the tortellini and the cream.
This is a like a layered meal…where things are added at different times…so you end up with a perfect bowl of soup for dinner!
Enjoy!
Creamy Tortellini Soup
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 8 hours in slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless chicken breasts
- 26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
- 6 oz. bag fresh spinach
- 4 fresh basil leaves
- 1 Tbsp minced onion
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 4 cup chicken stock
- Salt and pepper
- 20 oz. box cheese tortellini
- 1 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- Garnish: shredded Parmesan cheese
- Side salad
Directions
- Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces.
- Place all the ingredients EXCEPT the tortellini and milk/heavy cream into the base of the slow cooker and pour in 2 cups of hot water.
- Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours. With 30 minutes left in the cooking cycle, take off the lid and shred the chicken into the soup. Then, add the tortellini into the soup. Let finish cooking until until tortellini are tender. Just before serving, swirl in the milk or heavy cream into the soup. Once finished cooking, ladle soup into serving bowls immediately to keep the pasta from overcooking.
- If you are cooking this in the Instant Pot or Multi-Cooker, cook the base of the soup and then add the tortellini and cream and switch to warm or stovetop mode and let the tortellinis cook for about 10 minutes, allowing them to swell.
- Note: if your slow cooker lets off a lot of liquid or “runs hot,” then you might need to add 1-2 cups of water or chicken stock when you add the tortellini. They will soak up quite a bit of liquid. Also, be ready to serve this quickly so the pasta doesn’t overcook on warm or stovetop mode.
- Prepare the salad.
- Serve Slow Cooker Chicken Tortellini Soup with Parmesan cheese garnish and salad.
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