This instant pot creamy tortellini soup is a must make soup if you have an instant pot! It’s creamy, hearty and perfect for this cold weather!
Guys, this creamy tortellini soup is what I call instant pot deliciousness. The flavors, the creaminess. And you know what the best part is? The chorizo!
This Spanish sausage gives this soup an amazing flavor and altogether with the rest of the ingredients, it is definitely a must-try soup this winter!
By the way, if you are not a fan of chorizo, use Italian sausage instead.
For those who are not familiar with the instant pot, I will just say it’s your must-have kitchen gadget. This electric pressure cooker saves your time, energy and delivers delicious dishes. If you want to know more, check out these instant pot frequently asked questions. I found them quite helpful.
Those of you who already own this electric pressure cooker and like cooking in it might like these easy recipes:
- Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Curry
- Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce
- Instant Pot Fried Rice
What do I need to make instant pot creamy tortellini soup?
- Tortellini
- Chorizo
- Carrot
- Onion
- Vegetable Stock
- Water
- Salt
- Thyme
- Kale
- Fresh Cream
- Oil
- + Instant Pot pressure cooker
How to make instant pot creamy tortellini soup – step by step:
First prep the veggies: wash, peel and dice carrots and onion. Then slice the chorizo sausage. I like to cut it into pretty small pieces but this is just my preference. You do what you like.
Now turn on the instant pot and press the SAUTE function. Add some oil and throw in carrots, onions and chorizo. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Then you turn off the SAUTE function and add the stock, water, seasoning, kale and tortellini. Stir it around and close the lid.
Make sure you set the steam release to SEALING. Set the MANUAL function to 3 minutes and walk away. Your job is done here for a while.
When the cycle is finished, wait 10 minutes and then manually release the pressure. Be careful as it tends to spit hot steam everywhere. Use a kitchen towel or oven mitts to do this, if you are not comfortable doing this with bare hands.
You can also release the pressure right away, but I am not a huge fan of this so I prefer to wait 10 minutes.
Finish the soup by pressing the SAUTE function again. Pour the cream in and cook for about 2 minutes before turning it off.
To stop the soup from cooking, carefully remove the inner pot and place onto a trivet.
Important:
Tortellini will continue to suck the liquid so if you have any leftovers, you might find there is almost no liquid the following day.
If this is the case, just place the soup into a saucepan, add some milk/cream/stock (or a combination of these) and season to your liking.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes. By the way, sometimes you might not even need to add any seasoning.
Ingredient substitutions when making this pressure cooker creamy tortellini soup:
- Chorizo – if you don’t like chorizo, either omit it or use Italian sausage instead.
- Kale – spinach also works well here. However, if you decide to use spinach, then I recommend adding it right before you add the cream in. So right at the end, press the sauté button, add spinach and wait until it is wilted before adding the cream in.
- Dried Tortellini – Dried tortellini is the best option here as they normally need about 16 minutes to cook. If you added fresh tortellini, they would be way overcooked. I would also suggest adding them when the cooking cycle is finished and you press the sauté function again. Throw them in and pour the cream in. Cook until ready. I have no experience with using frozen tortellini when making this instant pot tortellini soup, so not sure about this option.
- Thyme – if you don’t have this herb on hand you can use Italian herbs or oregano instead.
- Vegetable stock – You can use chicken stock, chicken broth or beef broth. Just check the levels of salt they contain. If you use the one that contains some salt, I recommend seasoning at the very end as you never know much it will season your soup.
Guys, if you love easy instant pot recipes, you should definitely check some of them out!
Want to see how to make creamy tortellini soup? Watch the video!
Instant Pot Creamy Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion (medium)
- 5 ounces chorizo sausage (140 grams)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups vegetable stock (750 ml)
- 3 cups water (750 ml)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 3 handfuls fresh kale
- 9 ounces dried tortellini (250 grams)
- 1 cup fresh cream (250 ml)
Instructions
- Wash, peel and dice carrots & onion. Cut the chorizo (it does not matter if you cut it into chunks or smaller pieces, do whatever you prefer).
- Plug in the Instant Pot. Press “SAUTE”. Pour in the olive oil. Add carrots, onion and chorizo. Sauté for 5 minutes. Turn off the SAUTE function (by pressing the CANCEL button). Add stock, water, seasoning, kale and tortellini. Stir, close the lid and lock it.
- Set the steam release to “SEALING”. Press “MANUAL” and adjust the time to 3 minutes. When the cycle is finished, wait 10 minutes and then manually release the pressure.
- Press “SAUTE” function again. Pour the cream in and cook for about 2 minutes. Press “CANCEL/KEEP WARM” and unplug it. To stop the soup from cooking, carefully remove the inner pot and place it onto a trivet.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- If you have any leftovers: Keep in mind that tortellini will continue to suck the liquid. If you end up with almost no liquid, just re-heat the soup in a sauce pan and add some milk/cream and stock/water. Simmer for a few minutes and season to your taste.
- You can omit chorizo completely or use Italian sausage instead.
- Vegetable stock can be substituted with chicken stock/broth or beef broth. When using this, always check whether they contain salt or not. If they do, I recommend seasoning this soup at the very end to avoid over-salting the soup.
- To make this recipe I used a 6-quart/6-litre Instant Pot.
- This soup yields 4 generous portions.
- This recipe works best with dried tortellini. For fresh tortellini, I suggest adding them in the end, right before you add cream and cook until done.
- The overall time does not include the time needed for the pot to come to pressure nor the waiting time before you release the pressure manually. Count with an extra 20 minutes.
Amy says
Great base and instructions. Changed mine up a bit for what we had and family preference. Used spinach, mild italian sausage, and beef broth. Would add a bit more veggie next time and a little less time for the tortellini, I always add better than boullian when I deglaze and it adds a punch of flavor. Top with some mozzerella cheese and crusty bread and the family was SUPER happy. Thank you for the receipe ideas!!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thank you so much for your feedback, Amy!
Ashley says
You must make this! I have used chorizo. I have used Italian sausage. I have used country pork sausage. It’s amazing every single time I make it. I double it every time. My whole family loves it.
This is excellent. Perfect for the winter months.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thank you so much for your feedback and rating, Ashley! We love this soup and make it a lot in winter :)
Lydia says
I love this recipe. The chorizo i used left the sauce a little spicy and a redish color. Definitely will add shrimp or crawfish to this next time.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback, Lydia!
Annette says
Mine tasted great but turned orange from the carrots and chorizo, did anyone elses?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
That is not a problem, Annette. Chorizo sausages vary from brand to brand and they can contain different amount of paprika. When they are cooked, they release some fat as well as paprika. This is mainly why your soup changes color.
victoria says
this soup looks delicious! i want to make it when the weather is cooler here in texas. do the dried tortellini really cook in only three minutes and then a ten minute wait then release? i want to make dried tortellini pasta in the instant pot today and had found melaniecooks website recipe that says to cook one pound in five cups water seven minutes then with a quick release. i don’t want to ruin them as tortellini seems to have gotten more expensive. thanks!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Victoria. I have made this soup many times and never had a problem with undercooked tortellini. In fact, the 3 minutes is plenty and some of the pasta can even break during the pressure cooking. I hope this helps!
Ben says
Can you freeze this and use it later as leftovers?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Ben. I have not tried freezing this soup so not sure.