Sausage Tortellini Soup
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This sausage tortellini soup is a quick, easy weeknight soup made in just 40 min! So velvety creamy and cozy with all the sneaked in greens!
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Why you’ll love sausage tortellini soup
- Weeknight hero. With the help of quick-cooking tortellini, this soup comes together lightning fast in a single pot. The meat, the vegetables, and the tortellini all get cooked together, meaning there’s only one pot for cleanup!
- So warm, so cozy. The broth is simply out-of-this-world creamy and velvety, paired with the chewy, cheesy tortellini cooked and soaked in all of its rich flavors. It is truly the ultimate comfort food for cold, rainy, snowy days. This is also the perfect excuse for dipping crusty homemade bread!
- Nutritious and customizable. You can sneak in extra veggies and leafy greens to boost nutrition, or swap out the sausage for leftover rotisserie chicken (or your favorite protein) for the best weeknight hack.
- Budget-friendly. The recipe uses simple pantry staples and inexpensive store-bought tortellini to feed a large crowd without breaking the bank.
Key Ingredients
- Meat: mild, sweet, or hot Italian sausage
- Tortellini: refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini (can also substitute dried tortellini)
- Vegetables: onion and carrots
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and basil
- Heat (optional): crushed red pepper flakes
- Broth: chicken stock and Parmesan rind (optional)
- Thickener: all-purpose flour
- Dairy: heavy cream or half-and-half
- Leafy greens: baby spinach or chopped kale
Types of tortellini to use
- Fresh (refrigerated): generally the gold standard for soups, the tortellini can cook directly in the broth in 3-5 minutes without getting mushy
- Frozen: a great option when fresh tortellini is not available, frozen tortellini can also cook in the soup, adding 1-2 minutes of extra cooking time (no thawing required)
- Dried (shelf-stable): dried tortellini will require a separate pot and a longer cook time, stirring into the soup towards the end until heated through
How to make sausage tortellini soup
- Brown the sausage. Remove the casings from the sausage (if needed). Place a Dutch oven over medium heat with a small drizzle of olive oil. Add the sausage to the pot and break into bite-sized crumbles using a wooden spoon (or meat chopper, my favorite tool!). Drain the excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the onion and carrots until tender, then add in the garlic, Italian seasoning, and fennel seeds until fragrant.
- Whisk in the flour. Stir in the flour until lightly browned to cook down the raw flour taste. The flour will serve as a natural thickening agent for the soup.
- Simmer. Add the chicken stock and Parmesan rind, then reduce the heat and gently simmer until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. The longer it simmers, the more it will reduce.
- Add the tortellini. Stir in the fresh tortellini until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Pro tip: if using dried tortellini, cook them in a separate pot and add it here until warmed through.
- Make it creamy. Stir in the baby spinach (or leafy greens) and heavy cream until the spinach begins to wilt. Then add in the basil and season one final time with salt and pepper.
- Serve. Ladle into bowls and serve warm with crusty bread.
substitutions and variations
Meat
Italian sausage (sweet or spicy) or ground beef, chicken, or turkey will all work very well here. Leftover shredded rotisserie chicken is also a great option.
Vegetables
Swap or add vegetables on hand such as mushrooms, potatoes, celery, zucchini, and corn for extra nutrition.
Tortellini
Use your favorite kind of refrigerated tortellini.
Heat
For a kick of heat, use spicy Italian sausage and/or add crushed red pepper flakes, to taste.
For serving
Serve with crusty bread, dinner rolls, biscuits, or garlic knots for sopping and dunking.
what to serve with sausage tortellini soup
Tools For This Recipe
Sausage Tortellini Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Sweet or spicy Italian sausage are both great options. Ground beef also works beautifully here.
You can use either chicken broth or chicken stock but always season, to taste, as store-bought broth is often saltier than store-bought stock. Broth is made from meat and vegetables while stock is often lower sodium and thicker than broth, and is made from bones and vegetables.
