Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup is the ultimate comfort food. The recipe features sweet potatoes, spinach, garlic, and three-cheese tortellini - all smothered in a creamy delicious broth. This one-pot meal takes only 40 minutes to make and requires minimal cleanup as only one pan is used! Perfect dinner for busy weeknights!
Sausage Tortellini Soup - a well-balanced meal
This recipe has everything: it's delicious, easy to make, and looks beautiful on your dinner table (without much effort) thanks to the vibrant colors of the ingredients. Sausage Tortellini soup is a complete meal: it has protein (Italian sausage), fiber (sweet potatoes and spinach), and carbs (tortellini). The vegetables are combined with sausage and tortellini in a flavorful and creamy broth.
You can't really go wrong with this combination of ingredients - just take a look at this delicious Creamy Sausage Tortellini with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella cheese sauce.
Easy one-pot recipe
Not only is the sausage tortellini soup tasty and beautiful, but it is also super easy to make. Everything is cooked in one pan: sausage, vegetables, and tortellini. No need to precook the veggies - they will cook right in the broth retaining all the flavor in the soup. Tortellini is also cooked in the same broth, acquiring the flavor of the soup. The cleanup is a breeze. There is only one pan to clean. What's not to like? It's a perfect recipe to make on a busy weeknight or for company.
Why make sausage tortellini soup
I just can't stop singing praises to this soup. It's one of those unique recipes that combine both comfort food and healthy ingredients.
- Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They are also a good source of antioxidants, such as beta-carotene (that's what makes them orange, by the way!). Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A in your body. Thanks to their fiber content, sweet potatoes are also excellent for gut health.
- Spinach is packed with nutrients and antioxidants. It’s high in fiber and a good source of many vitamins and minerals. Spinach is a great source of vitamins A and C, as well as folic acid, iron, and calcium.
What kind of pot to use for soup?
Use a large, high-sided stockpot with a thick metal base that distributes heat evenly to make the soup. Or, use a large and wide high-sided braiser. To make this soup, I used my Staub 3.5-Quart Braiser with Glass Lid.
What kind of sausage to use?
- Italian sausage. I used crumbled spicy Italian sausage. You can also use sweet or mild Italian sausage.
- Remove the casings. If your sausage comes in links with casings, you can remove the casings and slice the sausage. You don't have to remove the casings and can slice the sausage links with casings on, but I really prefer the texture of the sausage without the casings so I recommend this step!
How to make sausage tortellini soup - step-by-step photos
Cook sausage
Add raw crumbled Italian sausage and olive oil to a large pot.
Season with Italian seasoning and paprika (you can use regular or smoked).
Cook the sausage for several minutes over medium heat until it is cooked through.
Add veggies
Add peeled and cubed sweet potato, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste.
Make the broth
Add 6 cups of water. Note: You don't need to use chicken stock as the sausage imparts lots of flavor to the soup. Cook, covered with a lid, for 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.
Cook tortellini
Add tortellini to soup in the pot and boil for 10 minutes over medium heat, covered with a lid.
Add spinach and cream
Add spinach right in the end.
Stir in until it slightly wilts.
Remove the soup from heat. Add the cream and stir it in.
Adjust seasonings
- Season with salt to taste, about ¼ teaspoon of salt. Note: No salt is necessary if the sausage is very salty. Use your judgment about whether to add salt or not based on how salty the sausage is.
- Add more red pepper flakes (add spice especially if you did not use spicy sausage).
- Top with fresh thyme.
Tips on making it ahead
- Heavy cream. Prepare everything, except adding the heavy cream in the last step. Refrigerate the soup and add heavy cream only when ready to serve, when the soup is warmed up or hot, and removed from heat (to prevent the cream from separating).
- Tortellini. For best results, you can also add tortellini right before serving.
How to store and reheat sausage tortellini soup
- Refrigerate. Store leftover sausage tortellini soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For best results, separate tortellini from the soup and refrigerate them separately to preserve their texture. However, you can keep tortellini in the soup, too, it's not a deal-breaker.
- Reheat. Reheat the soup gently on the stovetop in the large enough pan over medium heat, stirring halfway through. Add extra milk or heavy cream to add creaminess.
How to freeze soup
This soup makes 6 generous servings. If you only make it for one person or for two people, freeze the soup, instead of eating the soup several days in a row. Here are some tips on how to freeze the soup.
