This Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup combines hearty Italian sausage with cheese-filled tortellini and fresh vegetables in a rich tomato-Parmesan broth. It’s a simple yet satisfying dish that promises a restaurant-quality experience right at home.
Why You’ll Love This Soup
There’s nothing my family loves more than a hot bowl of soup on a chilly day! Here’s why this Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup is a staple in my winter recipe rotation:
- Comfort Food: Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup is a hearty comfort dish, providing a warm, satisfying meal that’s perfect for cold weather or when you need a cozy pick-me-up. I made a pot during a recent snowstorm, and it was just what my family needed after shoveling!
- Flavorful: The combination of sausage, vegetables, herbs, and tomato-infused broth creates a satisfying soup that tastes like it came from a restaurant or gourmet market.
- Easy to Make: You can have this one-pot meal on the table in an hour or less, making it great for busy nights. Save even more time by prepping it ahead over the weekend, or make the full recipe and reheat portions for lunch or dinner during the week.
- Customizable: This soup is “mild” on the spicy scale as written, but can easily be adjusted if you prefer some heat. You can also use different types of Italian-style sausage if you prefer not to use the traditional pork variety.
Looking for more cozy soup recipes? Check out our Rotisserie Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Italian Wedding Soup, and Creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sweet Italian Pork Sausage. Choose either bulk ground or link Italian sausage. If using link sausage, remove the ground meat from the casings before cooking.
- Aromatic Vegetables. Create a flavorful base for the soup with chopped yellow onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. For weeknight convenience and quick cooking, I often use shredded carrots. You can also cut whole carrots into a small dice.
- Olive Oil. You’ll only need a couple of tablespoons to sauté the vegetables, depending on how much fat the sausage releases. I use regular olive oil for sautéing, such as Filippo Berio Pure Olive Oil.
- Dry White Wine. To deglaze the pot after browning the sausage and sautéing the vegetables. I use Pinot Grigio.
- Chicken Broth or Stock. To better control the soup’s sodium content, choose a lower-sodium broth and add salt, to taste.
- Tomatoes. Enhance the broth with a mix of double-concentrated tomato paste and canned petite diced tomatoes in juice {affiliate links}. I recommend using diced Roma tomatoes for the best flavor.
- All-purpose Flour. Lightly thickens the broth for a velvety-textured soup.
- Refrigerated Cheese Tortellini or Tortelloni. I often use fresh tortelloni, which are a bit bigger than tortellini (read about the differences here). My family loves Kirkland Signature 5 Cheese Tortelloni from Costco, as shown in the photos. When shopping at the regular grocery store, I typically buy Giovanni Rana 5-Cheese Tortellini.
- Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. Stir grated parmesan into the soup for depth of flavor, and top each serving with additional cheese.
- Fresh Baby Spinach. Roughly chop or tear the leaves before stirring them into the soup just before serving. They won’t take long to cook!
- Herbs. You’ll need dried Italian seasoning–I use Savory Spice Italian Herbs {affiliate link}–and a handful of torn fresh basil leaves.
- Heavy Cream. For a rich, luxurious finish.
How to Make Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
1. Brown the Sausage and Sauté the Veggies
Start the soup by browning the sausage with about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. I use my Le Creuset 6-3/4 Quart Wide Round Dutch Oven {affilliate link}, one of my favorite pots for soup.
Use a wooden spoon or a meat masher {affiliate link} to break up the sausage into small to medium crumbles. When browned, use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage to a bowl, leaving the released fat in the pan.
You’ll need about 3 tablespoons of fat in the pot to start cooking the vegetables. If the sausage hasn’t released this much (the amount can vary by batch and brand), add more olive oil to make up the difference.
Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Build the Soup’s Flavor
When vegetables begin to soften, continue building the soup’s base layer of flavor with garlic and tomato paste. Add both to the pot and stir them into the vegetables for 1-2 minutes. The garlic will quickly become fragrant, and the tomato paste will transition to a deeper, brick-like color.
Since tomato paste can have a bit of a metallic taste right out of the tube, cooking it for a few minutes before liquids are added to the pot helps it to develop a more complex, caramelized flavor.
Next, pour the wine into the pot to deglaze. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits (known as “fond”) from the bottom of the pot. These bits are packed with caramelized flavor from the sausage, vegetables, and tomato paste, and will enrich the broth.
Allow the wine to simmer, stirring frequently, until almost completely evaporated. This will take about 2-3 minutes, concentrating the flavors.
Step 3: Simmer the Soup
Return the browned sausage to the pot, making sure to include any juices collected in the bowl. Sprinkle the flour over the sausage, stirring thoroughly. This will help the soup thicken a bit as it simmers, creating a velvety texture.
At this point, the mixture will appear thick and somewhat pasty–this is ok. Cook it for about a minute, stirring constantly. This brief cooking will eliminate any raw taste of flour in the soup.
While stirring, gradually pour the chicken broth or stock into the mixture. As you stir and the liquid heats up, the roux will melt into the broth.
When the broth is well-combined with the sausage and vegetables, stir in the diced tomatoes (with their juices) and Italian seasoning. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will infuse the broth with the flavors of the sausage, tomatoes, and seasonings.
Add the tortellini or tortelloni to the soup and bring it to a gentle boil, cooking until the pasta reaches an al dente texture. Different brands will have varying cooking times, usually between 2-3 minutes and 5-8 minutes.
