ITALIAN SAUSAGE WITH TORTELLINI SOUP RECIPE

This recipe for Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup is a weeknight lifesaver. It’s a soup that can be thrown together on a whim, making it a go-to meal from October to March.

And, it takes about 10 minutes of my time in the morning to brown the sausage, toss together all of the ingredients and set the slow cooker on it’s way for the day. By dinner, the house smells amazing.

HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN SAUSAGE TORTELLINI SOUP

STEP 1: BROWN THE SAUSAGE

Add the Italian sausage to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon or spatula until browned, about 8-10 minutes.

I like to break up my sausage as it cooks. It helps eliminate any of those pesky pink areas.

Plus, it gives it a little more color. Don’t rush this part of the process or turn up the heat thinking that will help.

It won’t. It will result in an un-even browning of your meat.

When sausage is done, drain off most of the fat either tilting pan to one side and spooning out or draining meat on paper towels in another dish for a minute. Removing as much fat as you can keeps your soup from turning out greasy in the slow cooker.

STEP 2: LOAD THE SLOW COOKER

Add the browned Italian Sausage to the slow cooker. Pour in beef broth, French Onion Soup, Rotel tomatoes with green chilies, diced tomatoes, water and basil.

Stir well to combine. The mixture will appear more liquidy then you’d think and have a strange orange-red color.

Trust me, it’s supposed to. The French Onion Soup is what gives this soup it’s incredible depth of flavor and takes it beyond just using straight up canned tomatoes.

Don’t pass on using it if you’ve got it. It’s a shortcut that tastes fantastic.

STEP 3: COOK LOW AND SLOW

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Add tortellini during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Ladle soup into bowls. Use cheese-filled tortellini for an even cheesier soup.

After about 6 hours the soup will look like this. It’s a deep red-orange color and smells amazing, like tomatoes and Italian sausage and onion.

Keep the lid on the slow cooker and simmer for another couple of hours or more.

Ok, I’m going to assume that most of us are busy, busy, busy. Some days we’re home for dinner and some days we’re not.

One of the great things about this recipe is that it’s pretty flexible. The 8-10 hour cooking time gives you wiggle room depending on your workday.

STEP 4: ADD THE TORTELLINI

When you’re about 30 minutes away from eating, add the tortellini to the soup. Give the soup a stir and let the tortellini cook on LOW until they’re tender and a little puffy, about 25-30 minutes.

They should give a little when you press them with a spoon. Remove the lid if necessary to get to the tortellini.

If you can, don’t walk away when you add the tortellini, set a timer for 30 minutes when you add them. I’ve cooked them longer than that and they were awful.

STEP 5: SERVE

When the tortellini are done, give the soup another stir and ladle into bowls. Serve with crusty bread.

Add some Parmesan cheese, if desired. Yum!

HELPFUL TIPS

IF THE SOUP IS TOO SALTY: As the soup cooks the sausage breaks down and the tomatoes give up their water which thickens the broth and concentrates the flavors. If you cook this recipe for 10 hours or more and find that it’s a little too salty, add another splash or even a cup of water or chicken broth to loosen things back up.

You’ll know how much extra liquid the soup needs based on the look and taste of the broth. (From the blog post) If the soup is still too tart, add a tiny pinch of sugar to balance it out.

IF THE TORTELLINI GOT MUSHY: Read up above where I mentioned adding the tortellini, follow those directions and you’ll be just fine.

WANT TO ADD VEGETABLES? This recipe is great as-is but you could also add some vegetables.

MAKE IT ON THE STOVETOP

You can make this recipe on the stovetop if you’re short on time and didn’t plan ahead. You’ll give up some of the deeper flavor you’d get from slow-cooking but gain some much-needed convenience.

To do so, brown the sausage in a large pot and drain off any excess grease. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the tortellini to the pot and bring the soup to a boil.

Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 30-45 minutes. Add the tortellini in the final 10 minutes.

A GOOD SLOW COOKER MAKES A DIFFERENCE

There are tons of options when shopping for a slow cooker. My favorite is a good, dependable, easy-to-clean six-quart slow cooker.

Six-quarts is a nice size for a family meal.

SPICY VERSION

For a spicier version of this recipe, opt for hot Italian sausage and a can of hot rotel. Be warned, it will get pretty spicy especially if you’re making it in the crockpot because spices intensify during the 8 hours of cooking.

If you’re looking to kick it up a notch but not too much, I’d use either the hot rotel OR the hot Italian sausage but probably not both.

CREAMY VERSION

Stir in half a cup of heavy cream during the last 10 minutes, or take it off of the heat and stir it in. This makes the broth less acidic and a bit silkier.

Don’t add the cream earlier because cream tends to separate with prolonged exposure to high heat.

ADD SPINACH

You can also stir in 2-3 handfuls of fresh baby spinach just before serving. The heat from the soup will cook it in less than a minute.

It adds a mild earthy flavor (hardly noticeable) and a nice pop of color.

OTHER INGREDIENT SWAPS/ADDITIONS:

• zucchini or diced bell pepper added at the beginning of the recipe.
• peas added during the last 10 minutes of cooking, as delicate veggies are best added at the end to keep them from getting too soft.

SWAP THE SAUSAGE

You can use turkey sausage to make this recipe a bit leaner. It’s a tad less flavorful so consider adding in some extra seasoning like Italian Seasoning or fennel seed.

Ground beef can be substituted in place of the sausage as well. Make sure to brown the meat and drain off any excess fat before adding it into the recipe.

