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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Could you use frozen kale ????
I use frozen all the time, works fine. Great soup!!
Socks knocked all the way off! This was so good and so quick/easy. I followed the recipe with zero changes. Bowl licking good! This is officially in regular rotation. Amazing!
And not for nothing, but it also super affordable. You wouldn’t know it by the taste.
I doubled recipe. I did add bacon and a little dry mustard. Delicious!
Another spectacular dish from DD. I am Celiac so I it GF using Taste Republic refrigerated GF tortellini and GF flour instead of AP flour. It’s one of the few recipes I have adapted that doesn’t taste or feel (texture) GF. To lighten it up a bit sometimes, I have also made it using ground chicken Italian sausage. I use the recipe from the Chef de Home website and make a half batch (1 lb). It’s equally tasty with the chicken. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
This is one of my go to dishes when it is cold outside or I just want something cozy. My whole family loves it and it is so easy– I have also brought this as a meal train dish for postpartum moms and it is always a hit!!
This soup was delicious! I made it exactly as written. Thanks again, Chungah and team.
This soup was easy to make and delicious! Substituted turkey sausage (1/2 mild 1/2 spicy)- so good!
This soup was terrific!! I only had a little sausage left so I tossed in some rotisserie chicken with it and everyone loved it! Thank You for sharing your recipes!!
Was excellent!! I doubled everything. Thank you
This was really good! I left out the kale because my husband doesn’t like kale. It was still really good!
it really is damn delicous thanks for sharing your recipe with the world
I mean, my family thought I worked for hours! This was such a “soup for the soul”! Delicious and definitely a go to! Thank you for sharing!
Sooo delish! Easy to make and the flavors of the ingredients meld to make the most tasty soup ever! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.. I will be making it regularly.
This is absolutely delicious, to the point I crave it!! Want to make again today and like using hot Italian sausage which I can’t get hold of today. I have some spicy V8 juice to use up, was thinking about using that instead of the tomato sauce and just put a little more flour in to make up for the viscosity difference. Has anybody done that or have recommendations?
We really enjoyed this creamy, flavorful soup. I used both cheese and mushroom tortellini, along with spinach and sliced fresh mushrooms. My kids added a sprinkle of freshly shredded parmesan. Served with a nice crusty Italian bread for dipping made a perfect fall meal.
My favorite soup! I sub chopped spinach for the kale. It’s always a huge hit, i make it all fall/winter long!
Great, easy to prepare recipe, full of flavor. First time I made it, people asked for the recipe.
Does this recipe work without cream? I don’t have any. All I have is homogenized milk…
I have made this numerous times, and it is very customizable. I have used hot Italian sausage, I’ve thrown in chopped zucchini, I’ve also made it without the cream before. Always delicious! I even quadrupled the recipe for a family gathering and kept it warm in one of those big electric roasters. There are never any leftovers unfortunately lol!
Do you think this would work with half and half instead of heavy cream to reduce the calories?
Absolutely!
One of my all time favourite soup recipes. My family always requests it, highly highly recommend.