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Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup | A Soup with a Southwestern Flair

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Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup is not the usual recipe you want to make when you’re on vacation. But when the weather heads south, like we did, you crave something deliciously warm and spicy. This is a zesty chicken vegetable soup that will warm your tummy as well as your body. Fresh cheese tortellini cooks in no time and hot chunky salsa spikes the rich broth. The recipe is so versatile you can make countless variations and we’ll give you more ideas. 

For this recipe you’ll need: chicken tenders or rotisserie chicken, baby spinach, fresh cheese tortellini, chicken or vegetable stock, garlic, onion, olive oil, oregano, petite cut tomatoes with green chiles, chunky salsa ( you’re heat tolerance), oregano. 

Bowl of chicken spinach tortellini soup with a spoonful of tortellini. Purple flowers in background.

Craving Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup

We escaped the bitter cold of the North only to find ourselves in the midst of a snow and sleet storm in Florida. Very unusual! It was so unusual we had to get off the Interstate because it was closed. Here we were looking for sunshine and we found this:

(That’s Honey’s voice in the background — he thought I was taking a still photo and didn’t know I was filming it. )

The weather was in the 40’s when we arrived at our final destination. This was not what we were looking for — we wanted sunshine and warm weather. 😎

The next day we went to get our supplies and one of the stops was at Trader Joe. Flowers are a must when I go there.

A bouquet of flowers that include yellow roses, white daisy, and mums.

Along with the flowers we bought fresh cheese-filled pasta, and baby spinach for the zesty chicken tortellini soup.

Getting the supplies for the Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup

We left Giotto’s then stopped at a big box store where we bought a rotisserie chicken for the soup. When I made the soup on Facebook Live I used chicken tenders. Either way tastes great.

I’ll be quite honest, rotisserie chicken can be a life-saver in the kitchen. You can make quite a few meals out of it and it’s inexpensive.

Several more stops and we were ready to start on the spicy chicken spinach soup.

Wooden spoon stirring the onions and garlic in a large pot.

The soup begins with the onions and garlic sauteing in a large Dutch oven or pot. See that steam coming off of the onions and garlic? It’s already starting to warm and perfume the house. 😋

Next comes the chicken, if you’re using chicken tenders, but this time we’re using rotissierie chicken so we immediately add the rest of the ingredients.

We’ve mentioned how much we love our spicy soups so we made sure our petite cut tomatoes had green chiles in the can. Along with the tomatoes we bought the hot salsa instead of the mild or medium variety.

The broth went in next and we let it come to a simmer. Ahhh!! I could feel myself warming up. 🌶

Large pot of Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup simmering. Large white spoon in pot stirring in the cheese tortellini.

(Caveat — start off with a large enough pot. You’ll notice we started off with a silver pot and ended up with a black one. Yep!! By the time we added the rest of the ingredients it was getting a bit too full. )

We used the dark meat off the rotissierie chicken and saved the breast meat to use for another time. Once the meat was in the soup we let it come to a simmer again and then added the fresh cheese tortellini.

Now, we’re getting to the home stretch!

Finishing the Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup

Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup in large black pot with white spoon stirring in the fresh baby spinach.

We added the baby spinach leaves and they wilt immediately. The soup is ready to serve. Wasn’t that easy? And you know what? This soup can be the basis of many other delicious soups.

Tips on variations:

  • Tex-Mex Soup — instead of tortellini add beans, corn, cumin, and top with crushed tortilla chips.
  • Italian Soup — instead of tortellini add cannellini beans, switch the petite tomatoes with green chiles for Italian seasoned petite tomatoes and keep the salsa, it’s good! You could add zucchini to it and orecchiette.
  • Vegetarian Soup — omit the chicken and tortellini and add beans, tofu, vegetables you like.
  • Chinese Soup — Omit the tortellini add a bit of ginger to the broth and soy sauce along with the chicken. Instead of the olive oil to saute the garlic use a bit of sesame oil. Ditch the canned tomatoes but keep the salsa. That will keep the zest instead of the oriental hot sauces like Sambal Oelek. Use bok choy for the green or whichever greens you like. Use Chinese noodles for the pasta, any kind you like.
white bowl with chicken spinach tortellini soup with soup spoon.

YOU MAY NEED . . .

