A delicious creamy tortellini sausage soup made in just 30 minutes! Loaded with sausage, veggies, and tortellini in a creamy, tomato-based broth!

This soup is the epitome of comfort food in a bowl.

It is rich and creamy and comes together fast for a perfect weeknight meal.

White bowl with handles filled with creamy tomato broth, tortellini, carrots, celery and Parmesan cheese.

Making Tortellini Soup

The base of this soup starts with:

  • ground sausage
  • onions + carrots + celery + garlic
  • basil + oregano + thyme
  • salt + pepper

Life lesson #43: when you start with good, solid, flavorful ingredients, it’s a sure fire way for the finished soup to taste amazing! 😉

Cooking ground sausage, carrots, celery and seasonings in pot.

How to Make a Creamy Soup

Once the veggies and sausage cook for a bit, there are two steps to creating the creamy, rich, tomato-based broth.

  1. tomato sauce and broth are added and simmer with the veggies and sausage for a couple minutes
  2. milk and a bit of flour are blended and added to the soup for richness and creaminess

The soup simmers for several minutes, which cooks the flour in the milk mixture, so there’s no noticeable flour taste at all!

Instead, you get a delicious creaminess in the soup without copious amounts of heavy cream.

Pouring milk and flour slurry into pot with tomato broth.

Spinach and Tortellini

The last step is to add the cheese tortellini and chopped fresh spinach.

Both of these ingredients need a very short cooking time!

The best tortellini for this soup is cheese tortellini found in the refrigerated section. It cooks in less than three minutes. So don’t walk away and do a bucket list life adventure once you add the tortellini.

Stay close so the tortellini doesn’t overcook or else it will get gargantuosly mushy, and that is not the soup vibe we are after here.

Tortellini and chopped spinach in pot with broth.

Substitutions and Variations

  • This soup can easily be doubled…or halved.
  • You can skip the sausage (and just cook the veggies in a bit of olive oil) or sub in ground beef for the sausage.
  • Kale would work great in place of the spinach.
  • Small cheese ravioli could be subbed for the tortellini – or try another kind of unfilled pasta.

Feel free to play around with the recipe and see what you come up with!

Ladle in pot lifting up scoop of tortellini, creamy broth, spinach, carrots and celery.

A Weeknight Wonder

This soup is glorious and delicious enough for any night of the week, including weekends or when you are entertaining!

But it’s easy enough for a simple weeknight dinner, too.

The leftovers taste fantastic! Just keep in mind that the tortellini will continue to soak up a bit of the broth, so the leftover soup will likely be quite a bit thicker than when it is right off the stove.

Served with crusty bread and a green salad, this soup makes an incredibly delicious meal!

Spoonful of cheese tortellini, spinach and sausage in white bowl.

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Spoonful of tortellini and creamy tomato broth in white bowl.

Creamy Tortellini Sausage Soup

5 stars (27 ratings)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • ½ cup chopped celery
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 16 ounces tomato sauce
  • 4 cups chicken broth (I use low-sodium)
  • 2 cups milk
  • cup all-purpose flour
  • 12 to 14 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini
  • 2 cups (about 2 ounces) chopped fresh spinach
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions 

  • In a large pot, add the sausage, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium heat, breaking sausage into small pieces. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink and the veggies are starting to soften. Drain excess grease.
  • Add the salt, basil, oregano, thyme, and pepper. Stir in the tomato sauce and broth.
  • Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes. Stirring occasionally to prevent sticking; moderate heat as needed.
  • Blend the milk and flour together until smooth. Whisk into the soup and bring to a simmer again. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until slightly thickened.
  • Add the tortellini and spinach. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the tortellini is tender, stirring to prevent sticking. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
  • Serve with freshly grated Parmesan to sprinkle on each serving, if desired. The soup will continue to thicken as it cools.

Notes

Substitutions/Variations: this soup can easily be doubled…or halved. You can skip the sausage (and just cook the veggies in a bit of olive oil) or sub in ground beef for the sausage. Kale would work great in place of the spinach. Small cheese ravioli could be subbed for the tortellini – or try another kind of unfilled pasta.
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 298kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Sodium: 1440mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 8g

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe