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 made this with a 6oz can of tomato paste because I didn’t have an 8oz can of sauce. I added 6 cups total of chicken stock (I love a brothy soup!)
It tastes great! Super easy to do! Thank you for sharing!
We loved this recipe. I used hot Italian sausage and it was wonderful!
I’ve made this so many different times for many friends and family during the winter time. It’s amazing, especially with warm, crusty fresh bread! Now that it is finally cold again, I’m making it again today and doubling the recipe! Thanks so much!
Thank you for this recipe. It was absolutely fantastic…better than a 5 star restaurant! Everyone loved it. Only changes: I used hot ground Italian sausage and spinach in place of the kale. I cooked the tortellini separate and added them in the last few minutes…simply AMAZING!
Legitimately one of the best things I’ve ever cooked.
And I say that as a dad who cooks 5-6 nights a week and is pretty darn good at it.
The ONLY substitution I made was me being lazy, I had made up a huge batch of mini pork and beef meatballs the day before, so I saved about 3 dozen of those and tossed em in while the onions were sweating instead of the ground sausage.
Incredible. Something so good I would go to a restaurant just to get that soup.
So easy and quick! I used spicy Italian sausage instead of sweet. Also added fresh sliced mushrooms and white beans for more texture. Delicious!
If you’re thinking about making this DO IT. It is one of the best recipes I’ve tried. I never leave reviews and this one I had to. I only swapped out kale for spinach and followed the rest and it is so delicious.
This was amazing! It took me a bit longer than 30 to prep and cook…but that’s typical for me. It was worth every minute! I love tortellini and creamy soup. Plus the aroma is fantastic!
This is so yummy! Even my kids, who are super picky eaters, love this. So quick and easy to make. Well done! I used hot Italian sausage and came out so amazing.
Thanks for sharing. This was a great recipe. Super fast and easy to prepare. It will definitely be a staple around my house.
Amazing soup! So flavourful and creamy. I used Richmond’s vegan sausages instead and worked out really good 🙂 would defo make again.
Wow! Very easy, inexpensive, and delicious!!! I will use a little bit more stock next time but this is a keeper for sure.
Amazing recipe. Great for the whole family. Super flavorful.
I put a bit of a twist on this – I set out to make the exact recipe, but with a vegetarian daughter, I had to sub the chk broth for veg broth, and I used a homemade Ital sausage made with Impossible Meat. Something went wrong (but also right) at the point I added the broth; the “meat” began to break down, and thickened the liquid – a LOT. I added the tomato sauce, then followed the rest of the instructions. Ended up with an absolutely incredible tortellini w/”meat” sauce dish, nice & thick. I’m going to try this one again with real sausage, but if anybody wants to replicate my method, just add an extra tbsp or 2 of flour at step 3 for a thickener. Overall, great flavors in this!
I’m not usually a soup person but I’ve made this soup about three times since I found it two months ago – SO GOOD! I added just a pinch of chili powder to add a kick to it.
I used hot Italian sausage and red onion. This came out amazing!! My husband and I loved it. It made enough for each of us to have one hearty bowl for dinner and each of us one bowl for lunch the next day! I also topped with some shredded parmesan cheese. Will definitely be making this often!
Yummy soup! My whole family loves it! Great for a weeknight dinner. Made exactly as recipe said. We had a lot of tortellini in it, so might add some more broth next time.
I use spinach instead of kale, and brick of cream cheese. Delicious!
Excellent soup!! Made exactly as per recipe and this is now my favorite soup! I typically do not leave recipe reviews but this was so good that I had to come back to share my appreciation. Love your work Chungah! Your site is awesome… and damn delicious!
This was sooo yummy! I had to make a few edits due to food restrictions, so I used turkey sausage and Silk Dairy Free Heavy Whipping Cream (thank you Silk people), I also mixed kale and spinach. So. Yummy!
I wanted to share with others and yet also wanted not to. Maybe next time, folks!
Where do I get bread like that? It looks so good!
This I use hot Italian sausage in my tortilinni soup. This stuff is addicting!!