This Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup combines cheese tortellini with Italian sausage in a rich tomato broth that's the definition of comfort food in a bowl. These two make a perfect combo but there is a secret ingredient that makes it extra special and that is fennel. Its seed is normally found in Italian sausage, so it fits well in this soup. It's everything you want in fall soup recipes with tortellini: filling, flavorful, and ready in about 30 minutes.
Sometimes the best recipes come from the most practical moments. I wanted tortellini soup and used what I had in my kitchen, then as I kept making it, I kept changing it just a little until I came up with this recipe. It’s one of my favorite soup recipes and I do love a good soup. This soup hits all the marks for busy weeknight dinners: it's hearty enough to satisfy everyone, comes together quickly, and uses ingredients you can easily find at any grocery store. Plus, it makes great leftovers for lunch the next day.
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Ingredients for Perfect Tortellini Soup
Most of what you need for this tortellini soup recipe is probably already in your kitchen or pantry. The rest are easy to grab in the store you’ll might need to pick up some tortellini and sausage.
Italian sausage: For this recipe either sweet or spicy will work. If your sausage doesn’t leave behind a lot of drippings feel free to add a tablespoon of olive oil.
Cheese tortellini: Fresh and frozen will both work here but the cooking times will vary drastically. Feel free to change it up with other kinds of tortellini if you want to switch things up.
Fennel seeds: The secret ingredient. It has a mind licorice flavor and the seeds are normally found in Italian sausage giving this a complimentary and additive quality.
Diced tomatoes: canned tomatoes are the name of the game here. They will save you a ton of time in cooking instead of using freshly diced tomatoes. My favorite are San Marzano but feel free to use your favorite.
Building Flavor, Why Browning Matters
When it comes to soups that are made in less than 30 minutes you want to maximize every place you can help build flavors within the dish. The best way to do that is to brown the sausage first. You could just add it to the broth if you slice it but the browning will create a richer flavor. Plus, all those bits, the fond, at the bottom of the pot will taste amazing later. The rendered fat helps to season the vegetables before adding the broth. Leave adding more salt until the end as the pork and broth will contain a fair amount. Always taste before adding more salt.
How to Knock This Out in 30 Minutes for Busy Weeknights
Get that pot nice and hot and add your Italian sausage. One you have broken it up you can leave it alone for a couple of minutes while you get to chopping. The best browning happens when you don’t keep stirring the sausage. Once all of the sausage is nice and browned remove it from the pot and put it in a bowl. Add the carrots, onion, celery, fennel and stir. You want them to soften which will take about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Now all you have to do is add the tomatoes, broth, thyme, and sausage to the pot. Bring it to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Once that is done add the tortellini. If you are using fresh it will cook in 2 minutes so you will want to add the spinach at the same time. If you are using frozen tortellini then follow the package cooking instructions. Viola! A delicious soup in 30 minutes.
Time saver: If you're pressed for time then buying pre-diced onions, celery, and carrots from the produce section can save you a few minutes. However, I am partial to freshly cut veggies since I don’t know when the others were cut.
Meal Planning: What to Serve with Tortellini Soup
This soup is hearty enough to be dinner on its own, but if you want to make it feel like a complete meal, try it with some Easy Homemade Basil Pesto spread on crusty bread, or some of The Best Cornbread, (I like the cornbread). If you are going for a soup and salad vibe you can do something like Quick and Easy Tabbouleh or Pear Salad with Walnuts and Gorgonzola.
If you're entertaining, this soup makes a great first course before something like Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken or Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce.
Drink Pairings: What Goes with Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup
With a recipe like this soup you will want to have a wine that has a bit of acidity to cut through the fat from the cheese and meat. A medium bodied red wine like Chianti or Sangiovese is perfect with Italian sausage. Now if you are going to go the beer route, try an amber ale or even a crisp lager. If you go the bourbon route, like I tend to do, a bourbon neat actually works surprisingly well since it will go well with the fennel’s licorice flavors. If you're skipping alcohol, sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon or even a simple black tea, my other go to, with a splash of cream keeps things nice and balanced.
Make Ahead Planning and Meal Prep
This is one of those soups that actually benefits from a little time. If you are going to make this ahead of do everything until you add the tortellini and spinach. Since the tortellini will continue to absorb liquid after cooking they can disintegrate.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When reheating, you might need to add a splash of chicken broth since the tortellini will continue to absorb liquid. If you're making this specifically for meal prep, consider cooking the tortellini separately and adding it to individual portions when you reheat, and this keeps the pasta from getting mushy.
Similar Recipes You'll Love
This is one of those soups that quickly becomes a favorite, and that being said you'll probably love these other comfort food soup recipes. My Gnocchi Soup with Italian Sausage takes a similar flavor profile but swaps tortellini for pillowy gnocchi, while Easy and Delicious Chicken Noodle Soup gives you that same comfort food satisfaction with classic American flavors. For something completely different but equally satisfying, try Broccoli and Cheddar Soup it's got the same cozy, stick to your ribs quality that makes soup perfect for fall nights.
Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound cheese tortellini
- 1 pound Italian sausage casings removed
- 14 ½ ounces diced tomatoes 1 can
- 2 cups spinach fresh, roughly chopped if it isn't baby spinach
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup fennel chopped
- 1 tablespoon thyme fresh
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, brown the sausage over medium high heat, breaking it into bite sized pieces. Remove the sausage and place in a bowl. Keep the fat and browned bits in the pot.1 pound Italian sausage
- Add onion, carrots, fennel, and celery to the pot and cook until softened, about 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.1 cup onion, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup celery, 1 cup fennel, 1 tablespoon garlic
- Return the sausage to the pot along with diced tomatoes, broth, thyme, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes.6 cups chicken broth, 1 tablespoon thyme, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 14 ½ ounces diced tomatoes
- Add tortellini and cook according to package directions. If using fresh tortellini add the spinach at the same time, otherwise stir it in during the last 2 minutes.1 pound cheese tortellini, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 cups spinach
- Taste and season with salt if needed. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.
Nutrition
