Creamy Tortellini Soup
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Creamy tortellini soup made with Italian sausage, cheese-filled tortellini, kale, and Parmesan rind for extra richness. A cozy comfort food recipe ready in just 30 minutes.
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This creamy tortellini soup is one of the most popular Damn Delicious recipes. A quick and hearty Italian-inspired soup with sausage, kale, and tender tortellini simmered in a Dutch oven.
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 for the Best Creamy Tortellini Soup with Italian Sausage
- 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 or large cast iron pot – essential for simmering creamy tortellini soup evenly.
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 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.
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Loved this for a chilly weeknight! The only thing I wasn’t clear on was instructions for whisking in the flour. Was I supposed to push the sausage and onion to the side and just whisk the flour on the bottom of the pot by itself, without liquid? The sausage just clumped up in the whisk so this really didn’t make sense to me. I just gave up and stirred it all together with a spoon. Not sure if that was right but it still tasted great! Will definitely make this again.
So flavorful. So delicious. So easy! It fed my hungry household of 6 (four of them teenagers) with second helpings for a few and one small/snack size portion left over. I did increase the tortellini to 13 ounces, but everything else directly as written. Will need to double the recipe for extra left overs next time. Thanks for another great recipe!
I’ve made this several times, doubling the recipe each time. This is magnificent and the leftovers are fantastic!
This soup was delicious! Added some red pepper flakes and used spinach in place of kale. Flavorful and hearty. This is the third recipe of yours that I have tried. Always incredibly yummy! Love your street tacos and shrimp boil pan dinner as well! I will look forward to more recipes! Thank you, Chungah!
This was extremely easy and absolutely delicious! I will make this again and again, for sure.
Absolutely delicious! Perfect for a cold night. Husband and teenage son LOVED it. Even the kale. Love your recipes!
Super fast and delicious. If anybody is really hungry that’s no more than 4 servings. I used 500g of tortellini (1.1 lbs) and was enough for 5. Great weekday recipe. Thank you.
This was seriously damn delicious…just what we needed on a cold day in Scotland. I was worried it wouldn’t make a main meal but it did even better with left overs for lunch the next day. The only thing I added was 1/2 tsp pepper flakes. Thank you for an awesome and easy recipe
I simply love your recipes and have tried several. This soup recipe was the latest I tried. It was so damn delicious. Thank you. My husband went for seconds. My only edit was that I used spinach (I had on hand) vs. kale. I will definitely make this again and again.
I used ground chuck because I did not have Italian sausage. Could have used only 3/4# but no problem, just a lot of meat. Did not have kale so I used 4 ounces of spinach and it was just right. Did not have fresh basil so stirred in 2 tsp. dried basil at same time I stirred in the Italian seasoning. Husband raved about it and had 2 large servings. Once again this site did not disappoint. I strongly recommend this recipe if you like the ingredients. Even with my subs. due to need, it was excellent! I would like to thank you for providing me with such dependable recipes. This site is a 5* for sure.
This soup is really delicious and comes together effortlessly. Thank you!
Is the nutrition information available for this?
This recipe is fantastic! I used sage bulk breakfast sausage in the recipe because that’s what I had in the fridge instead of Italian. I also used half and half instead of heavy cream for the same reason. It is wonderful! My last add was a 1/2 tsp of sugar for balance on the tomatoes.
I have made this soup at least a dozen times since I found the recipe about 1 year ago. We just love it! And I have made it for others and they love it as much as we do! I make it exactly as written most often but I have used Spinach instead of Kale a few times and it is just as good. Try this soup, you won’t be disappointed.
Best soup ever! You know it’s a keeper when your 13 year old granddaughter asks for a 2nd bowl. Will be making this regularly and doubling the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
How do you keep the tortellini from becoming overcooked and mushy?
I love soup and have been searching for recipes to add to my repertoire. This one definitely was added to my recipes. I made it exactly except i didn’t have basil on hand. My sausage was 2/3 sweet and 1/3 hot. It was delicious. Mine didn’t need any added salt or pepper – probably seasoned successfully from the sausage. Thanks for the great recipe.
Followed directions to a “t” and will be making this regularly again withno modifications needed for this family! Thank you!
This was absolutely fabulous! I left out the heavy cream because the soup was delicious before that step. Super easy and cozy weeknight dinner.
Made this tonight for dinner. Delicious and will be making it again and would not change a thing. My husband loved it too.
Would give 6 Stars if I could! This is the PERFECT soup!!!! A hit with my entire family, and my friends who are now making it for their families! Perfect balance of meat, hearty soup base, and sneaky vegetables you don’t even taste. The broth and the tortellini are perfect compliments to each other. I think anyone would make this a weekday repeater for Fall and Winter. I absolutely love it, thank you for sharing!!!
This recipe received unsolicited compliments from my 16-year-old son and husband. The whole family loved it and asked that I double the recipe so there could be seconds or, at least, leftovers. My husband asked me to add this to our rotation and I am happy to oblige because it was so easy to make!
The only thing I did differently was sub in spinach for the kale. We aren’t big kale people, so I didn’t want it to go bad in the refrigerator when I know the spinach will get eaten in salads.