- Do not add cream. If you would like to freeze sausage tortellini soup, do not add any cream. Heavy cream tends to separate and become grainy if frozen. Freeze the soup in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- Freeze the soup in usable portions. Divide it into 4 or 6 containers. Don't freeze it in a single large container.
- Leave space in the container. When freezing the liquid recipes, like soups, leave the space in the container (about 2 inches) as the soup will expand as it freezes.
- Defrost the soup by placing it in the refrigerator for a day or two.
- How to reheat. Reheat the soup gently on the stovetop in the large enough pan over medium heat, stirring halfway through. Add extra milk or heavy cream.
Substitutions
- Pasta. If you don't have tortellini, you can use Agnolotti or ravioli instead. Gnocchi is also a great substitution.
- Sausage. I used crumbled spicy Italian sausage. You can use mild or sweet Italian sausage. Or, us regular or spicy pork sausage (such as Jimmy Dean brand).
- Spinach. This sausage tortellini soup will work equally well with spinach, kale, or Swiss chard.
- Cream. You can use half-and-half instead of heavy cream. To make this dairy-free, use coconut milk.
Other tortellini recipes
Cheese tortellini is an amazing kind of pasta, don't you think? It's stuffed with cheese, after all, or other great fillings. Here are some of my favorite recipes:
- Creamy Spinach Mushroom Tortellini with Caramelized Onions
- Pesto Chicken Tortellini and Veggies (Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes)
- Creamy Chicken, Asparagus, and Bacon Tortellini
What to serve with sausage tortellini soup
- Simple salad. Serve this soup with a basic arugula salad with lemon zest and balsamic dressing or a simple spinach salad with pine nuts and Parmesan.
- Bread. Serve this with a slice of garlic bread, olive bread loaf, or Italian bread. Warm up the bread in the toaster or in the oven. Breadsticks are a good choice here, too. If you want to venture out and make your own simple loaf - try this easy bread recipe made in a bread machine.
Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 12 oz sausage such as spicy Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika regular or smoked
- 1 sweet potato large (or use 2 small) peeled, cubed
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 6 cups water
- 8 oz tortellini I used three-cheese tortellini (refrigerated) - Buitoni brand
- 4 oz fresh spinach
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons fresh thyme
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large, high-sided pot over medium heat. Add crumbled sausage.
- Cook for several minutes over medium heat, stirring until the sausage is cooked through. Drain all grease. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and paprika.
- Add peeled and cubed sweet potato, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste.
- Add 6 cups of water. Note: You don't need to use chicken stock as the sausage imparts lots of flavor to the soup.
- Bring to boil. Mix everything well, ensuring the tomato paste dissolves.
- Once the soup is boiling, reduce to simmer (a visible boil), cover the pot with a lid, and cook for 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Add tortellini to soup in the pot, cover with a lid and boil for 10 minutes over medium heat. Note: Use the cooking time indicated on the tortellini package as your guide.
- Add spinach right in the end, stir in until it slightly wilts.
- Remove the soup from heat. Add the cream and stir it in.
- Season with salt and more red pepper flakes (add spice especially if you did not use spicy sausage). Top with fresh thyme.
- Important note: No salt might be necessary if the sausage is very salty. Use your judgment about whether to add salt or not based on how salty the sausage is. If the sausage is not very salty, season with salt to taste, about ¼ teaspoon of salt or less.
Notes
- Cream separates as the soup cools off. You might notice that the cream might look separated (or grainy) as the soup cools off. That's no reason for worry. As soon as you warm the soup up on the stovetop or in the microwave oven and stir it well, the texture will get back to normal. The same thing will happen if you refrigerate the soup. The creamy texture will turn grainy (will look separated) after the soup has been refrigerated. Again, once you warm up the soup, the texture will get creamy again.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This was so easy and delicious! I'm a little slow in the kitchen and was done in about 45 mins. Love this, it's a keeper for sure!!
I’m so happy to hear this recipe was a winner, Jennifer!
Can this be made in slow cooker crockpot and how many hours
Hi Holly, I haven’t tried this in a slow cooker, but I’m sure it can be easily adjusted - just add the tortellini at the very end - they cook fast.
This soup is absolutely delicious, easy, and low cost. However, it is not healthy, but anything could be modified to be healthier of course. I also added the Better Than Bouillion - Beef Flavor. I tasted it prior to adding this and it was just not flavorful, likely due to the sausage used? Once this was added and it simmered for a while, it came alive. Another key thing I did was use a fancy organic Orange Sweet Potato from Whole Foods which was just a phenomenal piece of produce. For me, I don't like having a half bag of tortellini, half bag of spinach, or other random extras sitting in the refrigerator as they spoil. So, I just added all of it and it didn't mess up the recipe at all.