SERVING IDEAS

This Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup is hearty and delicious enough to enjoy as-is. If you’d like to round out your menu, though, here are some of my favorites.

• Crusty bread – Sourdough bread, dinner rolls, an Italian loaf, and there’s plenty of broth to drink up.
• Freshly grated Parmesan – This soup calls for some, and Parmesan’s sharpness nicely balances the tomatoes’ tanginess.
• Salad – Something light and simple pairs well with this hearty, flavorful soup. Try a basic green salad with vinaigrette.
• Garlic bread – More bread, but it’s fantastic and fits with the theme.

STORAGE & MAKE-AHEAD OPTIONS

Store leftover soup in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat, adding a splash of beef broth or water to loosen up the soup, as tortellini drinks up the broth and it may seem super-thick the next day.

Alternatively, you can reheat in the microwave.

FREEZING: Cooked pasta doesn’t do well in the freezer. It can turn out mushy and watery, and may fall apart.

If you know you won’t finish the soup within 4 days, here’s what I suggest. Do NOT add tortellini and freeze without pasta instead after the initial 8 hours of slow-cooking.

Portion soup into freezer-safe containers, cover, and freeze until needed. Allow soup to thaw in refrigerator overnight and reheat on stovetop over medium-low heat.

Add fresh, cooked tortellini just before serving. That said, if you freeze the cooked soup with the tortellini already added, nothing is going to taste off.

Tortellini just won’t be as springy as they are fresh-off-the-boil.

MAKE-AHEAD TIPS: Save yourself 10 minutes the next day by browning the sausage ahead of time. Transfer cooled sausage to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until needed.

If you’re planning to freeze a batch, consider making a double-batch of everything except tortellini. Freeze one batch without tortellini (see above) and enjoy the rest of the soup right away.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CAN I USE FRESH TORTELLINI INSTEAD OF FROZEN?

Absolutely. Just make sure to adjust cooking times accordingly.

Frozen tortellini actually adds a couple of extra minutes to simmering, and you’ll know it’s cooked when it floats to the surface of the simmering broth. Make sure not to simmer at a rolling boil or your tortellini may break apart.

This soup is flexible when it comes to cooking times. Tortellini cooks fairly quickly, especially when the pot is already nice and hot.

If you’re using fresh tortellini, give it no longer than 15 minutes on low or it will get very mushy. You may want to start checking it at the 12 minute mark to make sure you don’t overcook it, then serve right away.

If you’re using frozen tortellini, it’s a little more forgiving. If you happen to walk away for 30 minutes, chances are they’ll be ok.

CAN I SKIP BROWNING THE SAUSAGE?

While this step isn’t required, I would highly recommend browning the sausage. It does take an extra step but it’s worth it for the flavor and texture.

Sausage cooked straight in the slow cooker isn’t going to look or feel as nice and will be lacking in flavor. But if you’re in a pinch, you can skip this step, it’s perfectly ok to eat.

CAN I COOK THIS ON HIGH INSTEAD OF LOW?

If you’d prefer to make this tortellini soup in less time, you can cook it on high for 4-5 hours instead of low for 8-10. It won’t be as flavorful and have that wonderful melded flavor that an 8 hour simmer imparts but it will be perfectly good.

Just add your tortellini in the last 30 minutes.

WHY IS MY SOUP SO THICK THE NEXT DAY?

While this Italian sausage soup is great the day you make it, it’s also one of those meals that tastes even better the next day. Tortellini is like rice in that it will soak up any liquid.

By the time you pull it out of the fridge the next day it’ll be much thicker. Simply add about a cup of water or, better yet, beef broth, to loosen it back up.

It’ll be ready to go in no time.

CAN I ADD VEGETABLES?

Absolutely. There are tons of options you could add to this soup.

Some veggies do best being added right away (zucchini, bell peppers (chopped), mushrooms) while others do better being added at the end, such as spinach stirred in right before serving. Many vegetables do not stand up well to being cooked for 8 hours so adjust accordingly, otherwise they’ll be very soft/mushy.

You can also add in some white beans with your tortellini for an easy boost of protein.

CAN I FREEZE THIS SOUP?

I’d recommend storing in the refrigerator. Tortellini does well for a couple days but can get a little slimy after being in the refrigerator too long.

If you find you’ve made too much and have leftovers that aren’t going to get eaten soon, freeze them without tortellini. Then, once you’re ready to have some soup, simply warm up your broth and add in a handful of fresh tortellini to finish.

It won’t be as good as making from scratch but it’ll be a tasty and easy weeknight meal.

WHAT IF I CAN’T FIND FRENCH ONION SOUP?

It’s in the condensed soup aisle, the same place you get chicken noodle and cream of mushroom soup. Campbell’s is the most widely available.

If you can’t find French onion soup, try beef broth mixed with dry onion soup mix. It will not be as good, but will work.

However, the condensed French Onion Soup is the one ingredient I’d make a trip to another grocery store for.

This Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup is fabulous. It’s such an easy, flexible soup to have going during the week.

Enjoy!

RELATED RECIPES

If you’re anything like me and LOVE a hearty slow cooker soup for dinner, you HAVE to try this Crockpot Beef Barley Soup. It’s a delicious and filling all-day crockpot meal that only gets better the LONGER it cooks.

It’s a MUST-MAKE for anyone who loves heavy, italian-style dinners. Find the recipe HERE:

*Crockpot Beef Barley Soup