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.
The BEST Sausage Tortellini Soup
written by Ashley Fehr
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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Karen says
This sausage tortellini soup is the best I’ve ever had.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Karen! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Paulina says
I came across this recipe when I was searching for tortellini soup recipes online (I bought a lot of tortellini on sale!). I tried this one because the rest of them had cream and I didn’t have any on hand. Luckily I already had all the ingredients for this recipe in my pantry/fridge. This was delicious! My partner loved it!
I made a few modifications; I added a little bit more onion and celery, about a cup of white wine, had a parmesan rind so I cooked it with the soup, added red pepper flakes, and then added several handfuls of spinach at the end. It’s an excellent recipe as well as an excellent base recipe to add things to your taste. This will be added to my rotation.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Paulina! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Anna says
SO good! All 3 of my teenagers eat this up and go back for seconds. This could easily be served in a restaurant. LOVE!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Anna! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Tracey Coe says
We love this recipe!! For any vegetarians out there we have subbed regular sausage for impossible sausage and cooked it exactly the same and have hardly noticed a difference!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Tracey! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review and feedback on the impossible sausage!
Tracy says
made this today for the first time and absolutely love it. Being from Manitoba myself the value of soup for me is high…..grew up on homemade soup….thank you so much….looking forward to me….
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Tracy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Judy Slater says
I’ve made this recipe a couple times now and love it!! The first time I made it with ground chicken and feta cheese sausage and the next time with sweet Italian sausage. I have to admit I actually prefer the chicken and feta sausage better. I add baby spinach at the end. The second time I made it I forgot the tomato sauce and never noticed it’s absence!! This recipe is forgiving of “mistakes” and always tasty. Thank you for a recipe even picky eaters will eat!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Judy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Carol says
You can also make this very quickly with bottled spaghetti sauce. I didn’t add the Italian spices but still added the diced tomatoes. Very good recipe. Loved it
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks for the feedback Carol!
Teresa Pollachek says
I’ve made this for tonight’s supper. I doubled the meat and tortellini. I substituted a sweet pepper sauce that I buy at a local farmer market for the tomato sauce and add some mixed veggies. It is an awesome meal. I made homemade Italian bread to go with it.
The Recipe Rebel says
Sounds tasty Teresa.
Deborah says
Loved this recipe! I couldn’t decide today between Roast Tomato and Pepper Soup, and this one, SO, I added roasted tomatoes and peppers to your ingredients…delicious! Thanks for sharing your talents with us. 🙂
Karli says
Can you do this recipe in a crockpot?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Karli! I’ve only tested the recipe as is, but yes, I believe you could make it in the slow cooker. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
Sam says
This soup was sooo delicious!! Will be a regular in our rotation! Thanks!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sam! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Robin Kaspar says
Google tells me 250 grams is 1 cup, not 3. I’m making my shopping list and don’t know how big a bag of tortellinis to buy.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Robin, just check the weight on the package you buy.
Letitia says
Could you use beef broth?
Karen Chitty-Boe says
This is my ‘go to’ recipe that is always a huge hit!!! I use a blend of venison sausage and sweet Italian sausage and always add a little extra broth for the tortellini!! Grated fresh parmesan on top and it puts it over the top!!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Karen! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Robyn says
I’ve made this soup so many times and it’s always a hit. I add a bit of heavy cream to make it creamy and the whole family loves it and asks for it at least once a month!
Dominique says
Definitely my favourite soup! Makes a great lunch! Thank you!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Dominique! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your review!
Rueben says
Great recipe! First time making it and the whole family loved it!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Rueben! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your review!
P.Onofrio says
You should cook the paste separate,it sucks up all the juice
The Recipe Rebel says
I definitely stand by the way I cook it. It always comes out great for us.
Joe says
I doubled the recipe for pasta and meat package size. Added baby spinich and a tsp of crushed red pepper. It came out amazing!!!
Great recipe, thank you!
Katie says
Great soup that comes together quickly. It’s satisfying and very tasty. I’ve added whatever vegetables that I have on hand – green beans, peas, even hand full of baby spinach. Big hit with everyone who has had it!!
Kay DeBolt says
I found this awesome soup recipe in 2020. I made it again tonight (1.19.22) and it’s simple THE BEST! Made the soup per the exact recipe, perfect! ☆☆☆☆☆