Creamy Tortellini Soup
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A quick 30 min dinner! Made with crumbled sausage, kale, Parmesan and tender tortellini. So easy, so cozy, so good.
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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 every last drop of this lovely creamy goodness.
tips and tricks for success
- Use fresh tortellini. Fresh cheese tortellini cooks quickly and keeps the soup creamy without becoming mushy.
- Add the cream slowly at the very end to prevent curdling and to keep your tortellini soup creamy and smooth.
- Save leftover Parmesan rinds. Adding them while simmering in a Dutch oven gives this creamy tortellini soup a nutty depth of flavor.
- Store tortellini separately for leftovers. Store cooked tortellini separately when meal prepping or freezing so the soup doesn’t lose its creamy broth.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with homemade crusty bread or garlic knots for dipping—classic sides for creamy tortellini soup.
What to Serve with Creamy Tortellini Soup
Tools For Making Tortellini Soup
Dutch oven
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 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
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.
Did you make this recipe?
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Im not really a big cook, I actualy only started last year from chefs plate and hello fresh, before that it was all frozen. I got kinda bored with those, its like the same every month. so I found this and DAMN it is such an amazing recipe, so easy, basically no prep either. I wouldn’t even change anything, oh I did actually lol I added baby spinach instead of kale just because I hate prepping kale so not really even a taste thing there.
Made this tonight with Hot Italian sausage and lots of spinach instead of kale. We loved it! So easy and so tasty!
We absolutely love this soup so much! It’s easy to make for a great weekday dinner. I use spinach in place of the kale. This is definitely a keeper!
I’ve relied upon an excellent tortellini soup recipe for years. This one is better and will be my new go-to version. Thanks!
I made this for the first time tonight. It was both quick and easy to make and the flavours were delicious. My picky teenage daughter enjoyed it and my husband had seconds. Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow night! This will definitely be a regular in my fall/winter comfort food meal rotation.
This is now on regular rotation in my home! It is so easy and always a hit with everyone who tries it. It is hearty and tasty, perfect for winter.
We sometimes swap the kale for spinach— both are great. I usually add a diced red pepper after softening the onions in to up the veggie content.
This was delicious and absolutely perfect for a cold December evening! Even my picky mom and nephew complimented it, which is rare. I did stretch it a bit by adding extra kale, tomato sauce, broth and cream. I also threw in a few tablespoons of some chopped sun-dried tomatoes. It was hearty and flavorful.
Made this tonight for dinner. It’s a new “Fan Favorite”. My son gave it “better than a 7 on a scale of 1-10”. Easy to make. I followed the directions almost exactly, I added the tortellini and the kale at the same time as I had fresh tortellini from the local Italian market. Will definitely make this again.
So good. So easy. So loved by my family
I made this recipe for a weeknight meal. It was awesome. I did use fire roasted tomatoes and a slice of parmigiana rind. I used a few more tortellini’s. Great recipe!
This was fantastic! I made everything as close as I could. I didn’t have tomato sauce so I puréed a can of diced tomatoes and used 3/4 of that with two tablespoons tomato paste. I also planned to use fresh leaf spinach but the bag I had was unfortunately bad so I used frozen peas instead which turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
Very easy and tasty recipe. Will use it again on these chilly fall nights!
Made this before and followed the recipe exactly, absolutely loved it. Tried today, had to use frozen kale and dry pasta and it was a disaster. Well, definitely keep this recipe saved and only make it if I had all the listed ingredients.
This was so good ! I used less kale than the recipe suggested, and garnished the soup with some grated Vermont cheddar cheese. I recommend cooking this.
Wow! I found this randomly while searching for a recipe to use some leftover tortellini. This is crazy good! And so simple. Thank you!!
This was so tasty! I used half the amount of kale because my kids aren’t a fan. I also added fresh grated Parmesan because the soup consistency wasn’t thickening up for me. I will definitely make again!
This is fancy restaurant soup! Love it! I made this about 6 months ago as written. It was so amazing and I didn’t think I’d like Kale. It did take longer to cook with the Kale. Delicious!
I made it again today but used homemade sausage/burger meatballs that I just froze yesterday since my sausage wasn’t thawed. The meatballs had garlic, onions and seasonings!
I sautéed chopped carrots, celery and some pre chopped garlic and onion and added the flour. I used my crockpot. Added the frozen Italian meatballs, chicken stock, tomatoes, paste, carrot mixture. I added some Montreal seasoning instead of salt and pepper. I added about a teaspoon of sugar for the acidity in the tomatoes. Let it cook for about 4 hours then added the tortellini and spinach this time. The carrots were still slightly crunchy so I turned up the crockpot for an hour. Unplugged the crockpot and added half and half and a little more basil. Grilled a slice of sourdough bread with butter and garlic seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Excited for my family to try this soup tomorrow. I might need to make another batch! Kale or spinach is great in this. Thank you for the amazing recipe!! Great for company! Xxxooo
I’m glad I didn’t omit the flour because it really adds a good amount of body which screams comfort food! I added coconut milk, roasted peppers and used meat tortellini and spinach and I doubled the recipe! Family of 3 we all went for seconds and thirds! The coconut milk makes it more fatty and gives it a fresh twist! Soo soo good!
It’s fantastic! I wanted a new recipe, and started with a single batch, next time it will be a double batch! It’s delicious!
Best soup EVER!! My daughter gave me this recipe to try. It’s one of hers and my family’s favorite! Thank you!!