Sausage Tortellini Soup

Table of Contents

Tortellini soup is a great, easy soup. The first time I had it was when I was pregnant and my husband was out of town. He arranged for several women from my small group at church to bring me meals while he was away. One of my friends brought a simple, yet delicious tortellini soup. It hit the spot and was a perfect meal.

Since then, I’ve made several versions of tortellini soup. What I love is the ease to which you can make a soup using store-bought tortellini. You can use cheese tortellini, meat tortellini, or another variety.

Tortellini soup has many variations, and I love the addition of sausage and kale to this version.

We love a good, hearty soup and this one hits the spot every time.

It’s packed full of flavor from the broth, tomatoes, kale and seasonings.

And, we consider it pretty healthy. It make a nice batch of soup so you can serve your family or save some for later. You can freeze it, but know that the pasta will get pretty soft. Freezer tips are below.

This is a great recipe to make for a friend in need. I mentioned this is how I first learned you could put tortellini in a soup because a friend made it for me. Now you can be the bearer of good will for one of your friends. They’ll be so thankful for this hearty meal.

• Italian sausage – you have several options here. You can use sausage that you take out of the casing, or sausage that is more like a ground beef when cooked, or even use a kielbasa sausage. You really can’t go wrong. But I would suggest you look at any flavorings that might be added to the sausage you buy. Sometimes there are added seasonings or even flavors (like maple, for example). Stick with regular Italian sausage. The spicy factor is up to you.
• Onion, garlic, basil – all add great flavor
• Kale – I like to use fresh kale in this recipe. Not only does it add great flavor and nutrients, but it gives the soup a pop of color.
• Broth, water, tomato sauce – these combined make a great soup base with lots of flavor. Don’t skimp on the chicken broth. Technically, you could use water and have the same effect, but you’d miss out on a ton of flavor.
• Heavy cream – this adds great depth to the soup.
• Seasonings – we use Italian seasonings, oregano, salt and pepper
• Brown sugar – this is key because it off-sets some of the acidity from the tomato sauce
• Flour – flour acts as a slight thickening agent for all of the liquids. And it grabs some of the flavor from the cooked sausage.
• Tortellini – you can buy this pre-packaged in the refrigerator section. There are all kinds of tortellini and you can really pick the flavor (stuffing) you want, but we opted for the cheese. You’ll need 8-12 ounces for this soup recipe.

Start by cooking the sausage in a large non-stick skillet. Melt the butter, and add the sausage and cook over medium heat until golden brown.

Add the onion, and saute for about 5 minutes until the onion is clear.

Spoon the sausage and onion into a large stock pot, and add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, and water.

Go back to your skillet that you cooked the sausage in and add flour to the drippings. Stir over a medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add this mixture to the stock pot and stir. Bring the soup to a boil.

Add Italian seasoning, oregano, brown sugar, garlic salt, and pepper, and turn heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the basil, and minced garlic, and cook 10 more minutes.

Next, add the Tortellini and cook.

Finally, add the kale and cream, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the kale is soft.

Let the soup simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir well, and serve in bowls with crusty bread.

If you plan on freezing tortellini soup for use later, I would make it as directed, minus the tortellini. When you are ready to eat the soup, thaw it and heat on the stove, adding the tortellini and cooking for 20 minutes.

Cream-based soups normally freeze fine, but the tortellini will most likely turn too soft and mushy if you free it all together. Also, the kale may wilt too much upon reheating after being frozen. So, bottom line, if you know you’re freezing the entire soup, just do it without the tortellini and kale and add them together when reheating. This should work fine.

Tortellini is a curve-shaped pasta filled with meat or cheese. Typical varieties of tortellini include sausage, pork, and cheese.

This is a hearty soup and serves as a full meal, but it pairs great with a crusty french bread with butter. Add a side salad if you need a bit more to offer for a full dinner. Remember it has healthy broth, protein with the meat, and wonderful benefits of kale.

• Try our favorite Instant Pot Chicken noodle soup
• Cheesy corn chowder is a family favorite
• Amazing list of fall soup recipes