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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I’m getting ready to make this recipe for about the tenth time for my grateful family. Sometimes I use tortellini and sometimes I make it with ravioli. Both ways are delicious.
I use half Italian and half mild sausage since my family can’t take the heat. They love this dish.
This is my all-around favorite recipe.
I have made this on a few occasions and I love it. Sometimes I “tweak” it a little but mostly stay close to the recipe. But, tonight I made mini turkey meatballs and put them in instead of the sausage. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe…so yummy
I have made this twice since stumbling across your site about three weeks ago. My husband, who is the cook in the family, is not always thrilled when I decide to cook something. I first made this for a friend who is in treatment for cancer along with gouda grilled cheese sandwiches (on sourdough). My husband was only given a taster and he immediately started asking when I was going to make this for “us.” I did make it again right after Thanksgiving. I was going to take a bowl to my neighbor, but my husband laid claims to it! Thanks for an awesome recipe.
Your recipes are always so amazing. Thank you Chungah – I thoroughly enjoy it
Amazing! I did use half beef/half mild sausage and spinach instead of kale. For extra heart attack inducing deliciousness, I added 4 ounces of cream cheese while simmering and topped with shaved parm.
I used spinach too! Delish!!
This soup was so good! The whole family loved it so much that they asked me to double batch it next time! I served it with some delicious home made French bread and a bottle of a really yummy Zin. Thank you so much!
I searched the comments high and low for how to make in an instapot and I couldn’t find an answer so for answer so I tried it myself and turned out AMAZING!
I followed steps 1-3
Then put it in the instapot with the rest of the ingredients. (Not including the heavy cream or Kale)
Put it on high pressure for 5 minutes
Then added the cream and kale.
It was perfect and ready in 20 minutes.
Definitely already have requests to make it again.
This was fantastic, and even better as leftovers! I didn’t put the kale in it as no one else in the family likes it, but it was still delicious without it! Thanks so much for the recipe. We’ll definitely make this one again!
This was SO good! Perfect for a chilly night and it was so easy! I added just a splash of white wine when I added the chicken broth and tomato sauce.
Next time, I’ll probably do 6c of broth instead of 4 since it thickened up quite a bit and I love a brothy soup!
Thank you for the amazing dinner idea, it’ll definitely be added in our regular rotation!
This recipe is amazing! We thoroughly enjoyed and will definitely make again.
So good! I followed the recipe exactly. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for this recipe it is damn delicious!!!!
This soup is amazing! I substituted the sausage with chicken sausage and omg so yummy! Will def be making this again and sharing with family and friends!!!!
A great recipe!! Did not have tomato sauce so used diced tomatoes that I drained. Have never a big fan of kale so I substituted Fresh spinach. Also used half and half instead of heavy cream.
Will make again with spinach..
Delicious!!!
A quick and easy, delicious recipe! I used spinach instead of kale, and I added a pinch of cayenne pepper to each bowl. The best thing is that this soup tastes better the next day!
I’ll added this one to my monthly rotation!
OMG this soup is so easy and delicious. My friend had knee surgery and I have been cooking for her family and my husband and I and this soup is a 10z
Delicious! Used spinach in stead of kale.
This is so damn delicious! I made this last night for my mom and husband and we all enjoyed it. First time ever cooking with Italian sausage and was wonderfully surprised. I used spinach in place of kale but followed everything else. My mom and I had it again tonight. Thanks for sharing!
This was GREAT!!! I have a picky 6 year old who was dead set on not trying it… she tried it and loved it and ate two bowls! I think it would be great with a few red pepper flakes in it if you like it a little spicy. Or maybe just using hot sausage. But it is REALLY GOOD! Recommend 100% !!
I’m obsessed with this soup recipe. It was my first time making this and it came out beautifully! I used two packs of tortellini so I needed more broth but it truly is a simple, easy and delicious dish. Will be my go-to this winter with some crusty bread! 🙂
Delicious recipe but I do have to point out that you list a 15 minute cook time. If the recipe is followed with the minimum cook times you’re at 22 minute cook time, not 15. Took me closer to 50 minutes to complete
I actually have a question. Can you do this in a crock pot? Thanks!
I have never left a review in my life and I don’t even like sausage but this might be the best soup I’ve ever made. Absolutely delicious. I made it as is except I maybe didn’t use all the sausage and it was spectacular. It was so good, I burned my mouth and tongue because I refused to let it cool.
Loved it. I used spinach and it turned out excellent. Topped it off in the bowl with mozzerella.