Quick Look: Sausage and Cheese Tortellini Soup
- Easy: Made with a jar of vodka sauce for a major shortcut
- One-Pot: Minimal cleanup, everything cooks in a single pot
- Creamy: Rich, cozy tomato broth with a silky finish
- Hearty: Loaded with Italian sausage and cheese tortellini
- Method: Stovetop or crockpot
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Shortcut sauce: vodka sauce replaces multiple ingredients
- Balanced richness: sausage + cream + tomato
- Texture win: tender tortellini + savory sausage
- Weeknight-friendly: minimal prep, big payoff
Looking for More Easy Recipes?
If you love simple dinner recipes as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole!
What You Will Need
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Italian sausage – we kept it mild with a savory sausage, but feel free to use hot Italian sausage for a little kick of heat.
- butter – feel free to use a plant-based butter from your local grocery store.
- minced garlic & onion – traditional soup ingredients that bring all the best flavor.
- carrots & celery – fresh vegetables that are another essential soup ingredient.
- Italian seasoning, salt and pepper – simple seasonings that always add so much flavor!
- vodka sauce – for best results we highly recommend using Primal Kitchen’s Vodka Sauce, but if you have another favorite you can use that.
- chicken stock – a flavorful base to this tortellini soup recipe. Option to sub with vegetable broth, if you want.
- fresh tortellini pasta – we used a refrigerated tortellini but you could use frozen tortellini too, just adjust the cook time of this hearty pasta accordingly.
- fresh baby spinach – option to roughly chop up spinach leaves or fresh kale to add a little green to the mix.
What is Sausage and Cheese Tortellini Soup?
A creamy, hearty soup made with Italian sausage, cheese-filled tortellini, and a rich tomato-based broth. This version uses jarred vodka sauce to create a deeper flavor with minimal effort.
How To Make Cheese Tortellini Soup
Step 1: The first steps to making this easy recipe are to brown the sausage in a large dutch oven over medium high heat.
Step 2: Now, melt butter and add the garlic, onion, carrots, celery, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the pot. Move around to cook for about 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
Step 3: Pour in the vodka sauce and chicken broth. Give the large soup pot a good stir and bring to a simmer for 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust flavors, as desired.
Step 4: Once this easy soup is nice and hot, add the tortellini and spinach.
Step 5: Simmer this one pot meal for another 3-5 minutes or until the tortellini is fully cooked and floating on top.
Best Ways To Serve Cheese Tortellini Soup
We love serving up our Italian cheese tortellini soup with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and cracked pepper on top. And we definitely recommend enjoying your soup with some crusty bread and butter for dunking or even a piece of our grilled bread!
Can I Make Tortellini Soup in a Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can absolutely make this great recipe in a slow cooker. Browning the ground sausage and sautéing the vegetables will need to be done on the stove top. Then it can be transferred to your crock pot. Add the broth and vodka sauce. Turn to the low setting for 3-4 hours. Before serving, add the spinach and tortellini. Turn to the high setting for about 15-30 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
- How to keep tortellini from getting mushy in soup? Simply wait to add the tortellini until a few minutes before serving. They cook really fast, so the longer they cook in the soup, the more mushy they will get. It will also note the cook time on the package directions so feel free to let them simmer for that same amount of time.
- What is good to eat with tortellini soup? In the recipe card below we mentioned parmesan cheese, but you could also sprinkle in some red pepper flakes, fresh basil, or add a breadstick on the side.
Other Easy Soup Recipes You Might Like
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Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon butter, sub plant-based butter
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1/2 sweet yellow onion, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled & chopped
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 23.5 oz jar Primal Kitchen Vodka Sauce
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 20oz package cheese tortellini
- 2 cups fresh spinach or kale, roughly chopped
- garnish: freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook Sausage: Bring a large dutch oven to a medium-high heat. Add 1 pound sweet Italian sausage and break apart. Move around the large pot to fully brown. If there is a lot of grease, feel free to drain some off.
- Add Veggies: Add 1 tablespoon butter to the large pot and let melt. Then add the 2 teaspoons garlic, diced onion, carrots, and celery. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Move everything around the pot to cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Sauce + Broth: Gradually pour in the vodka sauce and chicken broth. Let it all simmer for 3-5 minutes to let the flavors come together. Taste and adjust any seasonings, if desired.
- Finish: Add cheese tortellini and spinach to the soup, give it all a mix, and let it continue to simmer for 3-5 minutes or until the tortellini are fully cooked.
- Serve: Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with some parmesan cheese top!
Notes
- Dairy Free: pick-up a dairy-free cheese tortellini, use a plant-based butter, and omit the parmesan cheese or use a vegan parmesan cheese.
- Serve with some grilled bread to take it to the next level!
- Storage: leftover soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- *Primal Kitchen Vodka Sauce: feel free to swap out or any other favorite marinara sauce you want – this is just what we tested this recipe with and it was SO good!
- Crockpot Method: Browning the ground sausage and sautéing the vegetables will need to be done on the stove top. Then it can be transferred to your crock pot. Add the broth and vodka sauce. Turn to the low setting for 3-4 hours. Before serving, add the spinach and tortellini. Turn to the high setting for about 15-30 minutes. Enjoy!
B says
Super easy to make, perfect for weeknight dinner!