This easy recipe for slow cooker chicken tortellini soup is a comfort food combo of tender chicken and cheesy pasta. Fix it and forget it until suppertime rolls around!
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Why we love this recipe
Is there anything better than a slow cooker supper?
Or more specifically, is there anything better than spending 10 minutes tossing things into a slow cooker, pushing the button, and realizing 8 hours later that yes, DINNER IS ALREADY COOKED?
I’m going to go with no, there is nothing better. Especially when there is tender, cheesy tortellini involved.
This is basically a super-charged version of chicken noodle soup, with some tomato and spinach included so we can all get our veggies, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top for just a little extra cheesiness.
What are tortellini?
Tortellini are a lot like ravioli – pasta that is stuffed with a meat or cheese or seafood filling. Tortellini are smaller than regular ravioli, although if you want to swap in mini ravioli in this recipe, they will work just fine.
Ingredients you need
- Chicken broth
- White Wine
- Tomato Paste
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Sweet Onion
- Oregano
- Salt
- Boneless Chicken Breast
- Baby Spinach
- Tortellini
- Parmesan Cheese
How to make this recipe
It really is as easy as dumping most of the ingredients into your slow cooker, with a couple of quick extra steps at the end that are SO worth it.
STEP 1: In the morning, pour a few cups of chicken broth (I like the boxed Pacific and Imagine brands best) into the slow cooker, along with a little white wine, some tomato paste and a can of crushed tomatoes, a peeled and chopped sweet onion, some oregano and a pinch of salt.
STEP 2: Give that deliciousness a good stir, and then add some skinless, boneless chicken breasts (and yes, if you prefer chicken thighs those will work fine too!).
STEP 3: Pop the lid on, press the Low button, and go about your day, but remember, absolutely no peeking.
STEP 4: Okay! Right before dinnertime, scoop out the chicken, turn the heat on the slow cooker to high, and put the lid back on.
STEP 5: Shred the chicken into bite sized pieces (you can do this with two forks, but around these parts we like to use our dramatic looking Bear Paws Shredder Claws. Shredding is the Southern husband’s job, and he is the best at it!
STEP 6: Stir in some baby spinach and some of that scrumptious cheese tortellini. You want the fresh kind, which you can pretty reliably find in the refrigerated section of your supermarket.
STEP 7: Pop the cover back on and let it cook for five minutes, test the tortellini, and if it is tender enough for you, stir in the shredded chicken. If you want your tortellini softer, let it cook, cover on, for another 5 minutes.
All you have left to do at this point is to ladle it out, sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese and serve it up!
Why should you not take the cover off of your slow cooker while it is cooking?
Slow cookers build up their heat, well, slowly, and they cook at a super low temperature, which is why they take hours to cook things (and why everything comes out so flavorful and tender).
If you take the lid off – even for a few seconds – some of that precious heat is going to escape and throw off the cooking process. Happily, most slow cookers have glass lids so we can see the scrumptiousness happening!
Recipe FAQs
Oh yes! Soups are even better when they have time to sit for a while. If you find the pasta has absorbed too much of the broth, just pour a little more broth in as you reheat it. And if you store it in the slow cooker, you can reheat it right in there by setting it on High until your soup is nice and hot.
You can! Just replace it with an equal amount of chicken broth.
Either tortelloni (the bigger version of tortellini) or mini ravioli will also work just fine.
Drop your question in the Comments section below and I will answer pronto!
Yum! And now that you are officially hooked on slow cooker soups, give these favorites below a whirl!
OTHER SLOW COOKER SOUP RECIPES WE LOVE!
We want to know what you think!
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating and your thoughts in the Comments section below the recipe card.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortellini Soup
This easy recipe for slow cooker chicken tortellini soup is a comfort food combo of tender chicken and cheesy pasta. Fix it and forget it until suppertime rolls around!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours and 10 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 sweet onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 20 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 1 cup grated Parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Put the chicken broth, wine and tomato paste in your slow cooker and whisk it up until it’s all combined.
- Add the tomatoes, onion, oregano and salt and give it another good stir. Add the chicken breasts, cover it up and cook on low for 8 hours. No peeking!
- Scoop out the chicken and raise the slow cooker to High.
- Shred the chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside.
- Add the spinach and the tortellini to the slow cooker, give it all a good stir and put the top back on. Let the tortellini cook until tender (test it after 5 minutes or so).
- Stir the chicken back into the soup and season as needed with salt and pepper.
- Divide among bowls, garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve!
Ellie says
Hi Kate,
I can’t wait to try this recipe; thank you for all your “amazingness”. Have you ever tried to shred your chicken with a hand mixer? It’s so quick! I don’t mean to take the Southern Husband’s job away using the “claws”, but I’d recommend giving it a try sometime.
Hi Ellie! You know, I’ve been hearing for ages about that hand mixer trick but I’ve never tried it – now I’m going to have to!! Thank you! And happy Monday. :)