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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This is one of my absolute favorite soups! So warm and comforting on a cold winter night.
I do sub spinach for the kale (personal preference).
If you’re thinking about making this soup, MAKE THE SOUP! It’s sooooo good and very comforting. I replace the kale with spinach and it’s great!
Huge hit in our house! My son, who doesn’t like soup, loves it. Big flavor for such a short cooking time. I’ve made it twice now. First time following the recipe, except for the kale (substituted spinach) and heavy cream (substituted half & half with a pat of butter). Fantastic, as is! Second time added some mushrooms and a few shakes of crushed red pepper…for a little deeper flavor. Serve it up with some crusty Italian bread and a TJs Lemony Arugula Basil Salad Kit. Easy and yummy! Thank you for this recipe!
This is a delicious recipe. I subbed spinach for kale, subbed veggie broth for chicken, and used spicy Italian sausage, but otherwise followed the recipe. Wow! Would highly recommend- 10 out of 10. Thank you!
kinda thick next day, otherwise delicious. need calories, nutricional info
So good! Used spinach instead of kale and added more broth. Hope it freezes well because it’s just 2 of us.
I make this just as written and it is very yummy and everyone in our house loves it.
Amazing recipe!!! I added a bit of Frank’s hot sauce for a little acidity. Both the boyfriend and I agree we’ll be making this again. I’ll be adding a little more broth next time because it’s SO GOOD!!
This has become a family favorite. Weather turned cold again and I had to make this soup-again. Garlic bread and dinner is served. I’m sure we will be having this again soon.
IP Version-
Follow the directions as stated, but use sauté function for meat, onion, and garlic and add dry tortellini . Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes and slowly release pressure to reduce splattering. Add spinach and basil.
My family and friends absolutely loves this soup!! We do substitute spinach for the kale. Whenever I make it, it’s usually for a crowd so I double or even triple the recipe. My husband was the one who first found your recipe and it was a favorite from first bite!
Very good. I doubled the liquid (broth, tomato sauce and cream) and used spinach instead of kale and it was perfect. I like a brother soup. My husband said it was the best soup he ever had!
I made the soup vegan style: Kite Hill tortellini, plant based Italian sausage, and almond milk instead of the cream. It was delicious
Lovely soup. Used turkey ground meat and spinach. Big hit.
I didn’t make it yet but I got a bowl of it from my wonderful nephew Kyle. It was so delicious and hearty. Perfect combination of ingredients and seasonings. I didn’t need salt or pepper. 5/5 rating!
This was absolutely INCREDIBLE! My unofficial-food-critic father completely flipped for it and it will definitely become a staple in our house. Instead of scrambling the sausage, we cut it into rounds (after removing the casing). We also decided against draining the sausage once cooked and added a little white wine to the broth while the stock and tomato sauce simmered. We don’t generally keep heavy cream in the house so we subbed a half cup of half and half. Such an incredible flavour – instant favourite!
Any easy recipe and absolutely delicious! I used fresh baby spinach instead of the Kale. My husband really liked this soup and he is super picky!!
I don’t have sausage will this work with Italian meatballs? Please let me know asap I want to make it today thank you
Wow, this is SUCH a great recipe. The soup is absolutely delicious – so rich and flavorful. Five star!
Fantastic soup that came together so quickly! My husband and teenagers loved it and asked that I only use this tortellini soup recipe from now on. My store didn’t have kale in stock so I used spinach. I made two pots of it with one being the written version that I doubled and another made dairy & egg free (Kite Hill vegan ‘cheese’ tortellini and Ripple oat milk half and half) for my child who is allergic. Both were outstanding. The leftovers went fast the next day. Definitely company and pot luck worthy as well. Yum!