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This Italian sausage tortellini soup recipe is loaded with flavorful sausage and cheesy pasta in an irresistible creamy tomato broth. It has very little prep time and can be on your table in just 40 minutes!
Try my fairly similar Crockpot Tortellini Soup with Sausage if you’d like an alternative cooking method.
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
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Use a soup pot or sturdy Dutch oven for this soup.
- I recommend this ladle. It’s great at not spilling everywhere when dishing up soup.
- For the other half of the onion you’ll have left, store in this cute onion saver. And easily mince the garlic with a garlic press. No peeling needed!
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.
Make ahead tip
- If you plan on having leftovers, add the cheese tortellini to individual portions instead when you reheat them. That way, the pasta will cook quickly right in the soup when you need it and won’t have gone too soft!
What to serve with sausage tortellini soup
- This is a hearty soup, but a slice of Garlic Bread would be wonderful with it!
- You’ll even have time to make my 10 Minute Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing for a side salad, or try my Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad.
- Shaved fresh parmesan cheese takes this soup over the top.
Leftovers and storage
- I recommend eating this soup within a couple of days. The tortellini will soak up the broth and puff up the longer it’s in the fridge.
- You can freeze this soup, but if you want to freeze the entire batch, it’s best to leave out the cream, spinach, and tortellini and then add them when you’re reheating.
- If you freeze leftovers as-is, the pasta may not have the same texture as when first cooked.
I hope you try this sausage and tortellini soup recipe! I’d love it if you left a star rating and review below. You can also find me on Instagram.
Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Italian sausage see note
- 1/2 medium onion chopped finely
- 2 sticks celery chopped finely
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 generous cups refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 2 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach optional
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the sausage meat to a large soup pot. Sauté over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 7-10 minutes, or until the sausage is browned all over.
- Take the sausage out of the pot and set it aside on a paper towel lined plate. Leave about a tablespoon of the fat in the pot (drain any excess).
- Add the onion and celery to the pot and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the flour and garlic and cook for a minute, stirring constantly.
- Slowly add the chicken broth and stir until the flour has completely dissolved.
- Add the canned tomatoes and Italian seasoning to the pot. Also add the sausage back in. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a gentle boil.
- Once it’s boiling, add the tortellini and reduce the heat so it’s gently simmering. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cream and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach and season with salt & pepper to taste.
Notes
- For the sausages, anything around the 16 ounce/1 pound ballpark is fine – it doesn’t need to be exact. You can either buy ground sausage meat or, if using whole sausages, take the meat out of the casings.
- This recipe is also in chapter 5 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials hardcover cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on November 28, 2017. It’s been tweaked to be even easier, tastier, and has new photos!
First cold night so I made this soup. It was fabulous. 😋
Yay!! Thanks, Cindy! Stay warm!
Would a 6-quart crock pot be too small for this recipe?
I use a 7 quart one myself. It might be ok… but it’ll be quite full. You can gauge using the photos on the crockpot version of this soup. Here it is: https://bit.ly/3AaH8t8
This soup came together easily with minimal prep time. Except for the omission of celery, followed the recipe exactly to delicious results. Might have been *just* a little more generous with the tortellini. Enjoyed by all. Thank you!
You’re very welcome!!
I really enjoyed making this, it came together easily and I doubled the recipe. When I served the soup I grated a little pecorino romano on the top gave it a little zing. Delicious will definitely be making again.
Thank you!!
I absolutely LOVE this soup! It’s one of my family’s favorites too! I’ve been making it awhile now but have never been brave enough to try freezing some of the leftovers. How would I go about that?
Hi Pam! I’m so glad it’s a fam fave. There’s freezer instructions under the “leftovers and storage” section of the blog post. 🙂
So easy and delish!!
Thank you!!
I made this tonight, and my husband and I loved it! It was very easy to make and didn’t require much time to complete. I think I’d skip the celery next time or chop it even smaller than I did this time around — mine was finely diced, but it was still slightly crunchy. I love that I could make this in the Dutch oven or use your other recipe with the crock pot. Delicious! Thank you!!
You’re very welcome!
I have made this recipe many times. I love the flavor, textures, and hearty soup. I add sliced mushrooms, too. It is fantastic for leftovers- just need to add a little more broth and shaved parmesan on top.
Love that!!! 😀 Thanks, Kim!
Easy savory soup recipe. Most ingredients are in your kitchen already. Took hardly any prep and great on time also.
Delicious.
I will be making this again.
Wonderful to hear, GiGi!
Is it possible to just use milk instead of heavy whipping cream? Or maybe evaporated milk?
Hi! I don’t recommend milk. It’s watery, prone to curdling with the tomatoes, and really doesn’t add much to the soup. I suppose you could try evaporated milk, but I definitely suggest using heavy cream if possible.