Delicious, hearty and filled with flavor, this creamy tortellini soup with spinach and sausage is a full comforting meal even kids will love! Great for meal-prep, easy to put together and customizable, this recipe is must-try for winter.
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Why You'll love this recipe
- This creamy soup is hearty, filling, comforting and absolutely delicious. Perfect for a winter dinner like my orzo soup, tomato pastina soup, lemony white bean soup or my favorite French soup soupe au pistou.
- It's simple to make. Besides some chopping, the soup cooks fairly quickly and can simmer until it's time to add the tortellini before serving.
- It's filled of veggies and it's easy to customize. Use different vegetables, herbs and seasoning, your favorite kind of sausage or even ground meat, or rotisserie chicken.
Key Ingredients and variations
- Tortellini: fresh refrigerated cheese tortellini recommended but you can use dried ones or frozen too. Just make sure to adjust the cooking time per packaging instructions. The fresh kind usually rises up to the top once they're cooked.
- Sausage: I used sweet Italian chicken sausage for this recipe, but pork or turkey is great as well, whichever you prefer. If bought in links, removes them from the casing. Make sure to brown it well before adding any liquid. You can use vegetarian sausage too or skip it completely if you're not a fan.
- Carrots and leeks: instead of a basic trio of carrots, onion and celery I used carrots and leeks because I love the amazing flavor of leeks. You can absolutely replace them with a yellow onion.
- Crushed tomatoes: using crushed tomatoes will make your broth rich and delicious. You could use petite diced as well.
- Garlic: use per taste, I used 6 cloves cause I love garlic.
- Broth: chicken broth or bone broth for extra protein, or veggie broth if you prefer. I always try to get lower sodium so I can control the salt content a bit better.
- Spinach: baby spinach is best so the stems are little and softer, or you can use kale if you prefer, just make sure those stems are removed.
- Seasoning: keeping is simple with a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning and of course salt and pepper. You could use a seasoning medley for this soup as well.
- Half and half: gives the soup the creaminess without a ton of calories. I recommend warming up the half and half a bit before pouring in slowly into the soup so it doesn't break, but if it does don't worry, the soup will still be delicious. Can be replaced with heavy cream for a deeper creaminess.
- Fresh parmesan and fresh basil: add flavor and freshness.
How to make This Creamy spinach & sausage tortellini soup
Dice the carrots and leeks.
Remove the sausage from its casing if bought in links.
Heat up olive oil. Sauté the carrot and leeks for 7-8 minutes on medium heat stirring often.
Once tender, push the veggies to the side, add the sausage and sauté to brown it for 4-5 minutes stirring it often, then mix it with the veggies and continue cooking for 5 minutes until no longer pink.
Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes and all the seasoning. Stir everything together. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes.
Pour the broth in, turn the heat up to medium high, and bring to a boil about 10 minutes.
Add the uncooked tortellini and cook per package directions until soft (most likely about 8 minutes)
Heat up the half and half in the microwave for about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Then slowly pour in into the soup while stirring.
Add chopped spinach and stir in. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve with extra parmesan and fresh chopped basil. Enjoy!
More Hearty Soup Recipes
If you love soups check these out!
Tips
- Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 3 days. Ideally reheat in a pot on the stove but microwave works great too.
- Add some spice with red pepper flakes, a little cayenne pepper, or some hot sauce.
- Don't overcook the tortellini so they don't get mushy. Follow the package directions and even taste one if needed to make sure they're cooked.
frequently asked questions
Yes in my opinion it's necessary to get the best texture and taste. I wouldn't skip it. You could even cook the sausage 1st, remove it from the pot and re-add it once the carrots and leeks are tender.
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Creamy Tortellini Soup with Spinach & Sausage
Equipment
- wooden spoon
- small bowl to heat up half and half
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 carrots about 1 cup diced
- 1-2 leeks washed, white part only, about 1 ½ cup diced
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage chicken, turkey or pork, removed from casing
- 5-6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 15.5 ounces can crushed tomatoes
- 2 quarts chicken broth 8 cups
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or more to taste
- 1 cup half and half
- 10 ounces cheese tortellini
- 2-3 cups baby spinach chopped
- freshly grated parmesan
- fresh basil to taste
Instructions
- Dice carrots and leeks.
- Remove the sausage from its casing if bought in links.
- In a large pot, heat up olive oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add diced carrots leeks, reduce heat to medium, and sauté stirring often with wooden spoon for 7-8 minutes.
- Once tender, push the veggies to the side, add the sausage and sauté to brown it for 4-5 minutes stirring it often, then mix it with the veggies and continue cooking for 5 minutes until no longer pink.
- Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and all the seasoning. Stir everything together. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes.
- Pour broth in, turn the heat up to medium high, and bring to a boil about 10 minutes.
- Add the uncooked tortellini and cook per package directions until soft (most likely about 6-8 minutes).
- Heat up the half and half in the microwave for about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Then slowly pour it into the soup while stirring. Add freshly grated parmesan.
- Add chopped spinach and stir in. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve with extra parmesan and fresh chopped basil. Enjoy!
Notes
- Broth: add a little more broth (or water) if the soup feels too thick to your taste. I like to add water to the carton of broth and shake it to get all of it.
- Sausage: I used chicken sausage, you can use anything you prefer, pork, turkey. Either bought in links, loose or in meatballs.
- Tortellini: refrigerated preferred. Adjust cooking time per package instructions.
Nutrition
About Priscilla Lawrence
Hi there, I'm Priscilla Lawrence! Welcome to Sprinkled With Balance where I share elevated and approachable nutrient-rich recipes that aren't overly restrictive, complicated or boring! Based in California but born and raised in France, I'm a mom of two, former certified nutritionist, recipe developer, and food photographer.
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