Creamy Tortellini Soup
by Chungah
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A quick 30-minute creamy tortellini soup! Made with Italian sausage, greens, Parmesan and quick-cooking tortellini. So fast, easy, and cozy!
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Why you’ll love this creamy tortellini soup
- Weeknight miracle dinner. This recipe calls for quick-cooking refrigerated tortellini, allowing the soup to come together in just 30 minutes, start to finish.
- Cold weather comfort food. We’re talking about the best kind of cozy, comfort food here. The velvety tomato broth with crumbled sausage and pillowy tortellini with sneaked in greens just hits different, especially when you’re under the weather or during those blistery snow days.
- Perfect with crusty bread. This is just one of those soups best served with all the crusty bread to sop up every last drop of all the creamy goodness.
- Incredibly flexible, forgiving recipe. This is a great opportunity to use up all those wilting veggies and leftover proteins instantly.
How to make creamy tortellini soup
- Crumble the sausage. Remove the meat from its casing (if using links) and cook the sausage in large chunks in a Dutch oven over medium heat, breaking the sausage into small pieces as it continues to cook. Drain the excess fat, leaving just enough for flavor.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the garlic, onion, and Italian seasoning (or any additional herbs on hand).
- Whisk in the flour. Stir in the flour until lightly browned. The flour will serve as a natural thickening agent for the soup.
- Simmer. Add the chicken stock, tomato sauce, and Parmesan rind, simmering on low heat until slightly thickened. The longer it simmers, the more it will reduce.
- Add the tortellini. Stir in the fresh tortellini until cooked through, about 5 minutes. If using dried tortellini, cook them in a separate pot and add it here.
- Make it creamy. Add the kale, heavy cream, and basil until warmed through, seasoning one last time with salt and pepper.
- Serve warm. Serve immediately with crusty bread. If preparing for leftovers, store the tortellini separately as the tortellini in the soup can absorb the broth very quickly.
variations and substitutions
Protein swap
This is a great time to repurpose leftover shredded rotisserie chicken! Or you can substitute the Italian sausage for ground turkey (or beef) or shrimp.
Vegetarian-friendly
For a vegetarian option, use canned cannellini beans or navy beans, or extra-firm tofu that has been pan-fried or baked (also substituting the chicken stock for vegetable stock).
Additional vegetables or veggie swap
Add in any lingering vegetables such as carrots, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, or green beans.
Different greens
Swap out the kale for spinach, cabbage, swiss chard, or collard greens, adding towards the end of cook time.
Skip the tomatoes
For a more cream-based soup without tomatoes, try this recipe instead.
Slow cooker method
Make this in the crockpot instead, cooking low and slow for 7-8 hours.
freezing and storage
Storage
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Pro tip: if you are planning for leftovers beforehand, store the cooked tortellini and soup base separately.
Reheating
Gently reheat on the stovetop and add a splash of chicken stock, milk, or heavy cream to restore the desired consistency.
To Freeze
Freeze the soup base only without the tortellini and heavy cream as cream soups tend to separate when frozen. Once cooled completely, store in individual freezer bags. To reheat, thaw overnight and gently reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked tortellini and heavy cream just before serving.
What to Serve with Creamy Tortellini Soup
Tools For this recipe
Dutch oven
Creamy Tortellini Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Leafy greens such as spinach, cabbage, swiss chard, and collard greens are all excellent options.
I love using quick-cooking fresh cheese tortellini for a more neutral base but your favorite tortellini would also work very well here.
Absolutely! But dried tortellini should be cooked separately 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! 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
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.
Equipment
Notes
- Use refrigerated tortellini. Fresh refrigerated tortellini tastes much better than dry tortellini and cooks up so much faster.
- 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.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
- 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 homemade crusty bread or garlic knots for dipping—classic sides for creamy tortellini soup.
Did you make this recipe?
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This was amazing!!
This is THE BEST soup I have ever made. It’s like I ordered it from the restaurant. Each ingredient does its part and the seasoned broth alone is so flavorful. I wanted to try something new and have been wanting to do a tortellini soup and this recipe hit the spot! I will be making it again, and again….and again in the future.
This soup is soooooo good!
