Creamy Tortellini Soup
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My favorite cozy weeknight soup made in 30 min! Loaded with tender tortellini, sausage and kale! And it’s so easy!
Featured Comment
Have you seen the news? It’s apparently -50 degrees windchill in Chicago right now. I wish I was joking. Meanwhile, it was 69 degrees F here in LA today. How will Butters and I survive in the Windy City?
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 and tricks for success
- Use fresh tortellini. Fresh tortellini will cook much faster than dried or frozen tortellini, and will yield more softer pasta.
- Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
- 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.
- 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 all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
what to serve with tortellini soup
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Creamy 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
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.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
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Very good. No sausage added.
Did you have to add anything when you omitted sausage? I’m debating trying it with no meat as well. Thanks!
Do you need to adjust the recipe if you aren’t using meat?
Might be the best soup I have ever made, and I am a soup kind of guy. Only change was we used regular sausage instead of spicy Italian sausage, because we were in the middle of a strong snowstorm and that was all we had. Could be the
storm added to the soups goodness too!
I have picky eaters who don’t like soup and everyone loved this dish!! I added extra tortellini (store only had big bags) so next time I will double the broth to accommodate. I have to eat GF so next time I will try it with GF pasta! Thanks for this amazing recipe!
I made this tonight. It was super easy and was amazing!
Excellent…just the best soup for a snowy night in Delaware…maybe one of the best soups I have ever had.
I just made this for dinner, and it was delicious. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
So easy to make on a school night after a long day at work. And the kids absolutely loved it! As did I. This will go on the monthly menu.
I’ve vegan-ized this and it is our absolute favorite soup! Spicy vegan sausage, veggie tortellini, veggie stock, one 680ml jar passata tomato sauce, one whole can of coconut milk instead of cream. Best soup ever!!!
This was so easy to make on a weeknight and the picky eaters I have in my house loved it.
For real—this is the most delicious soup! Wowowow! I’ve made it a number of times and it’s been excellent each time. Tonight I made it with some turkey stock I made from the thanksgiving turkey and it is amazing. Love it and will be cooking it regularly for a long time to come. Thank you!
This recipe is absolutely excellent! The entire family loved it.
One of the best “throw together” meals ever. I made minor substitutions, spinach for kale, dry tortellini for the refrigerator stuff (smaller size) and I topped it with Parmesan. This couldn’t have turned out better. Creamy, savory, hearty and delicious! Can’t recommend enough.
Delicious!! I have made it at least three times. It is now part of our weekly rotation. Love your recipes!! Made no changes to recipe.
YUMMY YUMMY! I made the recipe exactly as written and it was fantastic! Making soup is not my forte but this recipe was quick, easy and produced the most delicious results. My husband asked for more!
This is definitely a “keeper recipe”, thanks so much!!! A+A+A+A+
A regular in my home! Absolutely delicious, doubled the recipe with no changes. Perfect!
Quick and easy to come together! Tasty and comforting.
Best. Soup. Ever!! This came together so easily and I love that it was a smaller batch recipe for two people. This is the most delicious soup I’ve ever eaten. Mine came out a bit creamier or thicker than the photo as I reduced the sauce accidentally a bit longer, which I think I loved even more. Make this. You won’t regret it!
Thank you so much. The whole family loved it. So delicious, hearty and satisfying on a crisp fall day. This will definitely go on repeat.
Absolutely my favorite soup to make and eat. Sometimes I use a basil, garlic tomato sauce to level it up. Have also made it without kale and it’s delicious.
I love this recipe. I’ve made it Multiple times. It’s so easy and quick. The perfect weeknight meal. My partner is vegetarian and it’s so easy to sub vegetable broth and beyond meat italian sausage. I also throw in a bit of red pepper flakes just to give it a little more spice.
Excellent!!!!
This recipe is a keeper!
Super good. I used spinach instead of kale…definitely a keeper.