Italian Sausage with Tortellini Soup Recipe

It was a Tuesday morning, and I only had ten minutes before I had to leave for the school run. I quickly put some ingredients for soup into the slow cooker and headed out the door. When we got home eight hours later, the house smelled amazing, like I had spent all day cooking. I could not wait to taste the rich, smoky, and savory soup. I could never get that amazing aroma from just cooking tomatoes. I used a can of French Onion soup as the base. I know that sounds strange for soup. I know this sounds like a strange method to use, but it is a better method than any of the other options I have.

Just toss in some Italian sausage, a couple of types of canned tomatoes, some beef broth, and a French onion soup. Then, 30 minutes before eating, toss in some cheese tortellini. This is pretty much the entire recipe. It is the type of meal that makes a slow cooker seem essential; especially, from October to March, when at the end of a chilly day, thick, hearty food is what you crave.

How to Make Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

Step 1: Brown the Sausage

Preheat a large skillet on medium heat. Once it is heated, add the Italian sausage, and as it cooks, break it into pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula. Your goal is to have it fully browned — no remaining pink pieces, with some more color on the pieces instead of being all gray. This takes around 8 to 10 minutes. Make sure to not rush the cooking process by increasing the heat, as you will achieve a more even cooking at medium.

After the sausage is done browning, remove the extraneous grease. You have two options for doing so: You can tilt the pan, then use a spoon to scoop out the grease, or you can take the sausage off the heat and let it drain on a paper towel for a minute. Since there is a large amount of rendered fat from Italian sausage, it’s best that you leave it out of the soup.

Step 2: Load the Slow Cooker

Put the drained sausages into the slow cooker. Add the beef broth, French onion soup (undiluted), Rotel tomatoes, diced tomatoes, water, and crushed basil. Mix these ingredients together. The broth may appear thin and the color is a muted orange-red. That is correct.

Step 3: Cook Low and Slow

Cover it and turn it on low for 8 to 10 hours. About 6 hours in, you’ll see the soup darken to a deep, red-orange, and the aroma will greet you the moment you enter the house. That smell —loaded with tomatoes and sausage and hints of onion — is a good sign, too. The sausage will have broken down even more, and the broth will have thickened more due to the tomatoes releasing even more liquid as they cook.

The 8 to 10 hour time frame allows you to be flexible for a full work day. If you get home at hour 8, you can add the tortellini. If it is a long day and you are at 9.5 or 10 hours, the soup base is fine — just don’t add the tortellini until you’re 30 minutes from when you are going to eat.

Step 4: Add the Tortellini

If you want to eat at a certain time, cook the meal and add the tortellini 30 minutes before that. Add the tortellini, cover it, and cook on low. As they cook, the tortellini will go from frozen and firm to tender and puffy. To check if they’re done, press let give when you press it with a spoon. If it goes down, it’s done. If it doesn’t that means it’s still firm. This should take around 25 to 30 minutes.

Before serving, stir the soup one last time. If you need to add salt, do it now. If the soup has become too thick (especially if it is closer to 10 hours of cooking) add a splash of water or broth.

Step 5: Serve

Dish it out into separate bowls. It’s thick enough to eat by itself, but it’s better with some crusty bread to soak up the broth. If you have some, sprinkle on some grated Parmesan. The salt and sharpness balance the dish well against the tomatoes.

Helpful Tips

If the soup is too salty

If the soup cooks longer than ten hours and the broth decreases and changes color, go ahead and add a cup of water and stir before serving. If the soup is still too sharp, add a small pinch of sugar to round out the sharp edges. Just a little pinch.

If the tortellini got mushy

It was overcooked. At that point, I had to “take the lesson” and say that 30 minutes seems to be the window. If you won’t be home to time it, you can also set an alarm to go off just as you add the tortellini and remove the lid at 30 minutes.

Want to add vegetables?

Adding spinach is probably the easiest thing you can do! Just stir in a few big handfuls right before serving and it will wilt in the soup in less than a minute! You can toss in zucchini or bell pepper that has been diced at the very start of cooking. If you want to add something like peas that will get mushy quickly, don’t do it unless you are putting them in the last ten minutes.

Make it on the stovetop

In a large pot, brown the sausage and drain the grease. Then, add the rest of the ingredients, except the tortellini. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let it simmer for 30-45 minutes. In the final 10 minutes, add the tortellini. While your meal may lack that slow-cooked depth of flavor, it still brings great potential to the table on a weeknight when you may not have the time to plan in advance.

A good slow cooker makes a difference

A six-quart slow cooker is worth your investment if you cook for the family often. It is the workhorse size for recipes like this — straightforward, reliable, and easy to clean.

Variations

Spicy Version

Add a can of hot rotel and hot Italian sausage. Taste the soup before serving. It builds more than you might expect after eight hours especially with both sources of heat. If you’re sensitive to heat, choose one or the other, not both.

Creamy Version

In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add half a cup of heavy cream. This will help lessen the brightness of the tomatoes and provide a more rich and somewhat silky consistency to the broth. Do not add the cream too early, becasue the cream can curdle, if it is subject to high heats for a long period of time. Add it off heat or right at the end.

