Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
Hot Italian sausage, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, and heavy cream simmered together with cheese tortellini and fresh basil. One pot. Twenty-five minutes. The version with sausage that every vegetarian recipe is missing.
Ingredients
Meat & Protein
- 1 lb hot Italian sausage casings removed
Produce
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 0.25 cup fresh basil roughly chopped — or 1 tsp dried basil added with the tomatoes
- 2 cups baby spinach packed — optional but recommended
Dairy
- 0.75 cup heavy cream
- 0.5 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated, plus more for serving
Pantry & Canned Goods
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes one standard can
- 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 9 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini one standard package from the refrigerated pasta section
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Seasonings & Spices
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 0.5 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 0.25 tsp crushed red pepper flakes optional — already in the sausage if using hot Italian
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, breaking it into small crumbles with a wooden spoon. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes until browned and cooked through. Do not drain — the fat left in the pot builds the flavor base. If there's more than 2 tablespoons of rendered fat, drain the excess.
- Add the diced onion to the pot and cook in the sausage drippings for 3 minutes until softened. Add the minced garlic, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste darkens slightly and the garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth. Stir well to combine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer.
- Add the cheese tortellini directly to the simmering soup. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the tortellini are tender and cooked through, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Reduce heat to low. Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese until the parmesan is fully melted and the broth turns a deep orange-pink. Add the baby spinach and stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust salt. Stir in fresh basil just before serving. Ladle into bowls and finish with more parmesan.
Notes
Toast the tomato paste. Cooking the tomato paste directly in the sausage drippings before adding liquid concentrates and deepens its flavor significantly. Don't skip the 60 seconds of toasting — it changes the entire depth of the broth.
Refrigerated tortellini is the right call here, not dried. It cooks in 5 to 7 minutes directly in the soup. Frozen tortellini also works — add 2 to 3 extra minutes. Dried tortellini takes 10 to 12 minutes and absorbs too much broth.
The soup thickens as it sits. If it's too thick after sitting, add a splash of chicken broth to loosen it before serving. Add parmesan again after thinning — it gets absorbed as the soup cools.
Internal links: connects to the soup cluster — Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup, White Chicken Chili, and Beef and Vegetable Soup. Also links naturally to Marry Me Pasta with Italian Sausage and Creamy Tuscan Sausage Pasta as part of the sausage recipe cluster.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!