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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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.
YUMMY! This soup was so good,
I used fresh spinach instead of Kale.
Will definitely make again SOON!
I’m sure spinach works great!
This soup is out of this world!! Seriously so indulgent and wonderful. It’s the kind of food that’s better than sex! I used venison sausage and spinach as mods. Thank you damn delicious!
This soup is SO DELICIOUS. The ingredients are so simple and the flavor is amazing!
Thank you!
As soon as I saw this recipe I got the ingredients to make it for lunch! I put spinach instead of kale, used fat free half and half instead of cream, and put a dollop of mascarpone in at the end. OUTSTANDING!
Awesome!
This was very delicious!! I added a pinch of crushed red pepper for heat, and I used spinach instead of kale, and it turned out really great! We added some fresh grated parmesan to the top. I will be making this soup again! Thank you for posting it.
Thank you, Tina!
Sooooo good!
What’s the crusty bread in these pictures?
It’s ciabatta from Whole Foods. It’s my favorite! 🙂
I don’t rate recipes that I try as often as I should. This recipe is definitely 5 STAR and one I will make again and again. It was perfect for the snowy night we are having in western Washington. The only two, minor changes I made was adding a picnic of sugar and using baby spinach vs. kale.
Excellent recipe, five stars!!!
Thanks so much!
Can you share where these white bowls are from? I love the minimalist, modern look.
CB2. 🙂
It is a wonderful soup for a cold night!!!! Do you know what is the calorie count?
Nutritional information is provided only for select 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!
This was just DIVINE as written. I doubled the recipe for my family of 6, hoping to have leftovers for lunch. Nope. Hubby ate THREE HELPINGS, and declared it the best soup ever. Very, very good – thank you for sharing.
Oh wow! So happy to hear it was a hit!