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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Love all of your recipes!! This is about as easy as it gets for a quick and delicious meal.
I decided to add a block of Boursin shallot and chive cheese and this took it over the top! Left out the cream and let the Boursin add the creamy goodness!
Thanks again for posting so many yummy recipes
Susanne
This soup is fantastic! I took it into the office and it was devoured!
Yum!!! Wonderful soup. I didn’t have any sausage thawed so added 2 cups of chopped mushrooms to boost the umami and the a bit more oil. Will make again with sausage.
This is INSANELY good!!! However unless u use multiple pots it takes closer to an hour to make. Totally worth it though. So good!! Will be a winter staple for us from now on!!!
So good! I used Barillo dried tortellini and still turn out great!
I make this quite often and substitute fresh spinach if I don’t have kale on hand. I keep it warm in an electric roasting pan if serving at a large gathering. Always a hit!
This is one of my favorite soups to make! It’s easy and SO delicious! I always double the recipe. Look at all the 5 star reviews! What are you waiting for?
THE BEST!! My husband requests it, my picky 2 year old loves it. A new stable in our home. Thank you!!!
I made this and it turned out AMAZING
Such a yummy recipe! I do half mild Italian and half hot sausage. I also use reduced sodium chicken broth because regular makes the soup too salty.
Everyone in my house LOVED this soup! It will be in my soup rotation from now on. I am gradually cooking my way through your soup recipes…. all have been delicious!
Excellent! Our new favorite soup. We doubled the tortellini and heavy cream and used 6 cups of chicken stock and 12 oz tomato sauce. Turned out great!
Love this soup. Double the recipe every time. We do not enjoy Kale so improvise with spinach. I also to not add the flour. Add a little extra totilinis and the soup is thick enough for us.
So easy and delicious! Ty for sharing!
I love this soup!!
I’ve made it many times and always double the recipe. I usually rotate between kale or spinach
and sometimes 1/2 mild and 1/2 hot Italian sausage. Tonight it’s kale and mild sausage.
I also add more cream. About 1/3 cup-ish for the double batch.
The ONLY beef I have with this recipe and most online recipes is the time for prep and cooking.
It says 15 min. prep and 15 min. cook for this one.Nope,Every time I make it I try and be faster and more efficient but cant get close to those times! 1 1/2 hrs min. for me but I do get distracted easily!
This is definitely a soup to try and my slow prep times don’t do it justice!!
This was so yummy. I added a bit of Maggi and some thyme. One of the best soups ever!
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.
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!