Tuscan Tortellini Soup delicious and comforting. Made with tomatoes, Italian sausage, garlic, onions, kale, and parmesan cheese; you love this simple meal.
Friends, I love comforting soups like this Tuscan Tortellini Soup and my kids love it too and all because of the cheese tortellini. And while this looks like one of those soups that take hours to make or needs to simmer all day, it isn’t. Can be ready in 30-45 minutes depending on the type of tortellini you use. Easy, delicious and comforting, this soup is great for a crowd.
One of the reasons I love Italian soups is because typically they are heartier full of substance. With ingredients like meat, vegetables, broth and always some sort starch like noodles or potatoes.
While I would say that most meals don’t feel complete just with a soup, this Tuscan Tortellini Soup is a meal. And it will fill everyone up.
This soup is by far one of my favorites and it all happened by accident. I started out thinking I was creating something else and well it didn’t work out. I didn’t want to throw what I had away so I just added tortellini and a few seasonings and this Tuscan Tortellini Soup is what became of it.
I first posted this recipe back in March of 2014, see the original photo below. And while we have only made it a few times since, I am kicking myself for not making it more. My phone family loves it and it is so easy to throw together.
Another one of our favorite soups is a slow cooker version of this Slow Cooker Tuscan Tortellini Soup, it is just as amazing if want the house to smell like an Italian restaurant at the end of the day. But really they are both just as simple to make.
Tips for making this Tuscan Tortellini Soup.
- Make sure to use crushed tomatoes as the recipe calls for.
- Use a heavy bottom pot.
- I prefer refrigerated tortellini, it just a personal preference but I like the consistency in the pasta.
- If you are trying to save money then use dry tortellini.
- Adjust the heat, if you boil this soup too long then it will become thick and more like a stew.
- To adjust the consistency of the soup us chicken broth. Adding up to 1-2 cups more chicken broth will make the soup not as thick.
Another easy soup that we love, an old classic on the site as well is my Creamy Tuscan Soup. This soup is actually my husbands favorite that I make and you know what, I don’t make that soup enough either.
I really love how kale works in this tortellini soup recipe. It cooks down just to the right texture and I prefer it over spinach. Spinach would work but I feel like it gets too overcooked and become slimy. Kale is hearty enough to balance the entire dish out. And my kids don’t even notice it while they are eating. Bonus!
This recipe is great for gatherings and feeds a crowd and is great for a chilly evening. Enjoy this favorite of our family – Tuscan Tortellini Soup! We love it and so will you. Enjoy! XOXO San
Don’t forget to pin these Tuscan Tortellini Soup to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Tuscan Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. Italian sausage I love using Spicy Chicken Sausage
- ½ purple onion chopped
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 2 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 4-6 cups kale roughly chopped
- 1 cup of half and half or whole milk
- 1 box cheese tortellini I use the tortellini in the refrigerated section
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1/4 cup Italian seasoning
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, I like to use my cast iron cooking pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and brown sausage. Once completely cooked, drain and set aside.
- Using the same pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add onions and garlic and cook until tender. Once onions and garlic are caramelized, add crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, browned ground sausage & kale.
- Bring to a boil, while stirring frequently, add Italian seasoning and salt & pepper to taste.
- Continue to boil 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to merge.
- If you use dry tortellini, add to soup and cook until al dente, about 15-20 minutes.If you use refrigerated tortellini add to soup and reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add half and half and parmesan cheese.
- Simmer for a few more minutes.
- Remove from heat & serve.
Nutrition
Original post photo.
This soup looks SO delicious! It’s been PINNED to my Soups and Stews board!
I found you over at the Wonderfully Creative Wednesdays link party. Hope you’ll stop by and see my recipe for Cabbage Rolls with Turkey Sausage & Farro! 🙂
Thanks Becca for stopping by and for the pin!!! I will totally check out your recipe, I love, love cabbage rolls! xo San
I stopped by from Cast Party Wednesday because your soup looks so delicous! I’m putting it in my yumprint.com soup cookbook to give a try sometime! Thanks for sharing! HUGS
Thanks so much Cheryl!!! Is the cook book on-line? I would love to check it out. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! xo San
This sounds delicious. Pinning.
Hands down! This is going to be a feature on Tasty Tuesday at http://imnotatrophywife.com!
How do you do it all?!? laura
Thanks Laura – I was gone on vacation and didn’t see this comment until now! I look forward to linking up again!!! XO San
Wow, Sandra, this looks and sounds fantastic. I’m curious – why were the kids crying over the tomatoes? lol.
I love this combination of ingredients and will definitely be making this. (I know people say that all the time, but I WILL be cooking it, I promise!) Beautiful photography as well.
Sandra, thank you so much for sharing this delicious Tuscan Tortellini Soup with us this week at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great week and come back soon!
Miz Helen
I bought frozen tortellini- how much is a package? 16oz?
Helen – Hope you see this in time. The dried tortellini is 7 ounces. Hope this helps, I would think one to two would be enough! xo San
Beautiful looking soup, the ingredients are all so perfect together. Thanks for sharing!
This soup looks absolutely amazing! I want some right now as I look out my window at the rain/snow… It looks simple to make yet hearty and fulfilling! Thanks so much for sharing!!! You will be featured this week!
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it. Wondering if you have ever tried freezing it with success. Thanks!
