Creamy and cozy chicken alfredo tortellini soup made in the Instant Pot. This soup is SO easy to make, it’s comforting, and literally feels like a hug in a bowl! Try it, and it will definitely become one of your favorite comfort foods!
This easy tortellini soup is so simple and easy, but it’s pretty addictive! My family always requests this soup, and the kids always ask for seconds and thirds.
I mean, it has all of the things that everyone loves, literally ticks all of the boxes! Creamy alfredo (no jarred stuff here!), cheese tortellini, and tender diced chicken. This soup tastes heavenly!
The Ingredients
- Chicken – raw boneless skinless chicken breasts that will be pressured cooked and sliced or shredded, then added back to the soup.
- Cheese-filled tortellini – I used fresh, but you can also use dried or frozen if you like.
- Vegetable or chicken stock, garlic, butter, parmesan, and heavy cream or half and half.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup
- Melt the butter in the Instant Pot using the SAUTE setting. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Switch off the saute setting. You can skip sauteing the garlic if you’re short on time, but I like the flavor of cooked garlic better in this soup.
- Add chicken or vegetable stock, raw chicken breasts, ground nutmeg if using, salt, and pepper.
- Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 7 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 7-8 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
- Carefully remove the lid, and take the chicken out and dice or shred it into pieces then set aside.
- On the Instant Pot choose the SAUTE-low setting, and add in the tortellini and let the soup simmer until the tortellini float to the top (the recommended cooking time is usually written on the package). Switch off the saute setting.
- Stir in the heavy cream, parmesan cheese, and cornstarch slurry to thicken the soup.
- Stir in the spinach, and chicken. Give the spinach a few minutes to wilt, and the soup is ready to be served!
Recipe Video
Top Tips
- You can add Italian sausage if you like. Just crumble it and saute it lightly after you saute the garlic.
- I used fresh four-cheese tortellini that I found in the chilled section at the supermarket with all of the fresh pasta. I cooked it on a gentle simmer (not boil) for 5 minutes (according to the package instructions). If you cook it for too long, the tortellini parcels might explode and the cheese will spill out, so always read the package instructions and cook accordingly.
- I like to use baby spinach leaves, but if you’re using ordinary spinach then chop it roughly before adding it to the soup.
- To make this soup vegetarian omit the chicken, and use vegetable stock, but there won’t be a need to pressure cook anything.
- I thickened the soup with a cornstarch slurry, I added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water and it was enough to thicken the soup and give it a creamy consistency. You might need more especially if you use half and half instead of heavy cream.
Serving Ideas
This soup recipe is a cross between my Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup, alfredo sauce, and creamy tortellini soup recipe. I LOVE all of these 3 recipes so much, and that’s where the idea of this alfredo chicken tortellini soup came from!
This soup goes so well with homemade Olive Garden breadsticks that I like to bake from scratch. And a simple side salad!
Storing Tips
Store the leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
I don’t recommend freezing soups that contain dairy as the texture changes once thawed and reheated.
Recommended Tools
- An Instant Pot – this is the model that I currently use and love!
- Sharp knife – a great chef’s knife is important in every kitchen, did you know that a dull knife that isn’t the right size for the job is dangerous? Make sure that have at least one good knife.
- Wooden spoon or heat resistant silicone spatula – this is the one that you always see in my pictures and videos.
- A soup ladle, and I love these soup spoons!
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I hope that you love every recipe that you make! – Diana x
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 2 chicken breasts boneless skinless
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg optional
- 10 ounces (300 grams) fresh tortellini I used cheese-filled tortellini
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water
- 1 cup fresh spinach baby spinach or roughly chopped spinach leaves
Instructions
- Melt the butter in the Instant Pot using the SAUTE setting. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Switch off the saute setting.
- Add chicken or vegetable stock, raw chicken breasts, ground nutmeg if using, salt, and pepper.
- Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 7 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 7-8 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
- Carefully remove the lid, and take the chicken out and dice or shred it into pieces then set aside.
