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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Family favorite soup. Have made it dozens of times- quick, easy, affordable, and delicious. I make it without meat and add extra heavy cream. It is truly heavenly!!!!
Such a delicious soup! Made it almost exactly as the recipe called, except I only did a splash of cream instead of the 1/3 cup, and it’s now definitely one of our favorite soups that were going to add to our weekly line up!
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!