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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Yumo!! Thx for sharing. I made this today a rainy day in Virginia. My Hubster and teen boys loved it.
Sooo delicious!! Had to substitute the tomato sauce for diced tomatos, the kale for spinach, the stock for broth, and heavy cream for regular milk due to what I had at my house, but oh my word still so good!
This was easy to make and delicious!
My favorite soup recipe. It is SOOO GOOD!!
I have made this many times! I substitute spinach for the kale, and it’s delish! Sometimes I use sour cream in place of the heavy cream, and it is just as good. Try this recipe, you won’t be disappointed!
Great weeknight dinner recipe! I added a cup of grated Parmesan with the milk and brought the flavor profile up another notch.
I liked this recipe a lot. I think it has a similar flavor to Lasagna Soup (from this Damn Delicious website). But since I like the lasagna soup so much more, I probably will only make that in the future when I want that type of soup. By the way, the lasagna soup from this website is one of my favorite soups of all time, so try it if you havn’t already! One other comment is that I am not crazy about wilted kale in soup. I love fresh kale, just not wilted in soup, so I would leave that out if I made it again…just a personal preference. Thank you again, Chungah, for all of your wonderful recipes!
Wow, this is a delicious recipe! And so easy!!! My husband was so impressed when I made this last night for the family. It’s the best Tortellini soup, or any type of soup, we have ever tasted. I didn’t realize I was out of tomato sauce but I crushed a can of diced tomatoes in a mini food processor and it turned out great. Also, I doubled the recipe and used one pound of hot sausage and one pound of mild sausage. It had the perfect amount of heat. Paired it with a nice merlot and some country french bread. Thank you much for sharing this recipe! I will certainly be browsing your site for others.
Great recipe! I used jimmy dean hot sausage which gave it a nice kick.
Just made this recipe. Used chicken seasoning to replace chicken broth and mixed 40z of cream cheese with 1/3 cup of milk. Substituted pork for ground turkey and spinach for kale. It turned out great. Thanks for the inspiration.
There hasn’t been a recipe of yours I haven’t loved!!! This was wonderful and certainly no exception. Quick and easy but SO full of flavor. I stuck pretty closely to the recipe as it was. I added some minced baby Bella mushrooms when I added the onion and garlic. (Only minced them since I sometimes have to hide things in our meals for certain noses not to turn up!) My husband “doesn’t like soup” so I doubled the tortellini and then added a cornstarch slurry at the end. And for not liking “soup” he ate two bowls! Thanks for a new go-to!
Excellent! Delicious, quick easily prepared after work, and nutritious, what more could be better! Thank you for sharing!
Excellent! Quick, easily prepared, delicious, and nutritious. Could not want anything better! Thank you for sharing!
The kids and I really liked it. Probably going to make it one of those go to dishes. Pretty easy to make and still tastes good
What exactly do you mean by tomato sauce. I want to make this for dinner tonight.
I used M&S Italian tomato sauce. In the States would use di Napoli, the simplest one they have.
I have made this dozens of times, I LOVE it! And so does my family.
Can I just say it? This is kick ass amazing and comes together quickly. I knew when I perused the ingredients list that it would be good so I doubled the recipe and I’m glad I did! My advice? Don’t change anything! Glad to add this new recipe to my collection of yummy comfort dishes! Thanks!
Sandra in California
Absolutely loved this recipe! We couldn’t get the three cheese tortellini so we substituted with ricotta and spinach and it was still amazing. The Italian sausages really give it that great flavour. Everyone in our house loved it, was so easy to make. We will definitely be making this again!
Awesome recipe.
Damn delicious! We like everything everything with a kick so i made it with spicy sausage. So yummy!