- On the Instant Pot choose the SAUTE-low setting, and add in the tortellini and let the soup simmer until the tortellini float to the top (the recommended cooking time is usually written on the package). Switch off the saute setting.
- Stir in the heavy cream, parmesan cheese, and cornstarch slurry to thicken the soup.
- Stir in the spinach, and chicken. Give the spinach a few minutes to wilt, and the soup is ready to be served!
Video
Notes
- You can add Italian sausage if you like. Just crumble it and saute it lightly after you saute the garlic.
- I used fresh four-cheese tortellini that I found in the chilled section at the supermarket with all of the fresh pasta. I cooked it on a gentle simmer (not boil) for 5 minutes (according to the package instructions). If you cook it for too long, the tortellini parcels might explode so always read the package instructions and cook accordingly.
- I like to use baby spinach leaves, but if you’re using ordinary spinach then chop it roughly before adding it to the soup.
- To make this soup vegetarian omit the chicken, and use vegetable stock, but there won’t be a need to pressure cook anything.
- If you end up substituting the heavy cream with half and half, the soup might be thinner and might need more cornstarch slurry to thicken (see note below).
- I thickened the soup with a cornstarch slurry, I added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water and it was enough to thicken the soup and give it a creamy consistency. You might need more especially if you use half and half instead of heavy cream.
Christine
Could you double this in the instant pot? Would there be room? We love leftovers in our house 🙂
Diana
I’m sure that you can!
Tom W.
I made this tonight at home for myself and it was so good I had to take it over to my parents, despite the cold rain, to share it with them. I added sauteed mushrooms (since I love mushrooms); other than that, it was you recipe, verbatim. My Dad loved it and detected an “unusual ingredient you don’t usually use” which was the nutmeg (I’ll be using a lot more of this awesome spice).
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us.
Diana
Hi Tom, thank you so much for sharing this with me! You just made my day! Nutmeg is an awesome spice but should be used carefully as it can be overpowering if you accidentally use too much of it.
Ann Wisniewski
Hands down the best thing I’ve made so far!! I’m a newbie to using the insta pot, this was my second meal. It was super easy to make, and the whole family LOVED it! I had enough left over to have lunch the next day and it was gone before I had a chance. We also had some warm sliced Italian bread which my husband used for dipping in the soup. I will definitely make this again!
Diana
I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Ann! Thank you for that wonderful review!
Serena
BEST RECIPE EVER MADE IN MY IP!! I made it exactly as it said and my entire family came back for seconds and then for the recipe!! So glad this came into my life!!
Diana
That is so heart warming, thank you so much for the awesome review, Serena! I appreciate your kind words and good feedback.
Diane
Most excellent!! I cooked my chicken ahead of time because I cooked it on my stove versus the instant pot. Thanks for the tortellini cooking hint. I cooked it separately & gently as you suggested. I added it at the end since it was on the stove & already cooked. Just as good as an instant pot. In case you don’t have one like me!! My daughter does & first made this for me& her Dad, I tried it on the stove, delicious!!😋
Diana
That’s so awesome, Diane! I’m glad that it turned out so well on the stovetop. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
Taylor
So easy and delicious!!!
Diana
Glad you liked it, Taylor!
Taylor
Me and my picky boyfriend have found a new soup to put into our rotation! This is delicious!!!! SO YUMMY! I didn’t have cornstarch so I used 3 tsp. of flour instead (I read online 1 tsp. of cornstarch would equal about 3 tsp. of flour?) it worked out well and was still delicious. I did also need to pressure cook my chicken longer than the recipe called for – I guess my chicken was a little thicker than usual.
Next time I might have to double the recipe and eat it throughout the week! Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Diana
I’m glad you enjoyed that, Taylor. You are very welcome, and I hope that you LOVE every recipe you try!
Blessy
Any ways to make this healthier?
Kara
Has anyone tried this with Italian sausage? I know it wouldn’t be chicken Alfredo but it would be delicious 🙂 I might try it both ways! Or my husband is a major carnivore so I might also try both meats