Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup

My mom likes to refer to this Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup as Christmas soup with its bright red and green colors. I just call it delicious! It has so much flavor and is one of my very favorite soups to whip up as soon as the weather cools down.

This Italian-inspired soup has all the classic flavors and a little spice from the sausage that I just love. The cream makes it super luscious and delectable.

Ingredients

This list feels so clean and stripped back, and the flavor it all packs is SO GOOD! I mean, the flavor of tomatoes and cream alone does it for me, add in the creamy tortellini and it is just so tasty. What I love most about all of this is you get to eat pasta and it doesn't feel one bit heavy.

The biggest key chef tip you can walk away with here...always buy the hunk of parmesan cheese and save the rinds. You can put them in a zip-top bag in the freeze and break one out and put it in any soup you make for some extra flavor.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Method

First, brown the sausage, then add the onions to the pot and cook till they soften. Sprinkle a little flour over the cooked sausage and onions to soak up all that fat and form a roux. When the flour has cooked for a few minutes, add the tomatoes and their juices to the pot.

Next, add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Place the parmesan rind in the boiling liquid and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes to infuse it with flavor. Then stir in the cream and simmer a bit longer.

Just before you are ready to eat the soup, add the tortellini and spinach to the pot. Work the spinach in, in stages so it doesn't fly all over your stove. Remove the parmesan rind and the soup is ready to eat.

I like to serve the soup with lots of finely grated parmesan on top, like a dusting of snow over the soup. You can also add some red pepper flakes on top if you like a little bit of spice in your soup.

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 12 servings

Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

My mom refers to this Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup as Christmas soup with its bright red and green colors. I just call it delicious!

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds Italian Sausage, removed from casings
• 1 large Yellow Onion, about 2 cups
• 4 large Garlic cloves, finely minced, about tablespoons
• 1, 28-ounce can Diced Tomatoes
• 4 cups Chicken Stock
• 2 tablespoons Chicken Bouillon Paste
• 2 cups Water
• 1 Parmasan Rind, optional
• 1 ½ cups Heavy Cream
• 24 ounces Parmesan Tortellini Pasta, any kind
• 1, 8-ounce bag Baby Spinach
• Kosher Salt
• Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
• Crusty Bread, for serving

Instructions

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, 6- 8-Quarts, heated over medium-high heat, place the sausage in the hot pan and cook until it begins to brown. Add the onion to the pot and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes longer until it begins to become translucent. The garlic can now be added and cooked for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Pour the diced tomatoes into the pot and continue cooking on medium-high until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced and things begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. Season with a generous pinch of salt and some pepper.

Then add the chicken stock, bouillon paste, and water to the pot, along with the parmesan rind if using. Bring everything to a simmer then reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes, as long as you can bear to wait. Stir the soup often. Taste and adjust the seasoning at this point, add more salt and pepper as needed.

When the soup has simmered and hopefully reduced a little, stir the cream into the soup and bring the heat back up to medium. Bring the soup to a boil for about 15 minutes, stirring often.

After the soup has boiled for 15 minutes, add the pasta to the pot and bring it back to a boil for 2 minutes.

Stir the spinach in, in batches, until the whole bag has been added to the pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes longer, then the soup is ready to serve.

Serve with crusty bread on the side if desired. Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge, and stored in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

Notes & Tips

If you like your soup with some kick, you can add some red pepper flakes in at the early stages. Either when browning the sausage or adding the onion so it can perfume the soup with its spice.

I love starting this soup early in the day and letting it simmer for as long as I can before adding the cream and finishing it off. The longer you can let the parmesan rind simmer in the pot, the better.

I use chicken stock and bouillon paste to amp up the flavor, you can use one or both if you like.

Be careful when you add the spinach. I like to stir in one handful at a time, otherwise, it ends up all over the stove and not in the soup.

Substitutions

I usually have some Italian sausage in the casing in the freeze so I typically just use those. But you could use ground Italian sausage, not in a casing if you are buying just to make this recipe.

I like to use mild Italian sausage to keep it family-friendly. However, if you like spice you could use a hot Italian sausage if you like it.

If you do not have a parmesan rind, you can leave it out. But I would get your hands on one, it really does add some yummy flavor.

I typically use parmesan tortellini for this recipe, but if you come across another flavor that you like or prefer, feel free to use that.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 693Total Fat: 49gSaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 131mgSodium: 2086mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 3gSugar: 8gProtein: 36g

This is an estimated caloric value, actual numbers may differ based on the ingredients used.

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