Add Spinach

The leftover heat from the soup will quickly wilt the baby spinach. Just before serving the soup, stir in 2 or 3 handfuls of fresh baby spinach. Not only will it give the soup a lovely color, it will add a mild earthy flavor, but in such a subtle way you may not notice it.

Swap the Sausage

If you’re looking for a healthier option, go for turkey sausage. Keep in mind that the flavor won’t be as strong, so you might want to add a bit of fennel seed, or Italian seasoning to make up for that. You can also use ground beef. Just as with the sausage, be sure to brown it and drain it.

Storage, Make-Ahead, and Leftovers

Refrigerator

Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days. Expect the soup to thicken a lot overnight because the tortellini absorbs a lot of broth. What was a loose, brothy soup at dinner will be quite thick the next morning. This is nothing to worry about. When you go to reheat it, add a little bit of beef broth or water to help loosen it up, then heat it on the stove at medium-low or in the microwave. Be careful not to reheat it at a rolling boil or the tortellini will break apart.

Freezer

If possible, remove the tortellini before freezing the soup base. This is because cooked pasta does not freeze well and the pasta will become water-logged, mushy and fall apart when thawed. If you plan to freeze a batch, complete the soup up until the 8-hour slow cook step. Then, allow it to cool completely and freeze it in containers sized according to your portioning needs. Once you are ready to eat, transfer the portion from the freezer to the fridge to thaw overnight. After it thaws, reheat it on the stove and cook fresh tortellini to add before serving.

If you have already made the soup with tortellini and have leftovers you want to freeze, it will still taste fine. You will just have to expect softer pasta once it thaws. It’s not ruined, just a different texture.

Make-Ahead

Feel free to brown the sausage the night prior and stick it in the fridge. When the time comes, just throw everything in the slow cooker and you’re good to go! That saves those 10 minutes when you’re in a time crunch. The base itself is very soup friendly, so don’t shy away from making a double batch and freezing half to save time later on!

Serving Ideas

This soup is hearty enough to be a meal on its own, but here’s what else pairs well with it:

• Crusty bread or dinner rolls — for soaking up the broth. A good sourdough or Italian loaf works well.
• Grated Parmesan — a heavy-handed sprinkle on top adds sharpness that plays nicely against the tomatoes.
• Simple green salad — something light with a vinaigrette balances out the richness of the soup.
• Garlic bread — if you want to lean into the Italian angle, toasted garlic bread alongside is always a good call.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use fresh tortellini instead of frozen?

You can, but it needs a little more attention. Fresh tortellini cooks much faster than frozen tortellini. They can go from perfectly tender to mushy in as little as 15 minutes on low. If you are using fresh tortellini, check it at 12 minutes and serve it as soon as it’s tender. Frozen tortellini is more forgiving in the cooking environment, and they hold up better to the 30 minute window.

Can I skip browning the sausage?

Systematically, the answer is yes, and the soup will also be safe to eat. However, it will be less appetizing. When doing the soup in a slow cooker, the sausage will not be browned, and therefore will not have the texture the beady pieces should have, and will not have the additional flavor from the pieces making contact with the pan. This step does not take a lot of time, and any time the sausage will have a better flavor.

Can I cook this on high instead of low?

Yes. Set it on high for 4 to 5 hours instead of low for 8 to 10, and add the tortellini in the last 30 minutes like usual. The flavor will not be as developed as the long slow version, you lose some of the deep melding that happens over 8 hours, but it is still a solid soup. Good option if you forgot to start it in the morning.

Why is my soup so thick the next day?

As tortellini ages in soup, it will continue to soak in the broth to the point where your loose and brothly soup will be thick in the morning. This might be concerning, but it’s normal. When you go to reheat the soup, pour a cup of beef broth or water to loosen the soup. The flavor will have developed, and honestly, it may taste better.

Can I add vegetables?

Certainly! Spinach works well here: if you add it just before serving, it will wilt in no time! There are some veggies you can throw in at the beginning of the cook time like zucchini, chopped bell pepper, and mushrooms. Just skip the delicate ones as they could be mushy at the end of the 8 hours. If you want to add more delight to the dish, you can add some canned white beans too. Just mix them with the tortellini at the end.

Can I freeze this soup?

If possible, freeze the soup base without the tortellini added, since cooked pasta does not freeze and unfreeze well. If you’re planning ahead, complete the slow cooker process, cool the soup, and freeze it in portions. Make sure to cook fresh tortellini to add when you reheat. If you freeze it with the tortellini already in, it’ll still taste fine, but expect softer, somewhat broken-down pasta after it thaws.

What if I can’t find French onion soup?

Check out the aisle for condensed soups; it should be next to the cream of mushroom and chicken noodle soups. The most accessible brand will be Campbell’s. If your store really does not have any, you can instead use another can of beef broth and a packet of dry onion soup mix, although it will be missing some of the depth. The French onion soup is the only ingredient I would consider going to a second store for.

Related Recipes

If you enjoy making slow cooker soups and heavy Italian-style dinners, then these are worth making next:

• Crockpot Beef Barley Soup — another all-day slow cooker soup that’s thick, filling, and gets better the longer it cooks.