All of the people on here complaining, its like why? It is a great recipe and if you want to change it so be it. Don't come for the author for "nasty grease". The bubbles you are seeing are more likely from the cream. The sausage wasn't super greasy as she stated.
Be well and eat well!
Thank you, Leah, for your thoughtful and detailed review—I truly appreciate feedback like yours! I love the idea of adding extra seasoning as you suggested. Thanks for sharing all these ideas!
I made the recipe as is and it was fantastic- 5 stars
The next time I used the recipe as a base but made it with chorizo, no Italian seasoning, paprika, or thyme. I added some 1/2 chicken broth 1/2 water. Lastly, I subbed the spinach for kale as a better pairing for the chorizo. Omg. It was delectable.
Thank you so much for the 5-star review, Kathy! ❤️ I love your version with chorizo and kale—thanks for sharing your tweaks with everyone!
Just made this yesterday, doubling the recipe (for 12 servings instead of 6), and with a few changes and of course, adjusting the ingredients to accommodate the larger serving quantities.
I cooked the sausage first per usual, then I removed it from the pot and subsequently sautéed some onions using part of the fat from the sausage and olive oil. Everything in step three onward I followed almost exactly. The most significant change I made was that I used chicken bone broth instead of water because (a) I wanted that extra flavor, and (b) I wanted additional protein (I'm a bariatric patient, a year out from gastric bypass and 140 pounds down since last June, so protein is LIFE ). I am glad I did use the broth, because even with tasting it before seasoning it, it was quite bland, so I am sure it would have been even more bland if I had used just water. I seasoned it with salt (about 3 tablespoons), black pepper (about 2 teaspoons), garlic powder (1 tablespoon), onion powder (2 teaspoons), and I used 2 tablespoons of Gourmet Garden's fresh Italian herbs in lieu of the dried Italian seasoning. Overall, SUPER tasty, and my chef hubby LOVED it!
Thank you, Quee, for your 5-star review and for sharing the modifications you made to this recipe! Your feedback is so helpful for me and other readers who might want to try the same. ❤️
I diced a half of a yellow onion, and sautéed it with the sausage. I doubled the paprika and Italian seasoning. I am big on flavor so I added a some low sodium chicken better then bullion. I finished it with some shredded mozzarella. I served it with Pillsbury crecent rolls.
It was amazing, and I'll be making it again.
Thank you for sharing your recipe adjustments, Leina! They sound amazing, I especially love the addition of shredded mozzarella on top of the soup and pairing it with Pillsbury crescent rolls. 🙂
Perfect for a chilly fall evening. Kind of different - which was a welcome treat. Always fun to eat something that tastes good and tastes healthy at the same time. I added a tiny bit of salt (to taste) .. but that was all I needed. Thank you for sharing this ! ... I also liked that it was easy to make and clean up was simple. (Gave some to the neighbors and saving the rest for tomorrow)
Thanks for trying this recipe, Douglas, and for taking the time to share your review! 🙂
Can this be made in a slow cooker?
This was awesome! I didn't add the cream and it was still delicious. I served with garlic bread and cheese cake. Definitely will be making again.
So glad it tasted good even without the cream!
I made this yummy, yummy, soup over the weekend, LOVED it. My daughters and my sister's want this recipe now, they also loved it!!
Hi Michele! I am so happy this recipe was a hit with everyone! Thank you for your review! 🙂
I made this again for the 6th time...just so good every time@
Oh wow, I am so flattered!! Thank you for this review! 🙂
❤️❤️❤️
For the creamy dishes can I use coconut milk instead of heavy cream?
Yes, unsweetened coconut milk works great as a substitute for heavy cream!
Outstanding! Will be a regular in the rotation.
So happy to hear that!
This has been our favorite new soup this Fall/Winter. I've shared this recipe with family and they all enjoy making/eating it too!
Karen, thank you for spreading the word about this recipe! ❤️ Glad your family loves this! 🙂
Just made this delicious soup for the 1st time. Definitely a keeper! Make this now. You won't be sorry! Thanks Julie!
Debbie, thank you for your rave review, I appreciate it! 🙂
This is very tasty. Different kind of soup & I'm picky. Going to be chilly tomorrow so this will be nice to have for lunch.
It's a perfect cold-weather soup!