Sausage Tortellini Soup
Hearty and comforting, Sausage Tortellini Soup is delicious as a side dish or robust enough for an entree soup. And it’s easy!
The colder it gets, the more I want comfort. Bolder flavors like Italian sausage. Soups with a creamy richness. Warm and steamy dishes. Like today’s Sausage Tortellini Soup.
It’s based on a a Chicken Gnocchi Soup we recently enjoyed. With fall flying by, I decided to give the tasty soup a cold weather makeover!
I kept the creamy broth but went heavier with sausage and richer with tortellini.
‘Cause winter’s right around the corner. Just don’t say you heard it here.
Why You’ll Love This!
Tasty. With layered flavor from the Italian sausage, Italian seasoning, red pepper and more, this Sausage Tortellini soup is rich and delicious!
Easy. Just sautee a few ingredients and simmer. How easy is that!
Hearty and Satisfying. With a comfort vibe from the cheese tortellini, and a wholesomeness from the sausage, this soup is robust and warming.
Step by Step Overview
With a scissors, cut the sausage into wheel-like slices, placing directly into a hot saucepan. Sautee, stirring periodically until the sausage is cooked through. Pour out excess fat, leaving about a tablespoon.
Add the onions and red peppers. Stir well and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook for another minute or two.
Stir in the flour and cook for another minute. Slowly add the broth, stirring to incorporate the flour. Let the soup come to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the soup starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
Stir the tortellini into the pot and cook until just tender, 5-10 minutes. When the tortellini is done, add the milk or cream and the chopped spinach. Heat until the spinach is wilted and the soup is hot, about 2 minutes.
Top with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired, for serving.
Variations
If you have extra Italian sausage, consider my Italian Sausage Sandwiches (Bombers), or the classic Chicago Style Pizza.
Or for more soup with Italian flare, how about Tuscan White Bean Soup with Kale or Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup with Spinach.
Tips & FAQs
Many time Italian sausage for soup is bought as bulk sausage or removed from the casing. Then it’s fried up like ground beef. But I wanted heartier sausage pieces rather than crumbles–and I’m not fond of frying up ground meat.
So instead, I grabbed a scissors and cut little sausage wheels from my sausage links. Then I browned these just by stirring lightly until cooked through. So easy!
But if you prefer the crumbles or are using bulk sausage, that’s a fine option too. You can even go with homemade Italian Sausage then!
When I’m making soup, I often cook up a giant batch so that I have leftovers to freeze and reheat on a busy day. But with this soup, even just reheating the soup for a second meal caused the tortellini to start to shred. So I don’t recommend this for freezing.
And for More Tasty Side Dish Recipes:
- Roasted Mushrooms from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
- Roasted Delicata Squash and Sweet Potatoes with Cranberry Glaze from A Day in the Life on a Farm
- Parmesan Butternut Squash from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- Homemade Mushroom Rice Pilaf fromA Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Gluten Free Magic Chicken Bites from Sneha’s Recipe
- Sausage Tortellini Soup from Art of Natural Living
- Loaded Baked Potato Casserole with Fried Onions from Blogghetti
- Beer Macaroni and Cheese from The Spiffy Cookie
- Jalapeno Cheddar Swirls from Magical Ingredients
- Potato, Corn, & Pepper Skillet with Pancetta from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Sausage Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Italian sausage this was three large Italian bratwurst
- 1 celery rib chopped
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup chopped mild red pepper I used 1 ½ large banana peppers from the freezer
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup half and half or whole milk
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ pound cheese tortellini about 2 cups
- 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
- Salt, pepper to taste
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving optional
Instructions
- With a scissors, cut the sausage into wheel-like slices, placing directly into a hot saucepan. Sautee, stirring periodically until the sausage is cooked through. Pour out excess fat, leaving about a tablespoon.
- Add the onions and red peppers. Stir well and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook for another minute or two.
- Stir in the flour and cook for another minute. Slowly add the broth, stirring to incorporate the flour. Let the soup come to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the soup starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Stir the tortellini into the pot and cook until just tender, 5-10 minutes. When the tortellini is done, add the milk or cream and the chopped spinach. Heat until the spinach is wilted and the soup is hot, about 2 minutes.
- Top with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired, for serving.
