This creamy sausage tortellini soup is a 30 minute meal that’s easy to make with sausage, kale, simple seasonings, broth, and cream!
Be sure to serve this with a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese or Biscuits!
Sausage Tortellini Soup
Wait until you taste this soup. This is one you will undoubtedly add to your favorite list of soup recipes, especially because it’s a 30-minute meal that’s got vegetables, protein, and pasta all in one bowl!
You may scratch your head when you see that I’ve got hot sauce and mustard powder on the ingredients list, but trust me. They enhance the other flavors in the recipe and add a very subtle touch that creates a great base for this soup. Once you try it, you’ll see what I mean!
Check out my PRO tips below on how to add even more flavor to this soup, and what you can use if you don’t have kale on hand!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Cook the sausage, onions, and garlic. Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add basil, oregano, hot sauce, mustard powder, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Add chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
Add kale and tortellini. Cook 3-5 minutes. Taste and add salt if desired. Transfer to serving bowls and add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Pro Tips
- For even more flavor, add the rind from a block of Parmesan or Romano cheese when you add the broth and let it simmer and flavor the soup. If any remains at the end of cooking, it can be discarded. Salt will likely not need to be added if you do this.
- 2-3 cups of Spinach can be used instead of kale, stir it in once the tortellini is cooked and let it wilt, about 30 seconds. If you use frozen spinach, let it thaw and pat it dry prior to adding it.
- I use RANA refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini for this recipe. I also use Texas Pete hot sauce for this recipe, Frank’s Hot Sauce is great too!
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 51!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for 3+ months. Note that the tortellini will continue to absorb broth during storage. You may choose to boil tortellini separately and add it directly to serving bowls.
- This soup does freeze well but I recommend boiling tortellini separately so that it doesn’t absorb too much broth or get overly soft.
- Be sure to try my chicken tortellini soup recipe next!
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- 4 quart Soup Pot: The perfect size for this recipe.
- Food Storage Containers– These are what I use, they fit exactly 1 cup and are leak proof, microwave safe, stackable, and BPA free.
- Kitchen Scale: In case you need to weigh the sausage. (I use this all the time.)
- Measuring Spoons– To measure out the seasonings.
- Pinch Bowls– I measure out my seasonings ahead of time and add them to these small bowls so they’re ready to go when it’s time to add them.
Try These Next
- Clam Chowder
- Meatball Soup
- Creamy Chicken Soup
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Lentil Sausage Soup
- Beer Cheese Soup
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Tried This Recipe?
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![Sausage Tortellini Soup in a soup bowl with kale, spinach, sausage, and broth.](jpg/sausage-tortellini-soup-f2-200x200.jpg)
Sausage Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage, hot or mild
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 pinch cayenne, optional
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups kale, chopped
- 2 cups tortellini, just under 10 oz. (refrigerated or frozen)
- Salt/ to taste
Instructions
- Note: The mustard powder and hot sauce are so subtle in this soup but help enhance the other flavors, so although you may be hesitant to add them, I highly recommend it!
- Remove the casings from the sausage if you purchased links. Cook and crumble the sausage and diced onions over medium-high heat until the onions are softened and the sausage is cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Drain grease. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste.
- Add basil, oregano, cayenne, hot sauce, mustard powder, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
- Add the chicken broth and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pot. Slowly stir in the heavy cream. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
- Add the kale and tortellini and simmer for 3-5 minutes. (If your tortellini needs longer cooking time, add the tortellini first, then the kale during the last 5 minutes.)
- Taste the soup and add salt if desired. Start with ¼ tsp and add more after that if needed.
- Transfer to serving bowls and serve! (This is great with Garlic Bread with Cheese!)
Notes
- I use RANA refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini for this recipe. I also use Texas Pete hot sauce for this recipe, Frank's Hot Sauce is great too!
- For even more flavor, add the rind from a block of Parmesan or Romano cheese when you add the broth and let it simmer and flavor the soup. If any remains at the end of cooking, it can be discarded. Salt will likely not need to be added if you do this.
- 2-3 cups of Spinach can be used instead of kale, stir it in once the tortellini is cooked and let it wilt, about 30 seconds.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 51!
Crock Pot Method:
- Brown the sausage/onions on the stove top and add the flour as outlined in steps 2 + 3.
- Transfer everything except for the cream, tortellini, and spinach to the slow cooker.
- Cook it on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-7.
- Stir in the kale toward the end and let that heat up for 10-15 minutes.
- Turn heat off. Temper the cream in the microwave for 45 seconds and stir it in slowly>
- Add cooked tortellini to serving bowls and ladle soup on top!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for 3+ months. Note that the tortellini will continue to absorb broth during storage. You may choose to boil tortellini separately and add it directly to serving bowls.
- This soup does freeze well but I recommend boiling tortellini separately so that it doesn't absorb too much broth or get overly soft.
- Be sure to try my chicken tortellini soup recipe next!
Nutritional information an estimate and is per serving. Each serving is 1 cup, and this recipe makes approximately 10 cups.
This soup was super tasty and very easy to make! I used spinach rather than the kale. The Parmesan rinds added wonderful flavor to the soup. My hubby gave it two thumbs up and went back for seconds. That’s always a good sign. Thanks for such a great recipe. It will be going into our dinner rotation.😊
I’m so happy that you and your husband loved the recipe Codie!! (That Parmesan rind is such a game changer in soups, right!?) I love using spinach too! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! -Stephanie
Thank you very much for this amazing recipe! My husband loved it! He sad it became his favorite soup ever!
I’m sooo happy to hear that Raiza!! Thank you so much- I’m glad you have a new soup for your rotation!
Can u use frozen spinach instead of fresh?
Yes you can! 🙂
Made the tortellini soup recipe tonight. It was fabulous!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Sam! Thanks so much for the great review!💖
I made this last night, it’s delicious and my house smelled wonderful. I made it as directed, but did not use the cayenne. Severed with garlic bread, my husband loved it.
This will be one of my go to recipes
I’m so happy that you loved the soup Mary! This will forever me one of my favorites!! 🙂 Thank you so much for the review! -Stephanie
This recipe is delicious! I used fresh basil, and gnocchi instead of tortellini. Yum!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it with gnocchi, yummmm! Thanks so much for the great review Leah!💖
This is my absolute favorite soup and I make it all Fall and Winter (even once in the middle of the summer because I was craving it)! The flavors meld together so well! I sometimes use spinach instead of kale, and dried tortellini and it’s still great!
Hey Amy! I’m so happy that you love this soup as much as I do! I love using spinach instead of kale too! YUM!! Now I want some, shoot! 😂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! -Stephanie
So I could freeze this without the tortellini and just freeze my tortellini separately and boil them when I’m heating up my soup?
Exactly, yes! 🙂 That’s what I do and it’s perfection!
Made this last night because I was craving some sort of soup and boy did it deliver! So creamy with a little bit of a spice and filling! Thank you for this recipe. It’s being stored for future dinners! 🙂
I’m soooo happy to hear that Beth! This will forever be one of my favorite soup recipes! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!!! -Stephanie
Is there a substitute for the hot sauce? This looks delicious, but I’ve always found hot sauce really gross :/ even if it’s mixed in something in a small amount.
Thanks! Excited to try this 🙂
Hi Jessica, you can just leave it out. That’s probably your best bet 💖