Creamy Tortellini Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
A quick 30 min dinner! Made with crumbled sausage, kale, Parmesan and tender tortellini. So easy, so cozy, so good.
Featured Comment
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 every last drop of this lovely creamy goodness.
tips and tricks for success
- Use fresh tortellini. Fresh cheese tortellini cooks quickly and keeps the soup creamy without becoming mushy.
- Add the cream slowly at the very end to prevent curdling and to keep your tortellini soup creamy and smooth.
- Save leftover Parmesan rinds. Adding them while simmering in a Dutch oven gives this creamy tortellini soup a nutty depth of flavor.
- Store tortellini separately for leftovers. Store cooked tortellini separately when meal prepping or freezing so the soup doesn’t lose its creamy broth.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with homemade crusty bread or garlic knots for dipping—classic sides for creamy tortellini soup.
What to Serve with Creamy Tortellini Soup
Tools For Making Tortellini Soup
Dutch oven
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 freshly cooked tortellini and heavy cream when serving.
Creamy Tortellini Soup
Video
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.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
This soup is absolutely fabulous.
I wouldn’t change a single thing.
My kids ask for it all the time. The
kale makes it really great.
I have made this countless times over the past few months and can say that it is hands down my family’s favorite soup! I make it as listed except sometimes I use spinach if I don’t have kale. This recipe is lovely as is and I definitely don’t need to follow the instructions anymore. Thank you!
Delicious!! I think I needed to add more broth and I will next time. I used baby spinach instead of kale since my husband isn’t a fan. He loved it!
This soup is so flavourful. My husband and I absolutely love this.
This soup is so good!! I have made it like 4 times in the last 3 weeks. Love it!
Made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious!! Great recipe
I made this and don’t usually comment, but wow! It was soooooo delicious! I will make this again and again!
My go to ALWAYS! So flavorful and delicious. I supplement spinach for Kale….picky eaters around here! Thank you!
This soup is delicious!
Delicious, perfect for cold, rainy days. The only change I make is using hot sausage.
Delicious, perfect on cold, rainy days, only change I make is using hot sausage.
Excellent soup. On average, everyone had two bowls served with homemade buns. Even the finicky eaters
This is a great recipe – one of my favorites. It’s very forgiving. I refrigerate the leftovers and bring them to work for lunch. It gets thicker and is somehow even more amazing.
Very good, will definitely make again. But wondering if anyone has frozen it for later. I’m only one person house for. Dunno if I’ll eat itall
You can’t freeze anything with dairy in it. I would make it and add the dairy as you reheat it. Don’t put the pasta in it either. Save that for the time you eat it as well.
Sooo good!! Only change I made was adding. more torttilloni and more broth.
Also used spinach vs kale
Soo yummy!!
Even my kids like it and not one person complained❤️
It was delicious!
I used spinach instead of kale, spicy italian sausage, and 1lb of tortellini instead of 9oz, it was less soupy.
My son whos usually is picky, gobbled it up!
KEEPER FOR SURE!
I found this recipe a few months back and since then have made it almost every week! Super easy and so delicious. Could possibly be my favorite soup recipe. My boyfriend even loves it and he isn’t a fan of kale.
I’ve made this so many times I don’t even need to refer to the recipe anymore. Superb!!!
Does anyone know if you can use dried tortellini instead and just adjust the time? I only gave the dried tortellini from Trader Joe’s in the house.