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
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Ooooh so tasty and so easy!!! I had all the ingredients in my pantry and fridge. I used Trader Joe’s mini tortellini and cooked directly in the soup which actually thickened up the soup to the consistency to my liking. Thumbs up!!
How would this be prepared using non refrigerated tortellini?
It may take longer for the tortellini to cook through.
I made this recipe for my entire family and they gobbled it up. So delicious and easy to make. The only thing I may change next time will be to add a little more chicken stock since there is a lot of substance to the meal. It hit the spot without feeling overly full.
So, so, GOOD and easy to make! Just finished a bowl of leftovers and tastes even better today!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing!!! Did not disappoint!
I made this for my bunco group. It was a huge hit!
I want to make this recipe with enough for a generous serving for 8 people, should I double or triple the recipe?
Doubling should be enough, but if you want to be safe and don’t mind potential leftovers, tripling should do the trick. 🙂
Aprox. How many calories per serving?
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information. Hope that helps!
I made this soup for a friend who was having a baby. We did a make-ahead meals shower. She told me today that it was delicious and packed a lot of flavor! It makes a pretty good-sized batch of soup, so it was shared with their family for a baby-meeting party! I tasted it before putting it in a large, flat storage container and freezing it. I was impressed with the bright, lighter flavor of the soup. It isn’t heavy but it is filling. It was served with crusty bread and a salad dressed with lemon and oregano. I have had several requests for it and I made a batch for us, too. It will be on the regular rotation now. Thanks, Chungah!
That’s so sweet of you! What a great thing to do for a new mama! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
Ridiculously good!! I used plain breakfast sausage and spinach. Seasoning is perfect! Will definitely be a go-to for something quick. Thank you!!
Awesome!
So yummy! My husband said it was the best soup he’s ever had. Our sons loved it too. Thanks for the recipe!
This is a delicious soup for a chilly evening. My husband doesn’t care for kale or garlic. Too bad, Minnesota boy! I threw everything the recipe called for in there-he devoured 2 bowls. I did use half and half, no salt tomato sauce, and low sodium chicken broth just because. Crusty French bread served with-loved it.
That’s so great!
Delicious! Super easy and quick for a weeknight dinner. Husband and I have made this 3x in the last month. Followed directions as posted except subbed half and half for the heavy cream! So good!
So glad you liked it!
Delicious…as usual. I used baby spinach, spinach and cheese tortellini, no added salt or pepper. Made exactly as stated and it was perfect. Made enough for 2 meals for 2 people. I serve a little salad and a little crusty bread with it. This is a real winner. Thank you.
Awesome! Thank you 🙂
I made this 2 times this month. It’s amazing!!! I did change it up a bit I subsituted the italian spices and tomatoe sauce and replaced it with a jar of Rao’s marinara sauce and replaced Kale with Spinach. I made a double batch and froze half and it reheats wonderfully. YUM!
That’s awesome!
THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE SOUP! I used bratwurst instead of Italian sausage, but made sure to really load up on the garlic/Italian seasonings. Also, some chili flakes brought this soup from a 8/10 to a 10/10!!!! A small amount of kick really accentuates the flavors. I also recommend adding the kale before the tortellini… i found that the tortellini really drank up a lot of my broth, making this realllly thick. Next time, I want to add in mushrooms!
Make sure to top with Parmesan and dunk a nice piece of crunchy baguette in this! 🙂 Amazing!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing with us!
I’m not a fan of basil, do you think it would still be as good without it?
Yes you can omit it or add an herb you prefer.
Tried this in the Instant Pot–I made it through step 3 in a cast iron, then added that + ingredients in step 4 to the IP on high pressure for 10 minutes; also cooked tortellini in the broth for an additional 5 min @ high pressure–and it was excellent. I also added a touch of fresh lemon juice at the end because I prefer a little more acid. Will definitely be making this again!
Wondering if I can make this as the recipe calls and then add to my crockpot? Adding the tortellini at the end? Thoughts?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
What size dutch oven do you typically use for your dishes, 5 or 7qt?
I typically use 5qt.