Instant Pot Tomato Basil Soup with Tortellini

Easy Instant Pot tomato basil soup with frozen tortellini takes under 20 minutes total to prepare and cook. Use your Crockpot Express or make as an Ninja Foodi recipe to make this healthy great recipe everyone will love!

Ninja Foodi Tomato Basil Soup

We’re going to start with onions. Why? Well because I add them to just about any and everything because they’re crazy cheap and add flavor and texture. Bam! We are not just making homemade tomato basil soup with fresh basil, but we’re adding cheese filled tortellini noodles inside too!!

Why would we do this….ummmm because it makes it super delicious and makes it a bit heartier for dinner. Faster than our Crockpot tortellini soup but with the same deep flavors served with a grilled cheese sandwich or a slice of garlic bread.

Ingredients

1. Tomato sauce is the base
2. Basil leaves, fresh is best
3. Garlic finely minced is best
4. Heavy cream to make it creamy, chicken broth can be substituted too
5. Onions and celery is an optional add in too
6. Salt and pepper to your liking
7. Tortellini noodles – already filled, we’re going for easy here – you can buy them bagged at the store
8. Parmesan cheese – for the top, the only way to go
9. An immersion blender is handy to make it super smooth

Variations

If you wanted to add some fresh tomatoes I would just dice them as you would find them canned. Add with the sauce and you’ll add a bit of texture to the overall dish. For a dairy free version you can use lactose free milk or your favorite alternative to make creamy.

What can you use other than heavy cream?

Instead of using heavy whipping cream you can substitute 1 c. of broth or coconut milk instead. OR you could use 1 c. (or more) of diced tomatoes with the juice if you wanted a chunkier version instead of smooth. Adding more liquid will thin it out, using heavier cream will make it creamier.

What can you use instead of tortellini?

1. Egg noodles are versatile and can be used in a wide range of soups but cook very quickly, 1 minute max. They are better in chicken noodle soup to beef stroganoff soup. They have a tender texture and absorb the flavors of the soup well.
2. Rotini and fusilli noodles are spiral-shaped and have ridges that help trap sauce or broth. They work well in soups with chunky vegetables or meats, allowing the flavors to cling to the pasta.
3. Orzo is a small, rice-shaped pasta that adds a delicate texture to soups.
4. Ditalini are short, tube-shaped pasta that resembling small tubes.

Instant Pot Tomato Basil Soup with Coconut Milk

I don’t know about you but I am always up for Instant Pot soup recipes year round…it doesn’t have to be cold outside. Using lactose free milk or almond products will work except that you may want to whisk in some cornstarch to thicken as those are thin in nature.

Instant Pot Tomato Soup Canned Tomatoes

I have made slow cooker Crockpot creamy tomato soup before which is good, but slow cooker means what it says….slooooowwwww. Some days I don’t have that much time. Our easy tomato bisque recipe is cooked on the stovetop and tastes amazing but you really have to stand there for quite some time and watch it so it doesn’t burn or boil over.

So….needless to say now that I am addicted to using my pressure cooker, this Instant Pot tomato soup was born. I guess you could call it tomato tortellini soup too…whatever, call it what you will. 😉 Do you have to use these noodles? No, you could use others if that is all you have or didn’t want them filled. Other choices are;

Small pasta shells are great for hearty soups and will keep their shape better than others. They hold onto the broth and other ingredients, providing a satisfying bite in every spoonful.

Reason why I love this choice is you can buy them already filled with either meat or cheese, our choice. You can buy them packaged on the shelf (which aren’t as fresh) and others are frozen. Best choice in our opinion is the frozen cheese version. Most stores have their own brand of them and there are some other expensive bags which basically taste the same.

Why we love Instant Pot soup

Soup is a meal my whole family can enjoy together. For the most part, for dinner is crazy cheap to feed all 5 of us. For the most part it is relatively healthy or you can tweak things to make it healthier like using coconut milk instead of heavy cream is an option.

• Pressure cook time is crazy fast using high pressure
• You can cook soups with dry beans super fast like our pressure cooker bean soup
• It allows me to cook from scratch easier because I don’t have to tend to the stove, the pot does the job all on it’s own keeping the temp. steady
• Because when it’s cold or snowy outside all I want is a warm bowl of soup for lunch and dinnertime

How to Make Instant Pot tomato basil soup with Tortellini

• Set to saute mode and add a bit of olive oil, diced onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes just until onions begin to soften.
• Turn pot off. Add half of your basil leaves and your can of tomato sauce. Stir.
• Set to high pressure for 2 minutes, do a quick release.
• Set Instant Pot to saute again and add in your already stuffed tortellini noodles (add 1-2 cups depending on how many you’d like in your soup).
• Cook for about 5 minutes stirring intermittently until tortellinis are as tender as you’d like them.
• Pour in whipping cream and stir.
• Cook for another 2 minutes or so, just until everything is warmed again and serve topped with additional basil, salt and/ or parmesan cheese if desired.

Now let’s talk about how to save leftover soup if you don’t finish it all. Whether you made this or our Instant Pot split pea soup you always want to wait until it is totally cooled to room temperature first off. You’ll want to transfer it into a container that you can seal shut. It will save for up to 3 days. I would reheat in the microwave for about 1 minute.