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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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!
Family favorite!!!
Wow! This was so easy and delicious!! I added some chilli flakes for an extra kick
DELICIOUS!!!!
I prefer more SOUP – so next time I might halve the tortellini and the sausage or double the “soup” stuff. SOOOO yummy. Also – used Chicken sausage and half & half to try to reduce calories a bit.
Have made this no less than a dozen times and it’s always a crowd pleaser. I use a can of crushed tomatoes instead of sauce (whole 15oz can) and hot Italian sausage. Always a win with some fresh hot bread!! Thank you for sharing!!
So delicious! Made it exactly as you have it here. Many times now. But what I’d love to know is the calorie content.
I made this creamy tortellini soup tonight. The soup came out as delicious as it looked. My daughter is very picky, and I got a dissatisfied look when I mentioned what I was making for dinner. She gave this recipe an 8 out of 10. I also delivered some to my neighbor, who is feeling a little under the weather. She gave it a 9. Way to go!
Do you have any crockpot recipes, as softball season is around the corner?
Thank you for the recipe. I can’t wait to try more.
Lorraine
I am not typically one to leave reviews on things- but this soup is amazing. I have had to substitute the tortellini with Italian sausage ravioli a few times and it is divine.
Only downside is that I never have leftovers ! Thanks for sharing <3
This has become a regular in our meal plan! I do use less gr sausage then the recipe calls for and more tomato sauce. And I think kale not Spinach is a better choice! It has great texture and doesn’t get over cooked. Usually add more then suggested! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!