Creamy Tortellini Soup
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My favorite cozy weeknight soup made in 30 min! Loaded with tender tortellini, sausage and kale! And it’s so easy!

Featured Comment
Have you seen the news? It’s apparently -50 degrees windchill in Chicago right now. I wish I was joking. Meanwhile, it was 69 degrees F here in LA today. How will Butters and I survive in the Windy City?
I’ve loaded up on parkas and electric blankets for myself and Butters. But I don’t know, guys. It’s going to be a dicey winter for us Californians.

But what I do know is this – have as much of this creamy tortellini soup as possible until the polar vortex passes. That and all the crusty bread to sop up all this creamy goodness.
Oh, and the wine. That helps warm you up too, no?
tips and tricks for success
- Use fresh tortellini. Fresh tortellini will cook much faster than dried or frozen tortellini, and will yield more softer pasta.
- Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
- Save leftover Parmesan rinds. Get more out of those expensive Parmesan cheeses by using up the leftover rinds! Adding a Parmesan rind slightly thickens the broth and adds a level of nutty richness to the soup.
- Store tortellini separately for leftovers. When planning for leftovers, store the cooked tortellini separately from the soup to prevent it from soaking up all the broth.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!

what to serve with tortellini soup
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Creamy Tortellini Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Swiss chard, baby spinach, collard greens, and cabbage are all great options.
We love using fresh cheese tortellini for a more neutral base but your favorite tortellini would also work very well here.
Absolutely! Dried tortellini can be cooked in a separate pot and added to the soup at the end of cooking time until warmed through.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the tortellini and heavy cream (cream soups tend to separate when frozen) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding cooked tortellini and heavy cream when serving.

Creamy Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (3-inch) Parmesan rind, optional
- 1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated three cheese tortellini
- ½ bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic, onion and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock, tomato sauce and Parmesan rind, if using. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in tortellini; cover and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in kale until wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and basil until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Video
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I’m on my 3rd round of this soup in about 5 weeks! Delicious. Quick. Filling.
I loventhe aroma of it cooking on the stove too!
Thanks for a great recipe!
My husband says he dreams about this soup!
Hi! I was wondering what everyone served with the dish? Salad or Sandwich ideas would be wonderful. Thanks!
Crusty bread!
So good! A favorite in my house and so easy!
We make this on repeat. My husband requests this soup all the time. It is probably our favorite soup recipe ever and so, so easy!! I never leave reviews, but I have to for this recipe as much as I come back to it over and over. It’s a keeper!
This is one of my favorite recipes!! Truly! I come back over and over.
Starting a weight loss journey and now tracking calories. Any idea what the calories are on this per pot or serving?
Such a fantastic recipe! The combination of ingredients is just perfect, and your instructions make it look so effortless. Can’t wait to make it soon!
Great Soup
One of my favorites
So tasty & so quick to make on a weeknight! Thanks for another great recipe!
Could you use frozen kale ????
I use frozen all the time, works fine. Great soup!!
Socks knocked all the way off! This was so good and so quick/easy. I followed the recipe with zero changes. Bowl licking good! This is officially in regular rotation. Amazing!
And not for nothing, but it also super affordable. You wouldn’t know it by the taste.
I doubled recipe. I did add bacon and a little dry mustard. Delicious!
Another spectacular dish from DD. I am Celiac so I it GF using Taste Republic refrigerated GF tortellini and GF flour instead of AP flour. It’s one of the few recipes I have adapted that doesn’t taste or feel (texture) GF. To lighten it up a bit sometimes, I have also made it using ground chicken Italian sausage. I use the recipe from the Chef de Home website and make a half batch (1 lb). It’s equally tasty with the chicken. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
This is one of my go to dishes when it is cold outside or I just want something cozy. My whole family loves it and it is so easy– I have also brought this as a meal train dish for postpartum moms and it is always a hit!!
This soup was delicious! I made it exactly as written. Thanks again, Chungah and team.
This soup was easy to make and delicious! Substituted turkey sausage (1/2 mild 1/2 spicy)- so good!
This soup was terrific!! I only had a little sausage left so I tossed in some rotisserie chicken with it and everyone loved it! Thank You for sharing your recipes!!
Was excellent!! I doubled everything. Thank you
This was really good! I left out the kale because my husband doesn’t like kale. It was still really good!
it really is damn delicous thanks for sharing your recipe with the world
I mean, my family thought I worked for hours! This was such a “soup for the soul”! Delicious and definitely a go to! Thank you for sharing!