Cordon Bleu Tortellini Soup

There are some dishes that just feel fancy, even when they’re completely weeknight-friendly, and Cordon Bleu Tortellini Soup is exactly that. All the soul of the classic chicken cordon bleu is here: rotisserie chicken, smoky ham, nutty Gruyere, and that signature creamy Dijon sauce, but tucked into a cozy, cheesy soup that comes together in one pot in under an hour. Cheese tortellini makes it hearty enough to be a full meal, and the depth of flavor from the well-seasoned soup base will have everyone at the table asking what your secret is.

This soup contains the hearty ingredients we associate with chilly weather fare, but it feels slightly spring-y to me. Probably because I associate ham with Easter, and the smooth but punchy Dijon-infused broth tastes both decadent and somehow light at the same time.

The real winner of this soup, though, is the time saved by using shortcuts for the chicken and the ham. The traditional dish requires a lot of rigamarole to prepare the ham-and-cheese-stuffed chicken. This soup, however, loses no flavor at all by using a rotisserie chicken and pre-cooked diced ham. Just thirty minutes on the stove and done!

Recipe Highlights

• Skill level: Beginner-Intermediate. The soup uses shortcuts for the proteins and a straightforward process for thickening the soup into creamy-cheesy bliss.
• Cook time: 30 minutes.
• Prep time: 10 minutes, or less if you’re a vegetable-chopping whiz.
• Servings: Makes about 2 quarts.
• Flavor profile: This soup lives up to its namesake, combining chicken, ham, aged cheese, and mustard into a creamy, dreamy soup dotted with the irresistible carby bite of cheese-stuffed tortellini.

Key Ingredients

Chicken & Ham — Like the traditional dish, my soup uses chicken and ham as the primary flavors. Shortcuts are great here: I use a rotisserie chicken and cooked cubed ham. Leftovers from another dinner work perfectly, too!

Vegetables — I start the soup base with a mirepoix (onions, celery, and carrots). You can’t go wrong with that combo.

Seasonings — Cordon bleu isn’t cordon bleu without the creamy mustard sauce, so Dijon mustard is a must-have. It’s delicious in this soup! Worcestershire sauce adds a nice punch of umami, and I use milder garlic powder instead of fresh. Although not traditional, I also add some Italian seasoning blend to get a touch of basil and marjoram into the mix.

Tortellini — Refrigerated tortellini is a thing of beauty: Partially cooked, it takes just minutes to finish, and you can cook it in soup without the pasta absorbing the soup liquids. I used cheese-stuffed here, but spinach and cheese would be lovely, too. If you have to use dried tortellini, I would cook it in a separate pot and add it to the soup at the same point in the recipe as the refrigerated.

Broth — I highly recommend low-sodium chicken broth for this soup. Ham is very salty, and there’s a lot of it, so you won’t need much (if any) help from extra sodium to flavor the soup.

Butter, flour, cheese — I make an in-the-pot roux for this soup to create a creamy broth that honors the original dish. I’ll cover details about that in the next section!

In-the-pot Roux

So, what does “in-the-pot” mean? It’s my made-up term for making the roux right in the soup, rather than creating the cheese sauce in a separate pot, and then adding it to the soup. This saves both time and clean-up.

Normally, when creating a roux, and the subsequent bechamel — that is, the cheese sauce — we typically do that in a small pot on the stove: Start with butter, stir in flour, whisk in dairy until creamy, and finally mix in shredded cheese. We can easily accomplish the same thing right in the soup by splitting out the steps.

First, as we do with all soups, we start with the fats in which we saute the vegetables. Here, I use an extra tablespoon of butter with the roux in mind. After the mirepoix vegetables have softened, I add the flour, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Adding the flour here will thicken the soup while the broth cooks, flavored with the Dijon. At the end, I stir in the dairy and cheese to create the velvety broth that highlights this soup so wonderfully.

Easy-peasy, no extra pot to clean, and you have a beautifully thickened and flavored soup!

How to Make Cordon Bleu Tortellini Soup

Ready to make the recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to see the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and printable, detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through and summary of making the soup.

Sauté the vegetables

Heat the oil and butter until melted, then saute the ham and vegetables until the carrots have softened. Cooking the ham with veggies adds loads of flavor to the soup base. Stir in the seasonings and mustard.

Add the broth

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and add a splash of broth. Mix well. Everything will become thick and pasty. Pour in the remaining broth and stir well.

Cook the tortellini

When the soup comes up to a boil, add the tortellini, followed by the cooked chicken. Refrigerated tortellini only takes a few minutes to cook, so you can continue the recipe while it finishes.

Finish with the creamy broth

Pour in the dairy, stirring thoroughly but gently to mix everything into the soup, lifting up the vegetables, ham, and chicken that have settled beneath the floating tortellinis. Add the shredded cheese in three batches, stirring well in between to ensure the cheese has melted. Sprinkle parsley over the soup for color, and serve!

Cook’s FAQs

This soup version of cordon bleu feels a little nostalgic and a little new at the same time, and it’s always a hit with the fam. The real magic of this soup is the shortcuts using cooked proteins, making this soup a great weeknight option.

If you need more ideas for using up extra meat from previous dinners, I’ve got you covered with my round of soups that use leftover ham, chicken, and turkey. Don’t forget: If you give my soup a try, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments below.

Cordon Bleu Tortellini Soup

by Karen Gibson

5 from 1 vote

Cordon Bleu Tortellini Soup is a creamy, one-pot soup made with diced ham, mirepoix, Gruyere cheese, Dijon mustard, and refrigerated cheese tortellini. Inspired by classic chicken cordon bleu, this easy weeknight recipe is ready in under an hour and features a rich, velvety broth made from a homemade in-the-pot roux.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

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• 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado (or a neutral oil)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup diced onions (about 1/2 of a medium onion)
• 1/2 cup diced celery (about 2 ribs)
• 1/2 cup diced carrots (one medium)
• 1 cup diced ham (about 8 ounces)
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb blend
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 16 ounces refrigerated cheese-stuffed tortellini
• 2-3 cups shredded or chopped leftover cooked or rotisserie chicken
• 1 cup half-and-half or whole milk
• 1 cup finely grated Gruyere or Jarlsberg cheese
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

 

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• Heat the oil and butter in a 4- to 5-quart soup pot or Dutch oven over medium until the butter has melted.
• Add the onions, celery, carrots, and ham to the pot and saute, stirring frequently, until the carrots have softened (about 10 minutes).
• Stir in the dried herbs, garlic powder, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce until well mixed.
• Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable mixture, along with a splash of broth, and stir until well incorporated. The mixture will be thick and pasty.
• Pour in the remaining broth and raise the heat to bring the soup to a light boil.
• Add the tortellini and give everything a good stir, bringing the vegetables up from the bottom of the pan. Let the tortellini cook for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat.
• Stir in the cooked chicken.
• Pour the dairy into the soup and stir well. Add the cheeses in three batches, stirring in between until melted and incorporated into the soup.
• Sprinkle the parsley over the soup before serving.

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