Julie Clark
Updated:
Creamy Tortellini Soup with Spinach
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This incredible creamy tortellini soup with spinach is a delicious mix of tomatoes, sausage, and pasta. It’s a versatile, easy dinner the family will love!
It’s getting to be sweater season. And I’m ready! I love the sunshine, but I also don’t mind the cold air. Whether it is cold and sunny or cold and dreary, this creamy tortellini soup with spinach will keep you warm inside.
This creamy tortellini soup is similar to our zuppa toscana. In place of the potatoes, you’ll find cheese tortellini. For that reason, this soup isn’t paleo or gluten free, but it is delicious and easy anyway. If you love spicy sausage soup, then I know you’ll enjoy this!
Why you’ll love creamy tortellini soup with spinach:
- easily customizable
- ready in 45 minutes with only 12 minutes prep
- comforting sausage and tortellini
Ingredients
- For the best results, use fresh or frozen tortellini, not dry. My favorite brand is from Costco. It has great flavor!
- Spinach. Or use kale in a pinch, but I like how the spinach cooks up so tender.
✨ See the recipe card below for complete ingredients and instructions. ✨
How to Make Creamy Tortellini Soup
Make sure to use the refrigerated cheese tortellini. It should only take about 4 minutes to cook the refrigerated tortellini, as opposed to a dry tortellini pasta which will take longer.
This soup is meant to be a very quick meal and doesn’t need a lot of simmering time. I found that if I simmered it too long, it caused the half and half to separate. If you would like to simmer your soup, add the half and half when you add the spinach and refrigerated tortellini so that it doesn’t curdle.
- Heat the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened and transparent.
- Add the italian sausage to the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes or until browned. Drain grease.
- Pour in the tomatoes, broth, half & half, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a gentle boil. Add the tortellini and the spinach.
- Cook for 4 minutes or until the spinach has wilted and the tortellini are cooked through, then remove from the heat and stir in the fresh basil.
Can I add potatoes to this soup?
Although this recipe is delicious without potatoes, you can add some if you want the soup to yield more servings, or if you just enjoy potatoes. The best potatoes to use would be Yukon gold or red potatoes, cut into quarters. These two types of potatoes are waxier and hold their shape well.
Make sure you do not overcook the potatoes, as that will add too much creaminess to the soup. Add the potatoes to the boiling water 5-7 minutes before adding the tortellini so that they finish cooking at about the same time.
Recipe Variations:
- You can use hot or mild Italian sausage.
- Add Italian seasoning red pepper flakes for extra spice.
- Use kale instead of fresh spinach.
- Want more veggies? Add celery or carrots.
- Use heavy cream instead of half and half for a creamier soup.
What to Serve with Creamy Tortellini Soup
This creamy spinach tortellini soup could easily be served as a complete meal for lunch time or dinner. The veggies are in the soup too! However, if you’d like some sides, here are a few of our favorites:
How to Store Tortellini Soup
Because this tortellini soup recipe yields a fair amount of soup, you may have leftover soup that can be stored in the fridge. Leftovers should be in an airtight container and will last up to 5 days. If the tortellini was overcooked initially, it might be a bit too soggy.
Creamy Tortellini Soup with Spinach
This incredible creamy tortellini soup with spinach is a delicious mix of tomatoes, sausage, and pasta. It's a versatile, easy dinner the family will love!
Servings 8
Prep Time 12 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 42 minutes
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped (~1 small onion)
- 1 pound Italian sausage (bulk…without casing)
- 5 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cup half & half
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes (1 can, with juice)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 19 ounces refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini (~5 cups) (not dry)
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil
Optional garnishes:
- shredded parmesan cheese
- chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until softened and transparent.
- Add the sausage to the pan and cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes or until browned. Drain grease.
- Pour in the tomatoes, broth, half & half, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper.
- Bring to a gentle boil.
- Add the tortellini and the spinach.
- Cook for 4 minutes or until the spinach has wilted and the tortellini are cooked through, then remove from the heat and stir in the fresh basil.
- Ladle the soup into bowls.
- Garnish each serving with parmesan cheese or chopped parsley (optional) and enjoy.
Notes
The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 8, with 1 serving being ⅛ of the soup. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 1454mg | Potassium: 552mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1998IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 201mg | Iron: 4mg
I have made this for various occasions and it has been a hit every time. I add more of the requested spices like garlic and oregano and have used spicy Italian sausage. I am gathering the ingredients for a soup pot luck at work this week. This super yummy soup is my go to for when I need a super flavorful dish to bring. My husband’s eyes roll to the back of his head when I put a big bowl 🍲In front of him. Haha! It is SO good!