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When it’s cold, raining, or miserable outside, it’s lovely to welcome your family with a steaming, hearty pot of soup. Sausage and Tortellini Soup, an Italian classic, is a one-pot meal that’s rich, creamy, delicious, and will fill hungry tummies in no time.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Sausage and tortellini soup is a winner for everyone in the family.
Moms love it because this soup is quick and straightforward to make – it’ll take you 30 minutes max, and you can even use your slow cooker or crock pot if it’s a busy weeknight.
All the ingredients are convenient pantry favorites or readily available at the local store. They’re not fancy but come together to create a luscious soup that seems like you worked all afternoon.
It’s also a complete meal, with pasta, sausage, and a big boost of spinach, seldom a kids’ favorite.
Your family will be fans because it’s packed with flavor. You can’t go wrong with this soup: it has the brightness of regular tomato soup, the richness of sausage, and the carb-fest of cheesy tortellini.
Serve this creamy sausage and toretllini soup next time you have a crowd of teens for dinner. It’s easy to double the recipe.
Ingredients Needed
This soup is full of delicious and healthy ingredients. Let’s have a look:
Ingredients Notes
- Ground Pork Sausage – Using this version of sausage means you don’t waste time removing meat from sausage casings. Choose your favorite sausage meat, whether you prefer it mild or spicy.
- Flour – The flour is a handy thickener. If you find that the flour lumps, make a slurry using the flour and a little chicken stock. Then stir the smooth paste into the pot.
- Tomatoes – The soup includes two types of tomatoes, diced and crushed. You get the zesty tomato flavor, the richness of tomato paste, as well as a hearty texture. If you don’t have diced and crushed tomatoes, use whatever canned tomatoes you have: all diced, all crushed, tomato sauce, tomato paste, fire-roasted tomatoes, or even a jar of marinara sauce.
- Broth – This recipe suggests chicken broth, but you can use chicken stock cubes, vegetable stock powder, or any stock in the pantry.
- Heavy cream makes your soup creamy and gorgeous, like a delightful pasta sauce.
- Tortellini – Choose your favorite tortellini – three-cheese tortellini is terrific, but use what you have and what your family enjoys.
- Seasoning – Use Italian seasoning instead of dried herbs. You can add dried rosemary and basil or use fresh herbs.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Brown the sausage. First heat a large pot or my personal favorite a large Dutch oven, over medium heat. Add the sausage and then use a wooden spoon to break it apart as it browns. You’ll want to it be in small crumbles.
- Sauté the onions and garlic. Chop the onions and mince the garlic. Then slide the onions first into the pot and toss them with the browned sausage. Allow them to cook for about 5 minutes and then add the minced garlic. Cook for 1 more minute.
- Cook the raw flour. Sprinkle the flour into your pot and toss to coat with the other ingredients. Let it cook, untouched for about 1 minute. Then toss the ingredients and let them cook for 1 more minute. This cooks off the raw flour taste.
- Add the seasoning. Using your wooden spoon mix in the dried oregano and thyme.
- Stir in the tomatoes and broth. Add the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Mix in the finishing touches. Pour in the heavy cream, toss in the tortellini, and add the spinach. Allow the sauce to simmer and heat the tortellini for 5 minutes or until they are softened and warmed throughout.
- Do a taste test. This is where you let your inner chef shine. Taste the soup and see if it needs any additional seasoning (this could also include seasoning such as oregano that’s not on the recipe list). Add what you need.
Storage and or Freezing Instructions
- Leftovers – Store leftover sausage and tortellini soup with spinach in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days. The tortellini will soak up the soup and swell as it sits. Add a little chicken stock when heating on the stovetop or microwave to thin the soup.
- Freeze it – You can freeze leftover soup for a month, but the tortellini will become soggy and breaky when you thaw it.
- Make it ahead – If you plan to make the soup in advance and then freeze it, leave out the tortellini. Cook the soup and cool it to room temperature. Place portions of the soup in freezer-proof, airtight containers and freeze for up to one month.
- Thaw – To thaw frozen soup, leave it in the fridge overnight. Heat the thawed soup on the stovetop, adding the tortellini five minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Try different meat. Replace the ground pork sausage with Italian or hot sausage. You could also use beef, turkey, lamb, chicken sausage, ground beef, or shredded chicken.
- Make it vegetarian. Use Beyond Meat sausage or a tin of cannellini beans for a vegetarian alternative.
- Add extra veggies when you fry the onions. These tasty additions could include finely diced celery, grated carrots, chopped mushrooms, and sliced bell peppers.
- Simmering is important. Once you’ve added the tomatoes and the stock or broth, let the soup simmer – a slow, gentle cooking time will add depth of flavor. But don’t add the spinach, cream, and pasta until the end.
