What You’ll Love About This High Protein Soup
- Filling & Satisfying – The chicken, tortellini, cottage cheese, and vegetables are healthier and nourishing ingredients that will keep you satisfied and full with less than 500 calories!
- High Protein – With 39 grams of protein per serving, it’s the perfect way to boost your protein intake for the day.
- Deliciously Comforting – Creamy soup, pasta, and cheese . . . need I say more? It’s a warm bowl of coziness that’s SO flavorful and delicious!
- Great for Meal-Prep – Separate the soup into airtight containers for healthy meal-prep lunches all week long.
Southwest Tortellini Cottage Cheese Soup
Cottage cheese is definitely having a moment right now, and I have loved using it to add protein and creaminess to some really tasty new recipes, like my viral Cottage Cheese Pancakes! I also love it as a creamy sauce in this Protein Pasta Recipe. And as we head into the colder months, my mind has been on how I can add more protein to my favorite cold-weather cozy meals, like this Tortellini Soup!
This southwest-inspired soup has less than 500 calories per serving, has 39 grams of protein, and the whole pot is ready to serve in 30 minutes. The blended cottage cheese gives the whole soup a rich cheesy flavor while keeping the broth light. I love the chicken, veggies, and filling tortellini that round out all the healthy components of this new family favorite. Trust me, once you taste it, you’ll be making it on repeat all soup season long. Even my picky kiddos love this healthy dinner recipe!
You’ll Also Love: 25+ High-Protein Low-Carb Recipes
Ingredients for Creamy Tortellini Soup
The ingredients in this soup are easy to find, higher protein, and full of flavor resulting in a healthy soup everyone loves. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Avocado Oil
- Bell Peppers and Onion – Use any color of bell peppers you like. I like yellow or white onion for this soup recipe.
- Garlic – Use fresh or minced garlic in a jar for this recipe. In a pinch, you can simply add 2 teaspoons of garlic powder as a substitute.
- Chili Powder, Cumin, Cayenne, and Salt – This combination of spices adds a perfect southwest flavor to the soup. Cut back on spice by leaving out the cayenne.
- Corn – I prefer the texture and flavor of frozen corn, but feel free to use canned corn.
- Fire-Roasted Tomatoes – These may be my new favorite ingredient for all things fall. a little smokey, tangy, and savory these add so much umami flavor to the soup.
- Chicken Broth – Use low-sodium chicken broth and add more salt if you think it needs it. Swap with veggie broth if you prefer. Add more protein by using bone broth!
- Chicken Breast – Use shredded rotisserie chicken or diced baked chicken breasts in this chicken soup recipe. You can also use chicken thighs.
- Cottage Cheese – I used low-fat cottage cheese in this recipe, but you can also use whole cottage cheese if you prefer. I suggest making sure it is blended super smoothly in the blender before adding it to the soup. See my other tips below!
- Refrigerated Tortellini – Refrigerated tortellini cooks super quickly so it works perfectly in this quick meal. Frozen tortellini will add too much moisture to the soup, and dried tortellini needs boiling broth, so if you’re using that, wait to add the cottage cheese until after the pasta is cooked through.
How to make Healthy High Protein Soup
One pot and 30 minutes is all you need to make this super easy healthy meal! Here’s how to make protein soup:
- Sauté the peppers, onions, and garlic until they begin to soften in a Dutch oven.
- Add the spices, stir, and add the corn and tomatoes.
- Add the broth and chicken and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add a little of the hot broth to the cottage cheese and whisk vigorously.
- Slowly pour the cottage cheese into the soup.
- Continue stirring constantly so the cottage cheese is incorporated completely into the soup.
- Add the tortellini and allow it to cook for 5 minutes.
- Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and shredded cheese.
Tips for Making Soup with Cottage Cheese
Adding dairy products to hot broth can be tricky sometimes. Don’t worry! Here are some tips to help it go smoothly:
- Use Room-Temp Cottage Cheese – Allow the blended cottage cheese to come to room temperature while you’re making the soup. It will be less of a temperature shock, helping prevent separation.
