Sausage Tortellini Soup

4.97 from 28 votes

Sausage Tortellini Soup mixes Italian sausage, cheese tortellini, veggies, and herbs in a creamy broth. Perfect with Parmesan and hearty bread for a cozy meal!

Prep Time30

Cook Time20

Total Time50

Course: Dinner, Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Sausage Tortellini Soup

Servings: servings

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $6.79

Equipment

Large pot

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil divided
19 ounces Italian sausage hot or mild
1 cup finely diced yellow onion 1 small onion
1 cup finely diced carrots peeled; about 2 to 3 large carrots
2 teaspoons minced garlic about 3 to 4 cloves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups chicken broth or stock, I recommend Swanson’s chicken stock
1 (12-ounce) package three-cheese tortellini see note 1
1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
3 ounces fresh baby spinach stems removed and coarsely chopped, 4 cups lightly packed
2 cups half-and-half or heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese to preference
Hearty baguette for serving, optional

US - Metric

Instructions

See note 2. If you’d prefer to cook the tortellini separately, start it now. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Generously season the water with salt (I add 1 teaspoon to every 4 cups). Add tortellini and cook according to package directions, minus 1 minute. Remove, drain, and run under cold water for 30 seconds.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the sausage. Cook and crumble sausage until browned. Transfer cooked sausage to a paper-towel-lined plate and dab grease with another paper towel. Set aside.
Keeping the pot at medium-high heat, add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil along with the diced onion and carrots. Season with salt and pepper (I add 1/4 teaspoon each). Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5–7 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add garlic and sauté 1 more minute, stirring occasionally. Add the butter and allow to melt.
Once butter is melted, whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly add in chicken broth, whisking to combine. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer and thicken for about 5–8 minutes.
Return cooked sausage to the pan, along with Italian seasoning, (if using frozen tortellini, add it here), and salt and pepper to taste (I add about 1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper). Add coarsely chopped spinach and half-and-half to the pot. Stir, then simmer on medium heat for about 3–5 minutes or until the spinach is wilted (and the tortellini is cooked through, if using frozen).
Serve immediately with lots of freshly grated Parmesan and a hearty baguette, if desired. If tortellini was cooked separately, add spoonfuls of cooked tortellini to individual bowls. Store tortellini and leftover soup separately to avoid pasta bloating.

Video

Notes

Note 1: While any tortellini works, my favorite readily available shelf-stable tortellini is Barilla® Artisanal Collection Three-Cheese Tortellini. As for fresh-made tortellini, I love Giovanni Rana’s® Classic Cheese Mini Tortellini. It’s a little more tricky to find, but it’s fresh, delicious, and small so they incorporate better into the soup. If you’d like to cook the tortellini in the soup (instead of separately), you’ll want to get frozen tortellini that cooks in about 3–5 minutes.

Note 2: I like to cook tortellini separately to keep it from getting bloated and in case there are leftovers. (The tortellini continues to absorb liquid and becomes an unpleasant texture when stored.) If you’d like to cook it separately, bring a pot of water to boil and cook it in a separate pot. Ignore instructions for adding the tortellini into the soup to cook and simply add cooked tortellini when serving.

Storage: Keep soup and tortellini in separate airtight containers in the fridge for 3–4 days. Sausage Tortellini Soup isn’t a good candidate for freezing due to dairy and tortellini, which can separate and become mushy when thawed.

Nutrition