Creamy Tortellini Soup with Sausage

This creamy tortellini soup is the cozy, cream-finished cousin of the classic tomato-broth version. Italian sausage is browned and drained, carrots and celery soften in the drippings, and tomato paste and garlic give the broth a rosy, savory base before a full package of cheese tortellini goes in.

At the end, heavy cream turns the broth silky and pale orange, baby spinach wilts in about a minute, and Parmesan rounds everything out. It takes under an hour in one Dutch oven and makes 6 generous bowls of creamy sausage tortellini soup.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Rich but not heavy: One cup of cream in a big pot of broth gives a velvety soup that still tastes like soup, not like a sauce.
• Real vegetables: Carrots, celery, onion, tomatoes, and spinach make it a full meal in a bowl.
• A deeply seasoned base: Browned sausage and toasted tomato paste do the work of a long simmer in about 10 minutes.
• Smooth, stable cream: The cream goes in over low heat at the end, so it stays silky instead of curdling.
• Flexible: Swap in turkey sausage or ground beef, use kale instead of spinach, or make it in an Instant Pot.

Ingredients

Prep: 15 minutes  |  Cook: 40 minutes  |  Total: 55 minutes  |  Yield: 6 servings

Equipment: 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, slotted spoon

• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage, mild or hot (or links with casings removed)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 celery stalks, diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (18- to 20-ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
• 4 cups lightly packed baby spinach (about 4 ounces)
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil, for serving

Ingredient Notes

• Italian sausage: Bulk sausage is easiest. For links, slit the casings and squeeze the meat out. Hot sausage gives the cream a gentle kick; mild keeps it kid-friendly.
• Olive oil: A little oil gets the sausage started before its own fat renders.
• Onion, carrots, and celery: Dice them about 1/4 inch so the carrots turn tender in the short simmer. This trio is what makes it a soup with vegetables rather than just cream and pasta.
• Garlic and tomato paste: Cooking them briefly in the drippings takes off the raw edge. The paste also tints the finished soup a soft coral color once the cream goes in.
• Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and black pepper: A basic dried blend is all you need. The flakes are optional; skip them if your sausage is hot.
• Low-sodium chicken broth: Between the sausage, the cheesy filling, and the Parmesan, this soup gets plenty of salt on its own, so a low-sodium broth leaves you in control. Six cups leaves enough liquid for a full package of tortellini, which absorbs broth as it cooks.
• Diced tomatoes: Use them with their juice. Petite diced tomatoes give smaller pieces if you prefer a smoother spoonful.
• Refrigerated cheese tortellini: An 18- to 20-ounce package from the refrigerated case cooks in 3 to 5 minutes in simmering soup. Frozen tortellini can go in straight from the freezer; allow 1 to 2 extra minutes.
• Heavy cream: Heavy cream (about 36% fat) is the most stable choice in a soup with tomatoes. Letting it sit out while you cook takes off the chill so it blends in smoothly. Half-and-half works if you keep the heat low (see Variations).
• Baby spinach: It looks like a lot, but 4 cups wilts down to almost nothing. Chop it roughly if the leaves are large.
• Parmesan: Grate it finely from a wedge. Half a cup melts into the soup, and the last 1/4 cup goes on top.
• Fresh basil: A few ribbons on each bowl add a fresh, sweet finish. Flat-leaf parsley works too.

How to Make Creamy Tortellini Soup

1. Brown the sausage: Warm the olive oil in a heavy 5- to 6-quart pot set over medium-high heat. Crumble in the sausage, pressing it into bite-size bits with the back of a spoon, and let it sizzle for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until well browned and no longer pink inside (160°F for pork sausage).
2. Drain the excess fat: Scoop the browned sausage onto a plate with a slotted spoon. Tilt the pot and spoon away the drippings, keeping all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat for the vegetables.
3. Soften the vegetables: Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, until the onion is translucent and the carrots begin to soften.
4. Toast the garlic and tomato paste: Push the vegetables aside and add the garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes (if using), and black pepper to the open spot. Stir it all together for about 1 minute, until the garlic smells sweet and the paste looks rusty red.
5. Simmer the broth: Splash in 1 cup of the broth and use your spoon to lift every browned bit off the bottom. Stir in the remaining 5 cups of broth, the diced tomatoes and their juice, and the sausage. Put the lid on and turn the heat to high; once it boils, take the lid off, lower the heat to medium-low, and let it bubble gently for 10 minutes, until a piece of carrot is just tender.
6. Cook the tortellini: Nudge the heat up to medium for an active simmer. Stir in the tortellini and let them cook for 3 to 5 minutes, giving the pot a gentle stir or two, until the pasta is tender and the filling is hot.
7. Add the cream and spinach: Reduce the heat to low. Slowly stir in the heavy cream, then add the spinach a handful at a time. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach wilts and the soup is steaming hot. Don't let it boil once the cream is in.
8. Finish and serve: Remove the pot from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan until melted. Taste and season with kosher salt as needed. Ladle into bowls and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan and the basil.

