This Sausage Tortellini Soup is a tomato-based soup loaded with vegetables, Italian sausage and cheese tortellini. It’s the perfect cold weather soup and freezer friendly!
Got extra Italian sausage? Try my Italian Sausage Soup, this cozy Orecchiette Pasta with Sausage or this hearty Italian Sausage Gnocchi Soup!
Table of Contents
This Sausage Tortellini Soup is the ultimate comfort food!
It’s big on flavor, thick and chunky, loaded with vegetables and tender cheese tortellini. Just don’t forget the crusty bread! (Or make a loaf of Cheesy Garlic Bread for Cheddar Bay Biscuits for dunking).
What we love about this Sausage Tortellini Soup:
- It’s hearty and filling — it really is a meal in one pot!
- It’s big on flavor – thanks to Italian sausage.
- It’s a well-rounded meal — with carbs, protein and veggies all in one pot.
- It’s made in one pot, which means less to scrub!
You can even make a big batch and stick some in the freezer — just leave out the tortellini until you’re serving it.
Ingredients Needed:
- Italian sausage: you can use mild or spicy sausage here depending on your tastes! Italian turkey sausage also works well.
- Carrots, onion, celery: a classic mirepoix which is the base for many soup recipes. I don’t recommend substituting any of these ingredients unless you have to!
- Italian seasoning, garlic, salt: I kept my seasonings simple because the sausage adds so much flavor! Feel free to add or experiment as you like.
- Chicken broth: I always start with low sodium chicken broth and add salt as needed. If you start with salted broth, you may not need to add as much salt.
- Diced tomatoes and tomato sauce: Diced tomatoes add texture but you can swap them for crushed tomatoes if you prefer. Choose any marinara or tomato sauce that you enjoy — it will thicken the soup slightly and add lots of tomato flavor!
- Cheese tortellini: fresh or frozen works just fine here! You could substitute with another cheese-filled pasta if you prefer.
How to make Sausage Tortellini Soup:
This soup is easily made in one pot! Here is a brief overview with step by step photos. Find the complete recipe down in the recipe card.
Start by cooking the Italian sausage to brown it — don’t drain the fat since this will help to cook the veggies!
Add the vegetables and cook until crisp-tender, then stir in the garlic and seasonings to toast.
Add the liquids and bring to a simmer, cooking vegetables until tender.
Stir in tortellini and cook just until al dente.
Tips and Tricks for Making this Sausage Tortellini Soup:
- Hot Italian sausage can be very spicy, so be sure to use mild if you prefer a milder flavor. I didn’t add a lot of extra spices to the soup because the sausage gives so much flavor.
- You can use fresh or frozen tortellini to make this soup. I use fresh, so just take into account the required cook time for the pasta when making your soup. Frozen tortellini may cool down your soup and take longer to come back up to a simmer.
- If you have a leftover Parmesan rind, feel free to throw that in the soup as it simmers for some incredible flavor!
- You can prep this soup ahead by chopping all of your vegetables. You can also cook the soup right through up until the point where you add the pasta, then cool and refrigerate and simply reheat and add the pasta before serving.
How to freeze this soup:
This soup can definitely be frozen! Keep in mind that pasta gets soft after being frozen, so if that’s not your thing then you may want to leave the pasta out until you’re ready to serve.
To freeze, simply cool to room temperature, then place in a large freezer bag or freezer container. I prefer to use freezer bags because they can be frozen flat and thaw out quickly in some lukewarm water.
Variations on this Sausage Tortellini Soup:
- To make this Sausage Tortellini Soup dairy-free, omit the cheese tortellini and substitute regular pasta, and be sure to double check all of your ingredients.
- To make this soup gluten-free, omit the pasta and substitute gluten-free pasta or gluten-free tortellini if available.
- You can certainly add more veggies or swap mine out for the ones your family prefers: peppers, mushrooms, or zucchini would also be great in here!
- To make this soup even leaner, choose Italian turkey sausage instead of regular pork sausage.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage mild or spicy (no casings)
- 3 large carrots peeled and diced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 rib celery finely chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 798 ml can diced tomatoes (28oz)
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 250 grams fresh cheese tortellini about 3 cups
Instructions
- Add Italian sausage to a large soup pot and cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain any excess fat.
- Add carrots, onion and celery. Cook and stir until onion has softened.
- Add Italian seasoning, garlic and salt and cook 1 minute.
- Add broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, until carrots are almost tender.
- Stir in tortellini. Cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes until tender. Serve.
Nutrition Information
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Maureen says
I just made this soup. It tastes amazing and was so easy to make!! Thank you!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Maureen! I’m so glad to hear that!
Shauna says
Is it okay to freeze leftovers?
Ashley Fehr says
Definitely!
Mary says
Do u have to remove the sausage from the casing to make this?
Ashley Fehr says
You don’t necessarily, but I do and I crumble it up
Meloney says
I’m currently making this in the crockpot! Can’t wait. I’m cooking it on high for about 6 hours and I’ll add the tortellini the last 10 minutes or so
Ashley Fehr says
That sounds awesome! I hope you enjoy it!
Andrea says
I was just thinking about how this will come out in a crock pot… how did yours fare?
Mary says
This soup is awesome. I love it easy to make and oh so yummy!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Mary! It’s one of my favorites!
megan says
this soup was fantastic! i used turkey instead, added a bag of spinach and used a whole bag of frozen tortellinis ??? will definitely be added to my weekly meal list
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Megan!
Jennifer says
Can I use frozen tortellini?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, definitely! It just might need a couple more minutes to warm through
Jennifer says
Could you use frozen tortellini?
Andrea says
Hi! Do you use the canned tomato juice in the recipe or just the tomatoes?
Ashley Fehr says
The whole can, juice and all!
Kelli says
This soup was amazing and hearty. I am making again tonight for a birthday get together with friends.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Kelli! I’m so glad to hear you liked it!
Roberta VanDyke says
Made a few changes…used V-8 instead of tomatoes and sauce. And added in some frozen spinach…it was awesome!!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Roberta!
Joyce says
This is a keeper. Such a hearty soup for our cold winters!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Joyce!
Carolyn DiSapio says
How would you adjust this recipe to make this in the instant pot ??
Ashley Fehr says
You definitely could! I would brown the meat first, and then add the veggies and tortellini and pressure cook for maybe 2-3 minutes depending on the size of everything
Tawana says
Love it! Made it twice already and added some kale. This is becoming my favorite goto soup.
Ashley Fehr says
It makes my day to hear that!
Jill says
Could you use gnocchi instead of tortellini?
Ashley Fehr says
Oh definitely! That would be awesome!
Bree says
I love sausage and tortellini and have been dying for a good soup recipe, thanks for sharing!
Ashley Fehr says
I hope you like it!
Courtney O'Dell says
This soup is hearty and delicious – and so easy! A total keeper.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Courtney!
Liz says
Looks delicious! What brand of tortellini do you use? They are beautiful!
Ashley Fehr says
I use Olivieri! Thanks!
Kellie Hemmerly says
This is such a great weeknight dinner! Love the sausage tortellini combo.
Emily Hill says
Give me all the tortellini soup! YUM!
Ashley Fehr says
The best!
Rachael Yerkes says
This is so perfect for Fall. Just what we wanted on a chilly evening!
Ashley Fehr says
Me too!