Fresh, frozen, or dried tortellini can all be used here but refrigerated and frozen tortellini will be best, cooking through very quickly in the same pot in just a few minutes.
Yes, but dried tortellini should 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.
Substitute unsweetened canned coconut milk for the heavy cream.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, gently reheating on the stovetop with a splash of water or stock (if the tortellini was not stored separately) until warmed through.
Absolutely! You can freeze the leftovers without the tortellini (or else they will get mushy) and heavy cream (cream soups tend to separate when frozen) in individual freezer bags. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and gently reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked tortellini and heavy cream when serving.
Sausage Tortellini Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 (3-inch) Parmesan rind, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated three cheese tortellini
- 3 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
- ½ 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.
- Add onion and carrots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning and fennel seeds until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock and Parmesan rind, if using; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in tortellini and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in spinach and heavy cream until the spinach has wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in basil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Add a splash of white wine. Have an open bottle of white wine? Add a splash to the Dutch oven before adding the chicken stock.
- 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.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Use refrigerated tortellini. Fresh refrigerated tortellini cooks through very quickly in the soup without getting mushy.
- 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.
- Pour the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
- Make it lighter. Swap out the heavy cream for half-and-half or whole milk.
- 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.
Did you make this recipe?
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This soup is very very good. And even if the pasta sucks up the sauce it’s still delicious. Will definitely be making this again and again.
This soup looks amazing. Is there a substitute for fennel seeds?
This recipe is delicious! I added 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes because I used sweet italian sausage. Ground the fennels seeds before adding. I didn’t precook the tortellini but added it before the basil, spinach and heavy cream and just let them sit in the hot broth, which cooked them perfectly. The Parmesan rind is essential!! Absolutely “liquid velvet”. Only added a dash of salt and about a 1/4 tsp of pepper.
Really just a tasty and satisfying soup that freezes well. Thanks.
Our family loves this soup. Very hearty. Made it twice in one week, once for us and then again for our church Small Group.
Super easy and quick soup! I added a bit more stock, which worked well. If you’re not planning to eat all of it in one sitting, I recommend cooking the tortellini separately and adding it as needed—the pasta can get mushy if it sits too long. Everyone loved it.
Last night, my wife and I whipped up a tortellini sausage soup that was so good it could probably get its own cooking show. I didn’t have a parmesan rind on hand, so I tossed in a chunk of the cheese instead. It melted right into the broth, turning the soup silky, rich, and downright irresistible. Honestly, it was less “rustic Italian soup” and more “liquid velvet with a side of bragging rights.”
Super delicious and perfect for Fall.
Mad this for a group – wow the comments we got were- give me the recipe NOW!!!! It was a tremendous hit and a success. Now one of our mainstays. Had some that was frozen all together without removing the tortellini & it was superb.
My daughter made this and it was delicious, however would ground beef be a good substitute for the sausage?
Lovely soup but way too much Italian seasoning. Cut it in half and it would be much better!
Great recipe! I’m not the fastest chopper and dicer in the world, so prep took me more than 15 minutes, but it was worth it. Thank you.
I have made this several times. My whole family loves it! It is really easy and super yummy!!
A hearty meal ! Saving this ♥️
I really want to make this! How do I if I don’t eat pork?? Tips please!
Use chicken or turkey sausage instead of pork sausage.
Yes! We sometimes substitute chicken sausage based on availability at the grocery store. 🙂
So good! Any nutrition data for this recipe?
Oh so easy and delicious. This was definitely a keeper. Do not leave the casing on like I did. Made the soup/meat too chewy. The flavor was fabulous. I used hot Italian sausage. We like the kick! ️ Done in minutes.
Really delicious! I didn’t have the fresh basil, so I had to omit it, but it was still delicious. Definitely will be making again.
Very tasty soup. I used much more spinach and will make this recap again.❤️
Absolutely delicious. Made it exactly except I thickened it just a tad with potato starch.
this soup is yummy. i also added mushrooms and jarred roasted red perppers!