Creamy Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Tortellini Soup

This is a deliciously creamy and hearty soup and it’s total comfort food for this season! The chicken, spinach, mushrooms and tortellini all just go so well together and they are perfectly complimented by the creamy broth.

Try it, you’ll love everything about this soup…unless you are like my husband and hate mushrooms then you just may find yourself picking them out. I don’t get the mushroom hate – they’re just so good! But if you hate them you can definitely omit them. Tortellini soups are some of my favorite kinds of soup, tortellini has got to be the best kind of pasta, right? I’m mean anything with a hidden pocket of cheese inside has got to be good! Enjoy and stay warm!

Ingredients

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/3 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
1 1/3 cups diced carrots (about 3 medium)
6 - 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 lb bonless skinless chicken breasts, pounded evenly to about 1/2-inch thickness
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup unsalted butter, sliced into 1 Tbsp pieces
1/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
9 oz refrigerated three cheese tortellini
4 oz fresh spinach (4 cups)
1/3 cup heavy cream
Finely shredded parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and mushrooms and saute 3 minutes then add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add in chicken broth, chicken, oregano and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot with lid and allow to simmer 10 - 15 minutes until chicken is cooked through (it should register 165 degrees in center on an instant read thermometor).
While chicken is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly 1 minute. While whisking vigorously slowly pour in milk. Season with salt and pepper and bring mixture just to a light boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.
Remove cooked chicken from soup and transfer to a cutting board, let rest 5 minutes then cut into pieces. Meanwhile, add tortellini to soup in pot, cover pot with lid and allow to boil over medium heat about 7 minutes (or time directed on package) adding in spinach during last 1 minute. Stir in chicken, white sauce and cream. Serve warm with parmesan cheese.