If you’re looking for the perfect cozy dinner you can make during a busy weeknight, this tortellini soup is for you. It’s full of rich flavor thanks to the tomato, sausage, and parmesan cheese, and when paired with the cheese tortellini, the soup is so hearty and filling. Even better, it takes next to no time to make this soup.
It’s so cozy, nourishing, and beyond simple to make that everyone will ask for seconds! Make it even more filling by serving it with my homemade garlic bread recipe, crusty bread, or cornbread muffins recipe. Want another easy soup recipe? Try my lentil soup recipe, chicken pot pie soup recipe, or chicken tortilla soup recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Italian sausage — use spicy Italian sausage or mild Italian sausage based on your preference. You can purchase Italian sausage with the casing removed or as links and remove the casing yourself.
Onion — you can use a yellow onion, white onion, or sweet onion.
Chicken stock — you can use regular chicken stock or low-sodium chicken stock. You can also swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock.
Diced tomatoes — adding diced tomatoes to the tortellini soup will give it a sweet and tangy flavor.
Cheese tortellini — I use packages of refrigerated cheese tortellini that you can find in the cheese section. If you can only find frozen or dried tortellini, then you will need to adjust the cooking time. See the instructions on the package.
Baby spinach — I love adding fresh spinach to this soup recipe. You can also substitute for kale if you do not have spinach.
How to Make Tortellini Soup
1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, and cook, stirring often, until browned and broken up.
2. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
3. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, and continue cooking, uncovered and stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
4. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the tortellini. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
5. Stir in the spinach and basil until wilted.
6. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Some packaged tortellini comes in larger sizes, often 10 or 20 ounces. You can use up to 20 ounces in the soup, or add what you’d like and freeze the leftovers on a baking tray until firm, then store them in a freezer container.
- The tortellini will absorb liquid as it sits in the soup or when stored as leftovers, so you may need to add additional broth if you are making the soup ahead of time.
- If you’re not a fan of Italian sausage, then you can swap it out for ground beef, chicken, pork, or skip the meat entirely.
- Spinach will wilt and cook down pretty quickly. Make sure not to add it too early to the soup, or it’ll overcook.
- Add some red chili flakes for a little extra heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover tortellini soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through. If you’re worried about the tortellini becoming soggy, you can cook, store, and reheat the tortellini separately and add them to your serving bowl when ready to eat.
If you’d like to freeze this soup, then I highly recommend cooking the soup and tortellini separately. Freeze the soup in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months, then add fresh tortellini to the soup when you thaw and reheat it on the stovetop.
You can! Be sure to brown the sausage and cook the onions and garlic on the stovetop first. Then you can transfer it to the slow cooker with everything else to cook the soup for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Add the cheese tortellini 30 minutes before serving and stir in the spinach 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Tortellini Soup recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Tortellini Soup
Equipment
- Large Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage casings removed (450g)
- ½ medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (32-ounce container) chicken stock (960mL)
- 1 (14.5-ounce can) diced tomatoes drained (411g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 (9-ounce/255g package) refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 2 cups packed fresh baby spinach leaves (56g)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 3 tablespoons freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the sausage, and cook, stirring often until browned and broken up, about 5 minutes.
- Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium, and continue cooking, uncovered and stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, and stir in the tortellini. Cook, stirring occasionally until tender. (Reference the tortellini package for cook times.) Stir in the spinach and basil until wilted, about 1 minute. Serve immediately sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Some package tortellini comes in larger sizes, often 10 or 20 ounces. You can use up to 20 ounces in the soup, or add what you’d like and freeze the leftovers on a baking tray until firm, then store them in a freezer container.
- The tortellini will absorb liquid as it sits in the soup or when stored as leftovers, so you may need to add additional broth if you are making the soup ahead of time.
- If you’re not a fan of Italian sausage, you can swap it out for ground beef, chicken, pork, or skip the meat entirely.
- Spinach will wilt and cook down pretty quickly. Make sure not to add it too early to the soup, or it’ll overcook.
- Add some red chili flakes for a little extra heat.