- Cut down on the calories by replacing some or all the heavy cream with half and half or if you are making this dairy-free use full-fat coconut milk.
- Don’t overcook the tortellini. Fresh tortellini or ravioli will cook quickly, so take care not to overcook the pasta will break apart. However, you can use frozen or dried pasta instead, increasing the cooking time and adding the spinach at the end.
- Change up the spinach or leave it out. You can use regular spinach, Swiss chard, or kale instead of baby spinach. You’ll need to chop these greens more finely and add a few minutes to the cooking time to ensure they are tender.
FAQS
This soup is an excellent recipe for cooking in your crockpot or slow cooker. However, you’ll have to brown the sausage, onions, and garlic first. Add the browned ingredients to the crock pot, along with all the other ingredients except the cream, tortellini, and spinach. Cover the pot. Cook the soup on high for three to four hours or low for seven to eight hours. Half an hour before serving, add the heavy cream, tortellini, and spinach
You can double the recipe so long as you have a big enough pot. It’s an excellent soup for serving a crowd, especially if you add a couple of salads and heaps of bread to the table. Offer crusty bread, garlic bread, and grilled cheese for variety.
If you have frozen and reheated your soup, do not freeze it again. The more often you freeze and reheat, freeze and reheat, the more you risk bacteria developing the soup and the risk of foodborne illness. It’s best to eat frozen soup as soon as possible after thawing and reheating.
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Sausage and Tortellini Soup
Equipment
- Large Pot or Dutch Oven
- Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Pork Sausage
- 1 medium Yellow Onion
- 4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons Flour
- 1/2 teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 15 ounce can Diced Tomatoes
- 1 28 ounce can Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Refrigerated Tortellini
- 2 cups Baby Spinach
Instructions
- First heat a large pot or my personal favorite a large Dutch oven, over medium heat. Add the sausage and then use a wooden spoon to break it apart as it browns. You'll want to it be in small crumbles.
- Chop the onions and mince the garlic. Then slide the onions first into the pot and toss them with the browned sausage. Allow them to cook for about 5 minutes and then add the minced garlic. Cook for 1 more minute.
- Sprinkle the flour into your pot and toss to coat with the other ingredients. Let it cook, untouched for about 1 minute. Then toss the ingredients and let them cook for 1 more minute. This cooks off the raw flour taste.
- Using your wooden spoon mix in the dried oregano and thyme.
- Add the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Pour in the heavy cream, toss in the tortellini, and add the spinach. Allow the sauce to simmer and heat the tortellini for 5 minutes or until they are softened and warmed throughout.
- This is where you let your inner chef shine. Taste the soup and see if it needs any additional seasoning (this could also include seasoning such as oregano that's not on the recipe list). Add what you need.
Notes
- Try different meat. Replace the ground pork sausage with Italian or hot sausage. You could also use beef, turkey, lamb, chicken sausage, ground beef, or shredded chicken.
- Make it vegetarian. Use Beyond Meat sausage or a tin of cannellini beans for a vegetarian alternative.
- Add extra veggies when you fry the onions. These tasty additions could include finely diced celery, grated carrots, chopped mushrooms, and sliced bell peppers.
- Simmering is important. Once you’ve added the tomatoes and the stock or broth, let the soup simmer – a slow, gentle cooking time will add depth of flavor. But don’t add the spinach, cream, and pasta until the end.
- Cut down on the calories by replacing some or all the heavy cream with half and half or if you are making this dairy-free use full-fat coconut milk.
- Don’t overcook the tortellini. Fresh tortellini or ravioli will cook quickly, so take care not to overcook the pasta will break apart. However, you can use frozen or dried pasta instead, increasing the cooking time and adding the spinach at the end.
- Change up the spinach or leave it out. You can use regular spinach, Swiss chard, or kale instead of baby spinach. You’ll need to chop these greens more finely and add a few minutes to the cooking time to ensure they are tender.
Storage and or Freezing Instructions
- Leftovers – Store leftover sausage and tortellini soup with spinach in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days. The tortellini will soak up the soup and swell as it sits. Add a little chicken stock when heating on the stovetop or microwave to thin the soup.
- Freeze it – You can freeze leftover soup for a month, but the tortellini will become soggy and breaky when you thaw it.
- Make it ahead – If you plan to make the soup in advance and then freeze it, leave out the tortellini. Cook the soup and cool it to room temperature. Place portions of the soup in freezer-proof, airtight containers and freeze for up to one month.
- Thaw – To thaw frozen soup, leave it in the fridge overnight. Heat the thawed soup on the stovetop, adding the tortellini five minutes before serving.