I want to make this tonight! Question though: the picture looks like it has diced /chunky tomatoes in it, yet it calls for two cans crushed? Should I use one of each?
Heather, I think my can of crushed was more on the chunky side, I thought that when I made it too. I would use whatever you have on hand, I tend to lean more towards crushed for my kids but for me personally I love diced.
Enjoy! San
I see in the ingredient section it shows chicken broth but then in the directions it mentions chicken stock. Should I use chicken broth or chicken stock?
You can really use what ever you have on hand. I use chicken broth. San
Have you made thus in your crockpot before? Looking forward to making this and would love to just be able to toss it in my crockpot!
I have never tried this in the crock-pot, but will be now. The only thing, is that you would want to stick the noodles in later, not at the beginning. I will try it and let you know. If you do before me, would love to hear.
Hey ladies! Made it in the crockpot tonight and filled our 5 quart almost to the top! It was delish..fed 4 adults and 4 kids and had a lot of leftovers 🙂 I added my noodles too soon. I would wait until 45-30 min before serving to add them. I had my crockpot on low (it tends to cook things on low faster than normal) and the noodles were done in 45 min. (It kind of turned into a stew/lasagne because the noodles were a little overcooked) Everything else you could add at the same time and cook on low for about 5-6 hrs. Great recipe..will be making it again. Thanks!! 🙂
So happy you loved it, thanks for coming back with the feedback and note. xo San
I love this soup! A friend made it when she had me over dinner. I’m usually a very polite guest, but that night I asked to take some of the leftovers home and had it for lunch the next day. Even better on day 2! I plan to attempt to make it myself tomorrow for my family. I’m curious to see how the kale goes over. I loved the crunch that it maintained. Quite the pleasant surprise!
Oh that is awesome, this comment made my day! Thanks for coming and letting me know. xo San
This soup has become a weekly dish for us. This cold weather hardy, comfort style, yet healthy soup is a hit with my whole family. It makes enough to have leftovers the next night, which is good for our busy household. Thank you for sharing!
Oh so happy you liked it, it is one of my favorites as well. Thanks for coming back and letting me know. xo San
Could you clarify the amts of cheese and tortellini. That part of the ingredient list was confusing. Not sure if it was 6oz tortellini or cheese? Thanks!!
I fixed the ingredients list, hope this fixes any confusion. xo San
This is SOOO delicious!! Have you ever tried to freeze it? Do you think it could be a freezer meal?
I haven’t tried it as a freezer meal, but I would think it would do just fine. xo San
So delicious!! Can this be a freezer meal??
I pinned this a long time ago, and I’ve been anxious to make it ever since. I just tasted it, and it’s delicious! I had only 1% milk in the house, so I used that and 4 oz of cream cheese. I also did half crushed and half diced tomatoes. I also added some crushed red pepper because I used Italian sweet sausage. Thanks for sharing this recipe! It’s perfect for a cold, winter day!
Soup was excellent kids ages 1-8 devoured it thank you for sharing. Most certainly a keeper!!!
I love this Recipe. It’s one of those soups that takes like 30 minutes to make, but it taste like it’s been on the stove all day. Where I live, Italian Chicken sausage is hard to find and expensive. So I use Italian Pork Sausage. Then I use the fat to caramelize the onions and garlic instead of more oil. It turned out awesome. I also cooked this for my Fiance for her birthday once as her family is from Tuscany. I’m glad I found this. Thanks Sandra!!
This was delicious! I made this soup for 5 friends for a dinner party. I served it with warm garlic bread and it was a hit, it was hearty and tasteful!
Thanks!
This soup is delicious. I tweaked a couple of things in the recipe using mild Italian sausage with skins removed and broken up so there were some smaller chunks and then added some crushed red pepper to control the desired amount of heat. I also added the kale to onions & garlic for a few minutes because I have a hard time getting the family to eat it unless it’s cooked well. I’ve made it a few times now and everyone loves it.
Hello Sandra,
I just wanted to verify with you, regarding the Italian Chicken Sausage. In your ingredient list you have listed “1 1/2 lbs. Spicy Chicken Sausage”, but later in your recipe instructions you refer to the chicken sausage being ground. So, I was just wondering if you purchased and started with Italian Chicken sausage links; then removed their casings and then broke them up in your pot or did you start by using ground Italian Chicken sausage.
I do buy it ground, but you can definitely substitute with the links with removed casings if that’s what you have on hand.
This soup is pure comfort food! Perfect on a chilly fall day!
It definitely is. Enjoy!
I think this soup is perfect for dinner. Its fantastic! YUM! This looks so delicious!
Thank you, enjoy!
DELICIOUS! Perfect fall and winter soup!
We definitely love it for chilly nights. Enjoy!
This is a meal my family and I would love over and over again!
I hope you and your family enjoy! Thank you!
Mmmm, that looks so good, my kind of soup!
Enjoy!
Looks like the perfect and tastiest weeknight dinner to me!
Thank you!
Look very delicious! I like it! The instructions in your post very useful with me! Thanks your post!
Thank you, enjoy!
Hi there, was reading the recipe ingredients and wondering if it is actually 1/4 cup of Italian seasoning,?
Yes, that is correct! It seems like a lot, but the recipe does make a lot of soup so it isn’t too much.