- Temper the Cottage Cheese – Incorporating a little bit of the hot broth into the cottage cheese before adding it to the soup, helps the dairy come closer to the warmer temperature so that it goes in smoother.
- Stir Constantly – The cottage cheese will look like it’s separating when you add it to the soup. DON’T PANIC, just stir, stir, stir. It will continue to melt and dissolve into the soup. I promise.
- Don’t Boil – Once the cottage cheese is in the soup, turn the heat down so the soup doesn’t come back up to a boil.
Protein Packed Soup variations
- Swap the Chicken – Feel free to use lean ground turkey or ground beef for the meat in the soup. Make sure that it’s cooked before adding it because the soup doesn’t take long enough for raw meat to cook.
- Make it Low-Carb – Leave the tortellini out or swap it for a low-carb protein pasta or more veggies for a protein-packed, low-carb soup!
- Make it Italian – Swap the seasonings for 1-2 Tablespoons of Italian seasoning, and top it with parmesan and a squeeze of lemon.
Storing Creamy Protein Soup
- Refrigerator – Transfer the cooled soup to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezer – I don’t recommend freezing cooked tortellini, but you can freeze the soup base of everything except the tortellini in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Just add the tortellini to the hot reheated soup for 5 minutes before serving.
- Reheating – Warm the leftover soup on the stovetop on medium-low stirring occasionally. To reheat in the microwave, heat the soup in 30-second intervals, stirring in between to prevent overheating the cooked tortellini.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
- Stuffed Cabbage Soup
- Pumpkin Curry Soup
- Vegetarian French Onion Soup
- Chicken Lemon Rice Soup
- The BEST Crockpot Vegetable Soup
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Creamy Protein Packed Soup
This Creamy Protein Soup comes together in just 30 minutes and has 39 grams of protein in each hearty serving! This dreamy Southwest-flavored chicken tortellini soup is not only rich and comforting, but it’s also secretly boosted with cottage cheese for that extra creaminess (and a little protein magic!). Whether you're looking for a quick weeknight meal or something to cozy up with on a chilly evening, this soup has you covered.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 497 kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 medium bell peppers (diced, about 2 cups)
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 12 ounces frozen corn
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (not drained)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups diced cooked chicken breast
- 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (blended)
- 18 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, heat the oil, add the peppers, onions, and garlic, and sauté until the onions begin to soften on medium-high heat.
- Sprinkle the spices on the veggies, stir well, and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the frozen corn and fire-roasted tomatoes and stir well.
- Add the broth and chicken and allow the soup to come to a low boil.
- Allow the soup to cook for 5 minutes,
- Add 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the hot broth of the soup to the blended cottage and whisk vigorously.
- Pour the cottage cheese slowly into the soup.
- Continue stirring constantly so the cottage cheese is incorporated completely into the soup.
- Add the tortellini and allow it to cook for 5 minutes.
- Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and shredded cheese.
Video
Notes
Storing:
- Refrigerator – Transfer the cooled soup to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freezer – You can freeze the soup base of everything except the tortellini in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Just add the tortellini to the hot reheated soup for 5 minutes before serving.
- Reheating – Warm the leftover soup on the stovetop on medium-low stirring occasionally. To reheat in the microwave, heat the soup in 30-second intervals, stirring in between to prevent overheating the cooked tortellini.
- Blend the cottage cheese until very smooth.
- Allow the cottage cheese to come to room temp before adding.
- Temper the cottage cheese.
- Stir constantly until the cottage cheese is completely melted into the broth.
Nutrition
Serving: 2.5 cups | Calories: 497 kcal | Carbohydrates: 59 g | Protein: 39 g | Fat: 13 g | Saturated Fat: 4 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g | Cholesterol: 74 mg | Sodium: 2365 mg | Potassium: 569 mg | Fiber: 7 g | Sugar: 7 g | Vitamin A: 1713 IU | Vitamin C: 58 mg | Calcium: 195 mg | Iron: 4 mg
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Athena says:
Made this last night and enjoyed eating it with my toddler! Next time I make it I’m going to add a little more spice for some extra heat, but overall, a very tasty easy to put together soup!:) I love that it’s high protein.