Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

Why you’ll love it

You know that feeling you get when you eat the perfect bowl of soup, and it warms you up from the inside out? Yes, this cheese tortellini soup with sausage is the best comfort food meal on a chilly day! Italian sausage and tortellini are an iconic duo, and the creamy tomato broth is so good.

One of the awesome things about this soup is that it has minimal prep time. Chop the onion and celery, crumble the sausage (or use sausage meat), and that’s essentially it. It means that a complete and filling dinner for your whole family is ready faster on busy weeknights.

What you’ll need

• Italian sausage – it has a fantastic blend of herbs and spices. I use mild.
• Onion, celery, and garlic – these staples are the building blocks to any good soup
• Flour – to thicken the broth
• Chicken broth – another layer of flavor
• Diced tomatoes – tomatoes complement the sausage, and using the juices too is important for depth of flavor
• Italian seasoning – this blend of herbs including rosemary, oregano, and thyme makes the soup special. It comes in a single jar.
• Cheese tortellini – I use refrigerated tortellini because it cooks faster, but you’re welcome to use dried; just note that it’ll take longer to cook
• Heavy cream – don’t skip the cream! The silky texture and taste is so good.
• Spinach – tossing in a handful of baby spinach sneaks in some extra veggies

How to make Italian sausage tortellini soup

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven sauté the crumbled sausage meat until browned. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, drain most of the fat, and then cook the chopped onion and celery.

Add in the flour and garlic and cook for a minute, stirring constantly. Slowly pour in the chicken broth.

Add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and sausage meat. Bring to a boil, add in the pasta, and simmer. Finally, stir in the cream and spinach.

Substitutions and variations

• Be careful subbing the cream because the acidity of the tomatoes may curdle anything with a lower fat content than heavy cream.
• Try a different variety of sausage like chicken or turkey to change it up.
• If you’re not a fan of regular diced tomatoes, use petite diced tomatoes or tomato sauce instead.
• Craving something spicy? Throw in some crushed red pepper flakes or use hot Italian sausage.
• If spinach isn’t your thing, try kale, but let it cook for a little bit longer. This recipe is very flexible, so add in more veggies if you happen to have any on hand that need using up.