Name: Easy Chicken and Spinach Tortellini Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 18 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 9-ounce package of refrigerated tortellini pasta; 1 cup of boiled and precooked fingerlings or use canned sliced carrots; 3 tablespoons olive oil or butter; 4 cans of low-sodium chicken broth (if adding meatballs add an additional can of broth); 1 - 6 to an 8-ounce bag of fresh spinach; 2 minced fresh garlic cloves; 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic powder; 1 tablespoon freshly minced Italian parsley; 4 cups of cooked rotisserie chicken removed off the bone and shredded; 1/2 teaspoon celery seed or salt; 1 teaspoon Italian dried herbs; salt, and pepper to taste; cayenne pepper for a little heat is optional; Garnish: Pecorino Romano grated cheese (you can use Parmesan if you prefer); Optional Serving suggestions: Italian garlic croutons, Tuscan garlic bread, Italian or Greek salad, breadsticks, hard-crusted Italian bread with butter

Shredded rotisserie chicken accompanied by mini chicken meatballs, fresh green spinach, and cheese tortellini is in this delightful easy soup garnished with grated cheese and served with Italian hard-crusted bread.

If you're looking for shortcuts and a tasty soup this is outstanding in flavors and on the table in less than 30 minutes and the meatballs are just another option.

This quick soup is hearty enough to be the whole meal by adding some hard-crusted Italian bread and a side salad.

Although we love Grandma's Classic Chicken Soup, this is a nice change and we like to consider it a cousin to that old-fashioned goodness in a bowl.

Our soup took some shortcuts to make a delicious quick, and easy adding precooked and shredded rotisserie chicken, and some canned chicken broth, however, you can adapt this recipe using your favorite homemade from-scratch recipes.

There isn't much prep work using canned broth, and canned carrots and we even will give some alternatives you can choose to add to our suggestions below.

Scroll down to this printable recipe at the bottom and check out our tips also in the recipe card.

chicken soup with meatballs, spinach and tortellini pasta

Step By Step Easy Chicken Spinach Tortellini Recipe

Saute the garlic in butter for a few minutes.
Add the broth, (then the meatballs if using) stir in the cooked tortellini, and simmer until the pasta is tender around 5 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
Just heat it through until the spinach is wilted
Salt, and pepper to taste
Garnish with cheese and serve with bread and a salad if desired
Note: if adding meatballs use an additional can of broth in this recipe

Growing up in the Central part of Utica, New York, winters are very cold and this soup came together quickly on any weeknight.

You may also like to try Ham Cabbage and Potato Soup or Grandma's Depression Navy Bean Soup it's comforting and can feed a large crowd on a very tight budget.

Tips and Alternative

put fresh celery, carrots, and onion in a food processor and pulse until fine saute in butter with garlic for extra flavor
use olive oil instead of butter
add beans of any kind, chopped tomatoes, peas, cubed potatoes or any other vegetables you like
add escarole instead of spinach or kale etc.
instead of dried herbs use fresh Italian parsley, basil, thyme
try this soup with cooked Italian sausage link sliced or another cooked meat like boneless pork tenderloin, leftover chopped steak, or kielbasa
use a ham bone with meat on it instead of chicken
if using beef use beef broth
for tomato based soups add a small can (4 ounces) of tomato sauce
add mushrooms or another vegetable
substitute tortellini for small mini ravioli or another pasta (gnocchi however you need to cook them separately first before adding them to the broth in this soup)
Optional Serving suggestions: Italian garlic croutons, Tuscan garlic bread, Italian or Greek salad, breadsticks, hard-crusted Italian bread with butter
If you love everything from scratch try our Homemade Chicken Broth and Homemade Tortellini recipes
Note: if adding meatballs use an additional can of broth in this recipe

shredded chicken using rotisserie chicken for soup

Ingredients You Will Need (see the recipe card below for amounts and instructions scroll to the bottom)

package of refrigerated tortellini pasta
precooked fingerlings or use canned sliced carrots
olive oil or butter
low-sodium chicken broth (if adding meatballs you will need additional canned broth)
fresh spinach fresh garlic cloves granulated garlic powder
freshly minced Italian parsley
cooked rotisserie chicken removed off the bone and shredded
celery seed or salt
Italian dried herbs
salt and pepper to taste cayenne pepper for a little heat is optional
Garnish: Pecorino Romano grated cheese (you can use Parmesan if you prefer)

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Hearty Easy Soups

This Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup is great alongside Bruschetta or a Panzanella Salad.

This soup is really a whole meal in itself but served with some homemade breadsticks, homemade bread and our 9 assortments of flavored butter is a wonderful addition to this meal.