I love to serve this family favorite with a garden salad tossed with a light vinaigrette and French baguettes with soft, creamy butter. This soup, Cabbage Roll Soup, Meatball Soup, Chicken and Rice Soup, and Vegetable Beef Soup are just a few of our many favorites.
Try this simple recipe for a satisfying and flavorful tortellini soup that will warm you up on a cold day. With just a few ingredients and minimal prep time, it’s the perfect meal for busy weeknights.
If your family is anything like mine, soup is the main meal category for most of fall and winter. It is my favorite time of the year, and soup warms our minds, bodies, and souls. Of course, we eat soup year-round.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Italian Sausage: I prefer sweet or mild. Try to purchase good quality Italian sausage from a local meat market. If it is only available in links, cut the casings off. Try chicken, ground beef, or pork sausage for Italian sausage substitutes.
- Vegetables: onion, garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, arugula or spinach
- Seasonings: dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, dried thyme, red pepper flakes, fresh thyme, fresh basil. You can substitute a tablespoon of Italian seasoning for the dried herbs.
- Broth: low-sodium beef broth, vegetable broth, or low-sodium chicken broth
- Tomato paste: to give the soup flavor and thicken it
- Refrigerated cheese tortellini: can substitute frozen or dried
- Parmesan cheese: freshly grated is best
How To Make Sausage Tortellini Soup
This is just the summary version of the recipe. See the recipe card below for ingredients and full directions.
Brown the Italian Sausage in a Dutch Oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. When it is halfway through the browning process, add the onion and cook until the sausage is brown and the onion is soft.
Then, reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, and crushed red pepper, cooking for a minute. Whisk the tomato paste with a bit of beef broth to thin it out. Then add the vegetable broth, remaining beef broth, fire-roasted tomatoes, and thinned-out tomato paste. Increase the heat to medium and bring it to a low boil. Then, reduce the heat to a simmer.
Add the cheese tortellini and let everything simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the tortellini cooks to your desired tenderness. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir it in the arugula. Salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle each bowl with a bit of Parmesan cheese.
Preparation Tips
- You can substitute fresh baby spinach for arugula without changing the recipe. Remember to remove the large stems.
- Most grocery stores carry refrigerated pasta, although you may have to ask where it is in the store. You can always substitute frozen cheese tortellini or even dried tortellini.
- Dried herbs work best in soup, where their flavors have time to permeate the whole pot. I like to add them to the fat from the Italian sausage and cook for about a minute. This technique is known as blooming.
