Creamy Tortellini Soup
by Chungah
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
A quick 30-minute creamy tortellini soup! Made with Italian sausage, greens, Parmesan and quick-cooking tortellini. So fast, easy, and cozy!
Featured Comment
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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
We loved this!
This soup is the only soup you’ll ever need.
It’s incredible and I’ve made it too many times to count!
Make this soup. I promise you won’t regret it
This looks delicious. I haven’t made it yet because I have a question. Can this soup be made ahead of time minus the tortellini and then be warmed up and tortellini added in a crock pot? Have 15 ladies coming over for a luncheon and I’d love to serve this soup.
I’m estimating this has been prepared ten times for my family and loved ones with never a negative comment, just lip-smacking requests for another helping. . Felt it was getting its just reward when I saw it listed by Huffpost, number 5 in 20 most liked instagram recipes from 2019.
congrats
OMG is this soup good! Wonderful flavors and super easy to make! My husband can’t get enough of this soup! Thank you!
So easy and yummy. I used ground turkey instead of sausage as my family does not care for sausage.
Really good! I didn’t have kale, or fresh basil, so I used spinach, and dried basil. Still delicious!
I’ve made this soup a number of times and it’s delicious. I usually substitute the pork sausage for turkey and skip the kale but otherwise, follow it exactly
Delicious! I decided to not include the kale and up the amount of basil, worked out great. Highly recommend.
This soup was easy to prepare and absolutely delicious!! I served it with beer bread and butter it is was a fantastic meal. Used 3/4# sausage which was plenty in my opinion. We will absolutely make this again, and often!!
You are making me look like quite the chef around here. I’ve made three of your recipes so far and they all turned out so delicious. This dish is our favorite so far, and the cheesy mac and shells and the butternut squash mac and cheese come in second place. I subbed some of the ingredients with vegetarian meats and still, they all tasted amazing. Thank you for all your recipes! I’ve bookmarked your site and look forward to trying more.
Oops. I meant to make it a five star.
Made this just today, and we love it. Easy to put together. I could not find frozen tortellini so I bought the packaged ones. This took an extra step, but it was well worth it. This is a thick hearty soup. I was thinking about thinner in down, but my son loves it the way it is. A bowl of soup and some bread, this is hearty dinner. This is definitely going into our favorite recipes. Thank you so much for sharing. Waving at you from Charlotte North Carolina.
This recipe is SO good! I did everything as instructed, except I used bone broth and added an additional cup of it (I wanted it to be more “soupy”). Kids and husband approved! Will absolutely make it again!
Made this for the first time a few months ago – a double batch. It was a hit with adults and kids! Just finished making a triple batch so leftovers last longer. Perfect for a cold day.
My whole family LOVED this soup! It was super easy to make, flavorful and the perfect thing to enjoy on a cold winter night!
Thank you for this truly quick, easy and totally delicious dinner; it became an instant favorite at our house. I make it vegetarian with Fieldroast Italian sausage and veggie stock.
I made this tonight! Delicious!! It was a hit! I am now going to try ALL your recipes. Thank you!
SO good. Will definitely be making this again!
Made this last night and it was so amazing!!! Love, love, love. Thank you for the fabulous recipe!
I’m a terrible cook and this was very good! I added too much salt (my fault) and added some extra cream and water at the end to fix that. I wouldn’t add any extra salt in the future (even though I used no salt added sauce). Next time will use spicy sausages and better tomato sauce for more flavor.