Gently stir the soup a few times as the tortellini cook to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Step 4: Finishing Touches
When the pasta is tender, turn off the heat and add the grated Parmigiano Reggiano, baby spinach, and basil. Stir the soup until the spinach is wilted; this will only take a minute or two with the residual heat in the pot.
Pour in the heavy cream and season the soup to taste with additional salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, if needed. Remember, if you’ve opted for low-sodium broth or stock, you might need to add a bit more salt to bring out the soup’s best flavor.
Serving and Storing Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with black pepper and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. (If you like extra heat, you can also add a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes on top.)
We like to serve Creamy Tortellini Sausage Soup with slices of crusty Italian bread for dipping into the tomato broth.
Refrigerate any leftovers in tightly covered containers within 2 hours. The soup will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Shopping Tip: I love these 32-ounce Plastic Deli Containers {affiliate link} for storing soups. They’re convenient, reusable, and seal tightly if you’re going to transport the soup outside of the house.
Warm leftovers gently on the stove, stirring frequently until heated through. The pasta may absorb some broth during storage, so if necessary, adjust the consistency by adding a little extra chicken broth or stock.
I don’t recommend freezing this soup. Since it’s cream-based, it can be more prone to separating and taking on a grainy texture when frozen and reheated.
Substitutions and FAQ’s
- Can I make this soup spicy? Substitute hot Italian sausage or a mixture of sweet and hot varieties. If using mild sausage, you can also add a pinch (or more, to taste) of crushed red pepper flakes to the soup when you sauté the veggies.
- Can I use dried or frozen tortellini instead of fresh? While I have only tested this recipe with fresh pasta, dried or frozen tortellini can be substituted. Consult the package instructions for recommended cooking times; they will be longer than most fresh pasta varieties. Dried pasta might absorb more liquid, so have extra broth or stock on hand if needed.
- Do I have to use pork sausage? You can substitute Italian-style chicken or turkey sausage instead of pork. These varieties will probably not release as much fat into the pan, so you might need to add additional olive oil to saute the veggies.
- Can I use milk, half-and-half, or a non-dairy alternative instead of heavy cream? I don’t recommend using milk or half-and-half since their lower fat content could cause the soup to curdle. I have not tested this recipe with non-dairy alternatives.
- Can I make this soup ahead? While the soup does reheat nicely as leftovers when fully prepared, I suggest a staged cooking approach if you’re specifically making it to serve at another time.
A day or two before serving, you can prepare the soup through step #7 in the recipe card below (the 15-minute simmer). Cool the soup and store it in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, bring the soup back to a simmer, add the tortellini, and continue with the recipe from Step #8. This will ensure that the pasta and spinach are not overcooked when served.
More Reader-Favorite Soup Recipes
- Split Pea Soup with Ham
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup
- French Lentil Soup with Escarole
- Wonton Soup
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Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian pork sausage (see note)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil , plus extra if needed
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 3/4 cup shredded or small diced carrots
- 1/2 cup thinly-sliced or small diced celery
- 3 large cloves garlic , minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 2 tablespoons double concentrated tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth or stock (use low sodium to control salt content)
- Two, 14.5 ounce cans petite diced Roma tomatoes (in juice)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning/Italian herbs , plus extra if needed
- 12 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini or tortelloni
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 packed cups baby spinach , roughly chopped or torn (about 3 ounces)
- 5 large fresh basil leaves (a handful), roughly torn
- 1 cup heavy cream
- kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the sausage in 1 tablespoon olive oil. (I use a 6-3/4 quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven.) As the sausage cooks, break it up into small to medium pieces using a wooden spoon or meat masher.
- When the sausage is browned, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind in the pan. Place the sausage in a bowl and set aside.
- You'll need about 3 tablespoons of fat in the pan to cook the vegetables. If the sausage has not released this much, add additional olive oil to the pot as needed. If the sausage has released substantially more fat than this, drain off all but 3 tablespoons.
- Add the onion, carrots, and celery with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook until just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and the tomato paste starts to develop a brick-like color.
- Pour in the wine and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Simmer, stirring often, until almost all of the liquid is evaporated, 2-3 minutes.
- Stir the reserved sausage into the vegetables, along with any accumulated juices in the bowl. Sprinkle the flour into the pot and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes.
- Gradually pour the broth into the pot, stirring until well combined with the sausage mixture. Stir in the diced tomatoes (with juice) and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tortellini and cook until al-dente, anywhere from 2-3 minutes to 5-8 minutes, depending on the brand you're using. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil and stir the soup a few times as the tortellini cook.
- When the pasta is tender, turn off the heat and immediately stir in the Parmigiano Reggiano, spinach, and basil. Stir for just a couple of minutes, until the spinach is wilted. Stir in the heavy cream.
- Season the soup to taste with salt, pepper, and additional Italian seasoning, if needed. The salt needed will vary depending on the sodium content of your broth. Similarly, the quantity of Italian seasoning will depend on the amount of seasoning in the sausage.
- Serve the soup hot, garnished in serving bowls with additional Parmigiano Reggiano and pepper on top. We like to serve sliced Italian bread on the side for dipping.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About our recipes
Please note that our recipes have been developed using the US Customary measurement system and have not been tested for high altitude/elevation cooking and baking.
