Creamy Tortellini Soup
by Chungah
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A quick 30 min dinner! Made with crumbled sausage, kale, Parmesan and tender tortellini. So easy, so cozy, so good.
Featured Comment
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.
reasons to make creamy tortellini soup
- Weeknight miracle dinner using quick-cooking tortellini, made in 30 minutes start to finish
- Truly the best kind of cold weather cozy, comfort food (or when you’re under the weather)
- Best served with all the crusty bread to sop up every last drop of this lovely creamy goodness
- Incredibly flexible, forgiving recipe using your favorite protein and veggies on hand
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
Spinach, cabbage, swiss chard and collard greens 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
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
Did you make this recipe?
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This was delicious. I followed most of the recipe. Here were my adjustments- I used 5 cloves of garlic, omitted the flour (seemed unnecessary) and I used a 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes, crushed them before adding. I used spinach instead of kale. Served this with warm Italian bread and it was a hit! Next time I’d add some crushed red pepper to the seasoning before adding the liquid. Or I could use spicy Italian sausage. Definitely add fresh basil! It adds a freshness to the dish. Could also garnish with freshly grated Parmesan
Full disclosure – I HATE cooking. I used to love it, but I have a very picky husband who over 42 years of marriage took the joy out of it for me. He dislikes nearly every ingredient in this recipe. But, we were both sick with a cold and I decided to try it anyway for myself. He absolutely LOVES this soup! SHOCKER!!! I had a bag of fresh kale and spinach mixed. I forgot to cut off the stems, but it didn’t matter. We ate this soup for three days straight. I don’t know if you can freeze the base and just add the tortellini, but if you can, I will prepare and freeze a lot of this for next winter. Anyone can make this – its easy. And if my husband likes it, everyone will.
This was DELICIOUS! I like it spicy so used hot Italian sausage and a can of fire roasted tomatoes with 1/2 can tomato paste! Will definitely make again! Thank you for such a great recipe!
I have been making this regularly for the past 3 years! It’s quick, easy and tasty. I use a bag of frozen kale.
Amazing soup. We started making this last year for neighbors who had Covid or bronchitis and it is our neighborhood miracle soup. Must be the chicken stock and garlic along with the yummy flavors but everyone swears they feel better after a meal of this with bread and fruit. It’s on our regular rotation and we never tire of it
Can I used ground sausage instead?
Yes! I use Publix ground Italian sausage – mild or hot – both are great
Made this for dinner on Sunday and it was super delicious!
I made it three times already, great soup for cold days. Love serving with French bread to sop up the juices in the bowl. Awesome recipe!
This soup is SO good. I used spinach instead of kale and dried basil instead of fresh, but followed everything else exactly. It turned out perfect. My husband loved it and asked if I can make it again. Recipe instructions are also super easy to follow.
This soup is just perfect and goes down so good on a cold day. Delicious
WOW. This recipe is a keeper!
This soup is AMAZING!!!! Used spinach instead of kale…
Actually the best soup I’ve ever had
This soup is excellent! I have a house guest who is a vegetarian, so I used Beyond Beef Italian sausage, and veggie broth. I didn’t have tortellini and subbed eggplant ravioli. It was so delicious and perfect for a rainy, cold afternoon in DC. I will share this recipe with my book club. We’re always exchanging soup recipes.
Can you sub the heavy cream with full fat coconut milk?
Delicous! I subbed spicy chicken sausage for Italian and 8 ounces of fire roasted tomato’s for the sauce. Everyone in our family loved it!
This is my favorite. It gets better with leftovers too. Just add more broth for leftovers. A real keeper!
This is my favorite cool weather meal, and also a great one to share when bringing a meal to someone. I sub baby spinach for the kale. I also make a GF version for my son, using GF rotini in place of the tortellini (and subbing GF flour). Definitely a great recipe!
This was fabulous! I only made two minor changes (which is rare for me). Instead of tomato sauce, I pureed a can of Rotel and used that instead. I also didn’t have fresh basil, so I used a teaspoon of dried. This was comfort food at its best. We will definitely have this again. We don’t have a rotation as we’re trying new recipes all the time, but there are some that will make appearances again throughout the month. This will be one of them!
This soup is exactly what it purports to be: very quick and very delicious. I have also made it in a crock pot for thanksgiving so we could eat it all day!