I also decided to sub the kale for spinach, used spicy Italian sausage and a little bit less tomato (I used a pizza sauce can I had kicking around my cupboard)
Oh. My. Goodness! Seriously heaven in a bowl. It was so good I made it again and this time I just mixed it with whatever broth I had n did it by taste.. did not fail! This is definitely going to be a staple recipe for me.
Very delicious. Made some changes tho. Not a sausage fan so I substituted baked miniature meatballs I made.
Store was sold out of tortellini so I used 3 cheese miniature raviolis. I too like others used cut up spinach leaves. Also added an extra can of broth therefore I added more half n half.
OMG this was so good, ate 2 large bowls. I’m going to add something with a small taste of heat next time.
Definitely a keeper. So glad I ran across this. Ty for sharing
Uh, how do you know it’s delicious? You didn’t make it, you made yours!
Delicious and my picky husband and kids loved it. Will definitely be making this again. Next time I will be doubling the recipe and adding extra broth.
This was delicious. I used spicy Italian sausage, double the amount of tortellinis, and a little extra stock to compensate for the extra tortellinis. I will say, as other commenters have noted, the time estimate for this recipe is not accurate. I am a proficient cook, and I made this start to finish with no interruptions – it took about 45-50 minutes.
Disclaimer: I did not use Italian sausage because I didn’t have any and subbed spinach for kale (what I had).
This soup is AMAZING. Every bite I’m surprised again about just how insanely delicious it is. Make this. You will not regret it. I will be making this probably once a week for the rest of my life.
This soup is so delicious and absolutely perfect for these cold winter days. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Love love love this soup! It’s a hit so I think I’ll definitely be doubling the batch in the future. Followed the recipe exactly as written but subbed spinach for the kale (personal preference). One thing to note – it does get quite thick, so I might be adding a bit more liquid in the future to make it more soupy as opposed to stewy. Highly recommend!
My husband and I love this soup. So easy and delicious!
Made it with impossible sausage and it was soooo good. Great recipe!
It was so good . I loved the kale with the sausage. Perfect for my family.
This is the best soup I have had in my entire life. Truly. Thank you for the absolutely amazing recipe and meal! I used spicy Italian sausage for an extremely kick as it is actually cold here in New England.
Delicious!! I did 6 cups broth instead of 4 and added Trader Joe’s Spicy Italian seasoning. SO yummy!
This is delicious and easily modified. My grocery store was out of hot Italian sausage. So I did a 50/50 mix of sweet Italian sausage & chorizo. I omitted no the Italian seasoning because the chorizo was already seasoned. I ended up adding a little paprika & cayenne pepper. I was worried about the cream making the soup too creamy. It doesn’t. I’m very happy I added it. This is going to be a staple.
My family loved it!! Thank you
Wow this soup is amazing I have made it twice in two weeks because everyone loved it. Followed recipe as written except didn’t have kale so used baby spinach. So silky and flavorful … restaurant quality!
Took a big chance and made this today for Christmas dinner, with no backup plan! It was AMAZING!!! A total hit!!! Everyone LOVED it!!!
♥️♥️♥️♥️
My daughter shared the recipe for this soup with me. I intended to make it as the recipe states but decided to tweak it like my daughter did by add zucchini, mushrooms and Rotel diced tomatoes to give it a little spice as my family prefers it that way. My husband ate 3 bowls full! I guess you could call it a hit!! I’ll be making this again as it’s getting here in CA!!
This soup was so easy and so good! I cannot believe it! Will definitely be adding to my list of recipes.
I actually found a similar recipe from Instacart while doing some grocery shopping. Funny thing is, I’ve always passed Tortellini in the grocery section at the store but was too hesitant to try it. So I bought it, and I made mine with spinach, spicy sausage, corn, canned diced tomatoes, a shredded Turkey leg, and I did add the flour but I didn’t have the cream so it was more brothy, but OH SO DELICIOUS! My God! One of the best recipes I’ve ever made. It came out so pretty!
Ok nothing special.
Disappointed because it had so many great reviews.
Probably won’t make again.
Maybe needed more tomato sauce.
Oh dear! This is what happens when I read out of order. I hope by now you’ve learned that -50 is NOT the norm! And also that the reason we brave such extremes is because Chicago is a glorious place filled with some of the best people on the planet! I can’t imagine living anywhere else!
This is such an amazing soup! Super easy to make, tasty and perfect to eat on a beautiful chilly day to warm your belly and heart!