This Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup is the coziest! Made with Italian sausage and just a few other simple ingredients, it’s so flavorful and delicious! Leftovers are even better!
Soup season is here, my friends! I’m already loving making soup even though the temps have JUST dropped here in North Carolina.
This particular soup is delicious and truly one of my favorites. It’s spicy, creamy, has incredible texture with the tortellini and is so yummy.
I was inspired to make it by my friend, Kristian, who also happened to be my doula while I was pregnant with Jack. She brought over a tortellini soup in the very early days of postpartum and it was so incredibly nourishing, warm and delicious.
And while this isn’t the perfect dupe of her recipe, I hope I did it justice. And if you’re reading this Kristian, love ya girl! Also, bring your newly postpartum moms soup, trust me, they will love it!
Why You’ll Love This Soup:
So much flavor! Between the spicy Italian sausage, creamy base, broth and of course, the tortellini, there is a lot going on in this soup which means there is a lot of flavor and a lot of texture. It’s not basic or boring but instead complex and delicious!
It’s so simple to make! Seriously, just a few steps and only cutting up fresh onion and garlic comes between you and making this soup. It’s a one pot stop!
It’s very versatile! You can swap out this recipe to make it customizable to what you have on hand! You can see the ingredient swaps down below!
It’s the perfect soup to have on a cool Fall evening. And bonus points? The leftovers, as always with soup, were even BETTER! Yesssss!
Ingredients You Need:
- Ground Italian sausage (can use mild or spicy) – I chose to use spicy for that extra kick of flavor!
- Yellow onion + fresh garlic – This veggie base adds incredible flavor throughout!
- Chicken broth – can use low sodium if preferred, but this is the best liquid to pair with the half and half!
- Half and half – this makes the soup sooo extra creamy!
- Crushed tomatoes – This adds a lovely flavor and texture to the soup!
- Italian seasoning – a must! I used a store bought mix of Italian seasoning but if you don’t have it, use dried basil, rosemary and oregano.
- Salt and pepper to taste – everyone’s pallet is different so it’s hard to tell you exactly how much salt to add! My recommendation is to taste and add as needed!
- refrigerated cheese tortellini – I used this incredible sundried tomato and mozzarella tortellini I found at the store, but feel free to use whatever type you can find! Just be sure they are in the refrigerated section, not frozen!
- Red pepper flakes and Parmesan Cheese – for garnish!
- Kale – this adds an incredible texture to the soup!
- Crusty bread – because what soup doesn’t need a delicious crusty loaf to dip in it?!
How to Make Soup in 5 Simple Steps:
- Dice the onion into small bite size pieces. Mince the garlic. De-stem and roughly chop your kale. Set aside for now.
- Add oil to a large pot and let it get warm on medium heat. Add the ground Italian sausage and break it up with a spatula. Let this cook until done, about 7-10 minutes or so. Once it’s done, remove it from the pot onto a paper towel lined plate.
- To the pot, add in the onion as well as a large pinch of salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Finally, add in the fresh garlic as well as the Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes and let this toast on the onions and garlic for about 1-2 minutes, making sure to stir.
- Add in the chicken broth next to deglaze the pan – making sure that you really get the bits of flavor off the bottom! Let this come to a boil. Once boiling, add in the tortellini. Cook for 2-3 minutes (set a timer!) and then reduce the heat.
- Add back in the cooked sausage as well as the half and half, crushed tomatoes and kale. Stir to combine and let the soup warm – about 10 minutes on low heat, simmering, stirring every few minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed! Ladle big bowls of soup and garnish with red pepper flakes and parmesan.
Best Soup Tips:
Be sure to use ground Italian sausage instead of links! You want the sausage to be scattered throughout the soup to get into every bite! That’s a lot harder to do with big hunks of sausage.
One of my biggest tips I took away when I was making this soup was to taste and season AS YOU GO! Everyone is going to use a different brand of Italian sausage, Italian seasoning, salt, etc. It’s important to taste as you go and adjust as you go.
If you’re like me and my husband, you probably like a little extra spice. So we used a little more Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes.
If you’re feeding a family of kiddos, you might want to make it more mild.
Ingredient Swaps:
If you’re not a fan of kale, you can absolutely swap it out for something like spinach. You could also skip the greens altogether, ha!
If you’re making this for folks who don’t like spice, simply swap out the sausage for mild instead of spicy. Easy! Those of us who love spicy can always add some extra red pepper flakes to our individual bowls 😉
If you want this soup extra rich, swap out the half and half for heavy cream. Or do half heavy cream. I used a sundried tomato mozzarella tortellini I found at Lidl but feel free to use whatever flavor you’d like!
How to Store Leftovers:
To store leftovers, simply add to a large tupperware bowl, make sure it’s tightly sealed and then place in the fridge. We ate our leftovers for up to 4 days and trust me, they were even more flavorful the next day!
To warm it up, simply add to a pot on medium heat and let warm until your desired temperature, being sure to stir as you go. Or you can pop it into the microwave!
I hope you enjoy this cozy homemade soup! Happy Fall!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few more cozy ones you might like:
Cheesy Chicken Lime Tortilla Soup
Creamy Chicken Sausage and Gnocchi Soup
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
This Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup is the coziest! Made with Italian sausage and just a few other simple ingredients, it’s so flavorful and delicious! Leftovers are even better!
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage (can use mild or spicy)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups de-stemmed and roughly chopped kale
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp store-bought Italian seasoning blend (blend of rosemary, basil, oregano etc.)
- 16 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- additional red pepper flakes + fresh parmesan cheese to garnish
- crusty bread to serve it with
Instructions
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Dice the yellow onion into small bite size pieces. Mince the garlic and de-stem and roughly chop the kale. Set aside for now.
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Add olive oil to large pot. Let it get warm on medium heat. Add ground Italian sausage and break apart with spatula. Cook sausage until cooked through - around 7-9 minutes.
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Once the sausage is done, remove it from the pan and add to a paper towel lined plate.
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Add another splash of oil and the onion along with a pinch of kosher salt and 2 tsp Italian seasoning and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
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Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan, making sure to get all of the flavor bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a rolling boil and add in the tortellini. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat down to low/medium. Add in the crushed tomatoes, half and half, kale and the cooked meat. Stir to combine.
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Let this warm on the stove, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes on low heat, stirring every few minutes.
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Once warmed and the soup has thickened slightly, taste and adjust seasoning if needed (add more salt, italian seasoning, red pepper flakes etc)
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Once it's done, ladle into bowls and garnish with freshly shredded parmesan cheese and additional red pepper flakes.
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Eat right away and enjoy!
Will make it soon. Looks delicious!
Yay! Let me know how you like it 🙂