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Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup Recipe

White bowl full of chicken spinach tortellini soup on woven brown mat with ecru linen napkin and purple flower buds on mat. Black-handled soup spoon in the bowl.

This zesty vegetable tortellini soup comes together quickly whether you use rotissierie chicken or chicken tenders. Once the broth, canned diced tomatoes, salsa are simmering it’s only a matter of putting in the shredded or diced chicken, fresh tortellini, and spinach then you’re spicy chicken spinach soup is ready to eat.

Bowl of chicken spinach tortellini soup with a spoonful of tortellini. Purple flowers in background.

Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup with a Southwestern Flair

Spicy chicken soup with fresh tortellini pasta and baby spinach. The zest comes from the green chiles in the petite tomatoes plus the chunky salsa. Tasty and quick to make. 
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 385kcal
Author: Marisa Franca
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Ingredients

  • 1 pound chicken tenders in bite size pieces or rotissiere shredded.
  • 6 oz baby spinach
  • 10 oz fresh cheese tortellini
  • 2 quarts low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 14 oz. petite cut tomatoes with green chiles
  • 1 cup chunky salsa hot, medium, or mild
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • In a large Dutch Oven or pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until the onion sweats. Lightly salt and pepper.  
    Wooden spoon stirring the onions and garlic in a large pot.
  • Add the chicken bites and continue to cook until the chicken bites lightly brown. Lightly salt and pepper. (If using the rotissiere chicken skip this step)
  • Add the broth, oregano, petite cut tomatoes, and salsa. Bring to a gentle simmer. Now add the shredded rotisserie chicken and again bring to a simmer. 
  • Add the tortellini; bring to a simmer and cook uncovered until the tortellinni are tender -- about 7 to 8 minutes. 
    Large pot of Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup simmering. Large white spoon in pot stirring in the cheese tortellini.
  • Stir in spinach. It will wilt right away. Serve hot. 
    Chicken Spinach Tortellini Soup in large black pot with white spoon stirring in the fresh baby spinach.

Nutrition

Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 778mg | Potassium: 591mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 44.7% | Vitamin C: 11.3% | Calcium: 10.2% | Iron: 15.2%

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Comments

  5. Chef Markus Mueller says


    I love adding pasta to my chicken soup! Using tortellini just adds that many more options depending on what kind of tortellini you use! Love the recipe suggestions for different styles you provide!

    Reply

  8. Saima says


    What a nice recipe for the cold weather! Who can refuse chicken soup in the winter, especially where I live where temperatures can dip really low. Wholesome and warming! And I love the fact that you’ve given so many different variations on it.

    Reply

  9. Amy says


    This looks fantastic! I love getting new soup recipes especially this time of year! I’ll be adding your recipe to the list.

    Reply

  13. Mirlene says


    This soup sounds so comforting! This is the perfect soup to have during the cold days. I also love how it has all of my favorite ingredients. Tis recipe brings it right back to home.

    Reply

  16. Jeannette says


    I love these comfort foods that just bring the warmth to our tummies. Cheese filled pasta is the best. It’s one of those things that I miss. I live in a 2nd world country and these types of luxuries (yes we consider them luxuries, lol) are so scarce. I am visiting America in December, and definitely packing some tortellini in our container to bring back home. The spinach here is amazing; I can’t wait to try it with this recipe.

    Reply

    • Marisa Franca says

      Hello, Jeannette! I certainly grew to appreciate food from my mamma and papà. They grew up at a time when meat was scarce and every bit of food was a luxury. I understand and I know you’ll love the recipe — it is full of flavor!! Welcome to America and I hope you’ll have a wonderful visit!

      Reply

  17. Claudia Lamascolo says

    how I love the vibrant colors here in this soup and the fantastic richness. It’s very much a favorite of our whole family. Although we use escarole I love the addition of spinach and will have to try using this some time. Comforting over load right here!

    Reply

  20. Dan Zehr says


    This soup contains all the ingredients that I LOVE. This is a really ingenious recipe. I would try for lunch or dinner. Looks tasty and the main thing is easy.

    Reply

  22. Veena Azmanov says


    Now that is comfort food. With the cold weather coming in soon, the kids are going to be in soup mode. Every day its soup, salad, and bread for dinner. Can’t wait to try this one soon.

