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.
Did you make this recipe?
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I doubled recipe. I did add bacon and a little dry mustard. Delicious!
Another spectacular dish from DD. I am Celiac so I it GF using Taste Republic refrigerated GF tortellini and GF flour instead of AP flour. It’s one of the few recipes I have adapted that doesn’t taste or feel (texture) GF. To lighten it up a bit sometimes, I have also made it using ground chicken Italian sausage. I use the recipe from the Chef de Home website and make a half batch (1 lb). It’s equally tasty with the chicken. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
This is one of my go to dishes when it is cold outside or I just want something cozy. My whole family loves it and it is so easy– I have also brought this as a meal train dish for postpartum moms and it is always a hit!!
This soup was delicious! I made it exactly as written. Thanks again, Chungah and team.
This soup was easy to make and delicious! Substituted turkey sausage (1/2 mild 1/2 spicy)- so good!
This soup was terrific!! I only had a little sausage left so I tossed in some rotisserie chicken with it and everyone loved it! Thank You for sharing your recipes!!
Was excellent!! I doubled everything. Thank you
This was really good! I left out the kale because my husband doesn’t like kale. It was still really good!
it really is damn delicous thanks for sharing your recipe with the world
I mean, my family thought I worked for hours! This was such a “soup for the soul”! Delicious and definitely a go to! Thank you for sharing!
Sooo delish! Easy to make and the flavors of the ingredients meld to make the most tasty soup ever! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.. I will be making it regularly.
This is absolutely delicious, to the point I crave it!! Want to make again today and like using hot Italian sausage which I can’t get hold of today. I have some spicy V8 juice to use up, was thinking about using that instead of the tomato sauce and just put a little more flour in to make up for the viscosity difference. Has anybody done that or have recommendations?
We really enjoyed this creamy, flavorful soup. I used both cheese and mushroom tortellini, along with spinach and sliced fresh mushrooms. My kids added a sprinkle of freshly shredded parmesan. Served with a nice crusty Italian bread for dipping made a perfect fall meal.
My favorite soup! I sub chopped spinach for the kale. It’s always a huge hit, i make it all fall/winter long!
Great, easy to prepare recipe, full of flavor. First time I made it, people asked for the recipe.
Does this recipe work without cream? I don’t have any. All I have is homogenized milk…
I have made this numerous times, and it is very customizable. I have used hot Italian sausage, I’ve thrown in chopped zucchini, I’ve also made it without the cream before. Always delicious! I even quadrupled the recipe for a family gathering and kept it warm in one of those big electric roasters. There are never any leftovers unfortunately lol!
Do you think this would work with half and half instead of heavy cream to reduce the calories?
Absolutely!
One of my all time favourite soup recipes. My family always requests it, highly highly recommend.
Can I sub dried tortellini?
I’ve done it several times and I didn’t notice a difference. I make this soup recipe all the time and we love it!
Can I double the recipe
You can easily double this. I have quadrupled the recipe for a large family gathering and kept it warm in an electric roaster.