Sausage Tortellini Soup
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Quick, easy weeknight meal made in 40 min! With crumbled sausage, tortellini, spinach, cream and basil. So creamy!
reasons to make sausage tortellini soup
- Weeknight hero with the help of quick-cooking tortellini
- Out of this world broth (don’t skip the Parmesan rind!)
- Chewy, cheesy tortellini cooked and soaked in all of the soup flavors
- Perfect excuse for dipping crusty homemade bread
tips and tricks for success
- 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 tastes much better than dry tortellini and cooks up so much faster.
- 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 all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
sausage tortellini soup 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.
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.
what to serve with sausage tortellini soup
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
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.
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 (or else they will get mushy) 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.
Sausage Tortellini Soup
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
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.
- 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 toaste.
- Serve immediately.
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