Creamy Tortellini Soup

Now this soup will tempt you to leave behind anything you’re doing right now and come hover over a cozy bowl loaded with happy mood and happy flavors. My Creamy Tortellini Soup is what winter cozy evening dreams are made of.

Creamy Zuppa Toscana flavors just get amplified by sun dried tomato pesto along with cheesy, pillowy tortellini. This soup has robust Italian flavors coming from sausage and seasonings. So, so good. You just have to try it out to hunt down these great flavors…

This soup is my go-to for those busy days when I get home and want something easy, but still crave a delicious dinner instead of takeout or something boring.

I use refrigerated tortellini, which means it cooks up in just a few minutes. The sun-dried tomato pesto adds tons of flavor, and of course, the bacon and sausage make it even more satisfying. It’s always a huge hit.

All of this cooks in one big pot… yes one pot meal, hooray! So easy on you!

There are still a lot of winter nights upon us. And trust me when I say, all you want is a giant bowl of this delicious soup with floating tortellini to feel cozy and warm this season.

I call this my Tortellini Zuppa Toscana for a reason. It does remind me so much of our all time favorite, and very popular, Zuppa Toscana. I can even go ahead and say that adding in tortellini has become my preferred way to have those Toscana flavors. It adds more robust volume.

And don’t forget that sun dried tomato pesto. That’s a little game changer to add tons of extra oomph…

Ingredients Needed

• Meats – bacon and Italian sausage (we used hot sausage)
• Veggies – celery, carrots, spinach and onion
• Tortellini – I used refrigerated three cheese tortellini
• Soup base – chicken broth and cream
• Flavor enhancers – sun dried tomato pesto (we used Buitoni brand), roasted peppers, parmesan cheese, basil leaves, red chili flakes, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper

Check out our collection of favorite Soup Recipes!

How to Make Creamy Tortellini Soup

This is a pretty simple one-pot meal. I start by cooking up the meats.

First, I fry the bacon in a soup pot until it gets nice and crispy. Then I take it out, crumble it, and set it aside. I remove the excess bacon fat, but I leave about two to three tablespoons in the pot. Next, I cook the sausage, breaking it into bite-sized chunks, and cook it until it’s browned all over. Then I move it to the same plate as the bacon.

In the same pot with the drippings (leaving about two tablespoons), I sauté the onions, celery, and carrots for about six to eight minutes. Then I add the garlic, along with salt, pepper, and a bit of chili flakes.

I pour in the chicken broth and pesto, letting it simmer for a few minutes. After that, I add the sausage and bacon back in, along with roasted peppers and some basil, letting it all simmer for another 15 minutes. Finally, I stir in the tortellini and cook it for about three minutes. If I’m using frozen or dried tortellini, I cook it a bit longer until it is al dente.

I add in the heavy cream and let it simmer for two to three minutes. Then I remove it from the heat and stir in the parmesan, parsley, and spinach. I wait until the spinach wilts, then add a bit of lemon juice for brightness. Finally, I taste it and adjust the seasonings if needed.

All sounds yum and taste yum…

Variations

1. Try using basil pesto instead of sun dried tomato pesto for a completely different pesto flavor profile.
2. Some day I add in more veggies like mushrooms, bell peppers or peas.
3. I like to try other meats like ground beef or turkey, or even pre made or frozen meatballs.

Serving Suggestions

This is a complete meal in itself. I can see some crusty bread going great with this soup. Try making my no knead bread. It’s super easy and great to bake with minimum efforts on your part.

Or, try my simple Spanish pipirrana salad. That would add a fresh and colorful side.

There you go, one more super delish soup coming from GypsyPlate. Make this soup tonight and get wowed at all these amazing flavors in your bowl. Save or pin this recipe, as I have a feeling you’re going to come back to it all through out the year…

Some soups are just destined to be a year round kinda thing. And this, my friends, is just that thing. Have a great time with it…

Creamy Tortellini Soup, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

Try these other cozy soup recipes!
Ribollito (Tuscan bean soup)
Creamy Lemon Chicken Soup
Albondigas Soup
Loaded Cauliflower Soup
Avgolemono Soup
Egg Roll Soup
Ham Bone Soup
Fasolada

Creamy Tortellini Soup

Yield: 6-8 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

This super cozy and hearty Creamy Tortellini Soup get great flavors from sausage and sundried tomato pesto. You'll keep coming back to this one!

Print

Ingredients

• 6 bacon slices
• 1 lb Italian sausage, casing removed
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp red chili flakes
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 17 oz sun-dried tomato pesto
• 1 cup roasted peppers, chopped
• 20 oz refrigerated three cheese tortellini (see note 1)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6-7 basil leaves, torn
• 3-4 cups spinach
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 - 1 lemon, juiced

Instructions

1. Cook the bacon in a soup pot until crisp. Remove to a plate and crumble.
2. Remove excess bacon fat, leaving behind 2-3 Tbsp. Cook sausage in same pot, breaking apart into bite sized chunks. Cook till brown, then remove to plate.
3. In the same drippings (remove if excess, leaving behind 2 Tbsp) sauté onions, celery and carrots and cook for 6-8 minutes. Add in garlic along with salt, pepper and chili flakes.
4. Add in chicken broth and pesto. Simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Return sausage and bacon to the pot, along with roasted peppers and basil. Simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Add tortellini and cook for 3 minutes.
7. Add in heavy cream and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
8. Remove from heat. Stir in parmesan, parsley and spinach. Wait till spinach wilts and season it with lemon juice. Check for seasonings.

Notes

1. We used Buitoni brand refrigerated fresh tortellini. If using frozen or dried tortellini, refer to package for cooking time.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.