    Reply

  24. Gloria says


    Well the cold weather season is just around the corner (unfortunately). Soon food in bowls will be happening for several months. This sounds just like the right bowl of comfort food for me. I would make a HUGE batch…and try to have leftovers (if the kids did not come over and take some home first).

    Reply

  26. Sandhya Ramakrishnan says


    I love this soup and this would be such a filling one pot meal for sure. Love the addition of salsa in the recipe. I have never tried it before. I always have some tortellini in the freezer. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

    Reply

  30. Noel Lizotte says


    I love soup. I love chicken. I love tortellini. This soup was meant for me!
    I’m adding this to my list of regular soups … they work in a rotation since I’m cooking for two these days … don’t want too many leftovers all at once – so I make soups just now and then.

    Reply

  31. Veena Azmanov says


    That is a bowl of pure comfort food!! I love soups but here the summers are so hot that we save soups for winter. I can’t wait to try this. Sounds so yum. Such a pretty color too.

    Reply

  32. Gloria says


    This looks like a comforting bowl of goodness right there. I know when the fall rolls around, and comfort food season takes hold, meals in bowls are the way to go. Nothing beats a great homemade soup any day of the week. Love the fact you can have leftovers too. It is always better the next day!!

    Reply

  33. Sally Humeniuk says


    I love recipes like this where leftover rotisserie chicken is used in a fabulous soup such as this. It sounds delicious with the fresh tortellini and using chunky salsa is genius! Great recipe and nice post. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  36. Meredith says

    I love the versatility of this soup! The tortellini look delicious and I can’t wait to make it. Pinning to try later in the week!

    Reply

  37. Amanda Mason says


    I love that you started this post off with the ingredients you will need! And I can’t believe you had that type of weather in Florida! Although last March is was in the 50’s and it almost ruined our family vacation! This recipe sounds delish and I love the accommodations you listed for the different dietary needs!

    Reply

  39. Helene says


    I have some fresh spinach in my fridge and I was contemplating what to make of it. This tortellini soup would be the best way to enjoy a cool sunday evening. full of flavors making me happy after a relaxed day.

    Reply

  40. Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says

    Wow…cold in Florida, unbelievable! I’m in Rome since after Christmas and we’re having a beautiful Spring-like weather, a little unusual as well for January. The weather is definitely getting crazy. Love your comforting tortellini soup with spinach, I would just skip the chicken for me.

    Reply

  42. Analida Braeger says


    I am loving this soup and the spicy flavors! I find myself getting those rotisserie chickens and saving a carcass
    or 2 in the freezer to later boil up to make my own chicken stock. So good!

    Reply

  46. Ciao Chow Linda says

    Great idea to use those already cooked rotisserie chickens from the supermarket. I actually have some chicken meat in the freezer from a broth I made and have been trying to decide what to do with it. This is a perfect solution.

    Reply

  48. Amanda says


    I’m loving this southwestern twist on traditional tortellini soup! I would’ve never thought to add salsa. Can’t wait to add this to my winter soup rotation (soup is on the menu several times a week in our house!).

    Reply

  49. Veena Azmanov says


    I am so loving all the soup season this year. Cold weather out side and hot soup inside. Can’t go wrong with that. Right? This soup looks so hearty and scrumptious. Love tortellini but never usually make it often. Must try this soup soon.

    Reply

  51. Elaine @ Dishes Delish says


    I don’t use tortellini in my soup nearly enough. Looking at and reading about your soup makes me want to fix that right away! I will start by making your recipe! Your photos are gorgeous and the soup looks delicious!

    Reply

  52. Susie says


    Hi Marisa…..As for soup variations….We enjoy all soups but do more Tex Mex…..I’m glad your weather is getting warmer…..Relax and enjoy your vacation.

    Sorry I missed your phone call yesterday……I’ll be in touch soon😊

    Reply

  53. Jolina says


    This looks fantastic! Perfect for the arctic freeze we’re currently in. Sorry the cold followed you to Florida. Though I find a trip to Trader Joe’s always cheers me up 🙂

    Reply

  55. Debbie and George says


    ***** That’s 5 stars 🙂

    We had the bad weather here also, and lost power for hours. Soup is a definite plan this time of year. Stay safe and warm!

    Reply

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