Sausage tortellini soup is a hearty soup made with cheese tortellini, crumbled Italian sausage, and veggies. Cook up a batch of this creamy, flavorful soup in 30 minutes or less in a single pot!
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Creamy soup filled with crumbled sausage, tender cheese tortellini, vegetables, and mild, savory seasoning.
Quick and easy: Made in a single pot and ready in 30 minutes.
Serves: 5 people
Similar to: Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup and Beef Tortellini Soup
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Italian sausage - Ground hot or mild sausage works for this recipe. If you purchased sausage links, remove the casings from the sausage before cooking.
- Vegetables - Substitute the onion, celery, and carrot with frozen mirepoix to save on prep time!
- Garlic - Substitute two gloves of garlic with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder. Jarred garlic often tastes (and smells) overpowering and harsh, so I don't recommend using it.
- Cheese tortellini - You'll need one package of about 9 to 10 ounces of refrigerated (or frozen) uncooked cheese tortellini for this recipe. Small uncooked ravioli can work as a substitute.
- Whole milk - Milk can be substituted with half & half or heavy cream for a richer, thicker soup.
How to make sausage tortellini soup
- Brown crumbled sausage, remove from pan, and set aside.
- Supplement leftover grease with olive oil for total ¼ cup of oil. Add vegetables and cook until lightly brown around the edges. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds. Add flour and stir to make a paste. Cook paste for 1 minute.
- Whisk in chicken broth, water, seasoning, and tortellini. Bring to a simmer, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until pasta is al dente.
- Remove lid and stir in reserved sausage and milk. Warm through, remove, and serve.
Tips and tricks
Cooking tortellini in the soup - We're cooking the tortellini directly in our soup base. Extra water is added to account for the liquid the tortellini soaks up as it cooks. Refer to the package directions of your pasta for specific cooking times, as this can vary from brand to brand.
To cook tortellini separately - To cook your tortellini separately, omit the water listed in the recipe, and instead bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Cook your tortellini according to the package directions for al dente pasta, drain well, then add to your soup base (or to each individual soup bowl).
Frequently asked questions
Sausage tortellini soup leftovers will keep in a tightly sealed container for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator. If soup is stored with tortellini, the pasta will continue to soak up liquid and get soft as it sets.
If you plan to have leftovers, I recommend cooking your tortellini separately (and omitting the water listed in the recipe), then portioning tortellini into each bowl of soup before serving. Store cooked tortellini and soup base separately from each other.
Soup base (without tortellini) can be frozen for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. Pasta generally does not freeze and thaw well, so I don't recommend freezing the cooked tortellini in the soup base.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Sausage Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 16 ounces ground Italian sausage
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, *
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 12 ounces water, **
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 10 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini, uncooked
- 8 ounces whole milk
Instructions
- In a stock pot over medium heat, crumble Italian sausage and cook until browned. Remove sausage from pan, set aside, and cover to keep warm.
- Supplement leftover sausage grease with olive oil for a total of ¼ cup of grease/oil (you may not need all of the oil listed). Add onion, celery, and carrots to pan, cooking until lightly browned around the edges, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Add flour, tossing vegetables to coat, creating a paste. Cook for one minute.
- Whisk in chicken broth and water, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and tortellini. Bring to a simmer, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook tortellini according to package directions for al dente pasta (times will vary from brand to brand).
- Remove lid and stir in milk and reserved sausage. Warm soup for one minute over low heat, then remove from heat and serve.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- *You may not need all of the olive oil listed. This depends entirely on how much grease is released from the ground sausage. You'll need a total of ¼ cup of oil/grease in your pan. This oil is used to create a roux with the flour in a later step.
- ** If you intend to have leftovers: Omit the listed water in the recipe and cook your tortellini separately. Store leftover soup base and tortellini separately, then reheat individual portions together on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- Storage: Leftover soup will keep for 2-3 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Tortellini will continue to soften and soak up liquid as it sits.
- Freezing: Soup base freezes well (without tortellini) up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. Tortellini can be cooked separately on the day of serving.
Very good recipe. Great flavors. I forgot to buy tortellini so had to use rigatoni last minute and it was still delicious.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it!