Expert Tips

• Keep the cream below a boil. Add it over low heat and just bring the soup back to steaming. A hard boil with the acidic tomatoes can make dairy separate.
• Dice the carrots small. Quarter-inch pieces are tender after the 10-minute simmer. Bigger chunks may still be firm when the tortellini are done.
• Taste before salting. Between the sausage, the cheese filling, and the Parmesan, many pots need little or no extra salt.
• Watch the tortellini, not the clock. Brands vary. Start checking at 3 minutes and stop as soon as they are tender; they keep softening in the hot broth.
• Plan for leftovers. Expecting extra bowls for tomorrow? Boil the tortellini in a separate pot of salted water and spoon them into each bowl as you serve, then store the soup and pasta apart.
• Add the spinach last. It only needs the heat of the soup, and adding it at the end keeps it bright green.

Variations and Substitutions

• Instant Pot version: Use the Sauté setting for steps 1 through 4. Deglaze with 1 cup of the broth, scraping the bottom well, then add 4 more cups of broth (5 cups total, since a pressure cooker loses little liquid), the sausage, and the tomatoes on top without stirring. Lock the lid and pressure cook on High for 3 minutes, then quick release. Switch back to Sauté, add the tortellini, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Press Cancel, then stir in the cream, spinach, and Parmesan.
• Ground beef instead of sausage: Brown 1 pound of 85% lean ground beef to 160°F and drain it the same way. Beef isn’t pre-seasoned like sausage, so add 1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and dried oregano with the Italian seasoning and plan on a little more salt at the end.
• Italian turkey sausage: A leaner option. Cook it to 165°F. It renders less fat, so you may not need to drain any.
• Half-and-half: Use 1 cup of half-and-half in place of the cream for a lighter soup. Keep the heat on low and never let it simmer, because lighter dairy curdles more easily.
• More vegetables: Add 1 diced red bell pepper with the onion, or stir 1 small diced zucchini in with the tortellini.
• Kale instead of spinach: Kale is tougher, so give it a head start: add 3 cups of stemmed, chopped kale about 5 minutes before the tortellini and let it simmer until tender.
• Slow cooker version: Brown and drain the sausage and cook the vegetables, garlic, and paste on the stove (steps 1 through 4), then loosen the fond with 1 cup of the broth. Scrape it all into a 6-quart slow cooker and add the sausage, tomatoes, and just 4 more cups of broth, since very little evaporates. Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3. About 20 minutes before serving, set it to HIGH and add the tortellini; once they are tender, switch the cooker off and stir in the cream, spinach, and Parmesan.

What to Serve with Creamy Tortellini Soup

This soup is filling on its own, so keep the sides simple. Something crusty for dipping is a must: bake a batch of rustic crusty bread rolls or pull a tray of cheesy garlic breadsticks out of the oven. A crisp green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the cream.

Prefer a lighter, brothy bowl? Try our tomato-based sausage tortellini soup. If you’d rather skip the sausage, the creamy chicken tortellini soup is a good match, and there are plenty more ideas in our soup recipes.

Storage, Reheating, and Freezing

• Refrigerate: Let the soup cool, then move it to covered containers and into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking. Leftovers are best eaten within 3 to 4 days. Expect it to be noticeably thicker the next day as the pasta drinks up broth.
• Reheat: Warm it gently on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring often, until it reaches 165°F. Don’t boil it, or the cream can separate. Add a splash of broth to loosen it. In the microwave, heat covered at 50% power, stirring every minute.
• Freeze: Cream and cooked tortellini don’t freeze well (the dairy turns grainy and the pasta goes soft), so freeze the soup at the end of step 5 instead. Once cool, pack it into freezer containers, leaving an inch of room at the top, and freeze for 2 to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, reheat to a simmer, and pick up at step 6 with fresh tortellini, cream, spinach, and Parmesan.

Creamy Tortellini Soup FAQ

How do I keep the cream from curdling?

Add it at the end over low heat, and don’t let the soup boil afterward. Room-temperature heavy cream blends in more smoothly than cold cream, and heavy cream is more stable than half-and-half or milk.

Can I use milk instead of cream?

Whole milk makes a thin, less stable soup that can curdle with the tomatoes. If you must, whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into 1 cup of cold whole milk, stir it in over low heat, and warm gently until slightly thickened. Heavy cream or half-and-half gives the best texture.

Can I use frozen tortellini?

Yes, and there’s no need to thaw them. Frozen tortellini usually need an extra minute or two in the pot, so check one for tenderness before adding the cream.

What's the difference between this and regular sausage tortellini soup?

Both start with browned sausage and tortellini. The classic version keeps a clear tomato broth, while this one adds carrots, celery, and heavy cream for a thicker, richer bowl.

Why did my soup get thick overnight?

The tortellini absorb broth as they sit. Stir in 1/2 to 1 cup of broth when reheating, or cook the tortellini separately next time if you plan on leftovers.

Can I make it ahead?

Yes. Cook the soup through step 5, cool it, and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to eat, bring it back to a simmer and finish steps 6 through 8.

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