We’re still deep into cozy soup season, so I’m enjoying my pasta soup style this evening in this super creamy tortellini soup. It’s got a rich and creamy tomato-based broth, hearty cheese tortellini to sink your teeth into, a medley of veggies, and everything you’re going to want on a chilly winter night. Plus, the leftovers are awesome, so come lunchtime tomorrow, you’ll be really glad you made it. ;)
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What’s in Tortellini Soup
This soup, at its core, is super basic, but the ingredients add up to big flavor and a hearty bowl that will keep you full. Here’s a quick rundown of the ingredients in this delicious tortellini soup:
- Vegetables: This soup starts like many other soups with a mirepoix (onion, celery, and carrot) plus a little garlic for good measure.
- Tomatoes: I’ve added two tomato products to this soup, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. The tomato paste helps thicken the broth and gives a deep tomatoey flavor, while the crushed tomatoes give the soup volume and a little more texture.
- Vegetable Broth: Vegetable broth gives this soup volume and dimension to the flavor.
- Italian Seasoning: I kept the seasoning simple here by using an Italian seasoning blend instead of using several individual spices. If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can substitute it with a mix of basil and oregano.
- Cheese Tortellini: The star of the show! I used a bag of frozen small cheese tortellini to give the soup extra belly-filling power. You can use just about any flavor of tortellini you’d like for this soup.
- Heavy Cream: A splash of heavy cream makes the broth extra lush, but you can skip it if you’d like! I love adding the cream because it makes the soup taste like a really rich tomato soup.
- Spinach: I finished the tortellini soup off with a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach to give the soup balance and a little more color. You can skip the spinach or add some frozen chopped spinach in its place if you wish.
Buying Tortellini
Tortellini is one of the most expensive ingredients in this soup, so make sure you’re shopping wisely! In most major grocery stores you’ll be able to find tortellini in three places: with dry pasta, in the freezer section (near frozen bread), and with fresh pasta in the dairy case. I find that the frozen tortellini is usually the best price, and you can even use half the amount of tortellini in this recipe if you need to reduce the cost further. If using dry tortellini, you’ll need to boil the tortellini in the soup slightly longer and you may need to add extra water.
What Else Can I Add?
Italian sausage makes a great addition to this soup if you want something a little more meaty, or you could even sauté some bacon in the pot before the vegetables for even more richness. Want to make it extra cheesy? Sprinkle some grated or shredded Parmesan on top of each bowl just before serving.
How to Store Tortellini Soup
After cooking, divide the tortellini soup into single-serving portions and refrigerate until ready to eat. For longer storage, you can transfer the containers to the freezer after they’re fully chilled. To reheat, microwave on high until the soup is heated through, or reheat in a saucepot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Creamy Tortellini Soup
Servings 8 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.37)
- 2 carrots ($0.29)
- 2 stalks celery ($0.22)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- 4 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.36)
- 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ($1.69)
- 1.5 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.15)
- 4 cups vegetable broth ($0.52)
- 19 oz. cheese tortellini (frozen) ($4.79)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream ($0.82)
- 4 oz. fresh spinach ($1.20)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
Instructions
- Dice the onion, carrot, and celery. Mince the garlic. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to a large soup pot along with the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions soften (about 5 minutes).
- Add the tomato paste and continue to stir and cook over medium heat for about three minutes more.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and vegetable broth to the pot. Stir to combine and dissolve any tomato paste off the bottom of the pot.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the soup up to a simmer. Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the frozen tortellini to the soup and boil for about 3 minutes, or the recommended time on the package needed to cook the tortellini.
- Turn the heat off. Stir the heavy cream into the soup. Stir the fresh spinach into the soup until wilted.
- Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste (we added about ¾ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper).
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How to Make Tortellini Soup – Step By Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion, two carrots, and two stalks of celery. Mince four cloves of garlic. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to a large soup pot along with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onions have softened.
Add four tablespoons of tomato paste to the pot and continue to sauté with the vegetables for about three minutes more.
Add one 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 1.5 tsp Italian seasoning blend, and 4 cups vegetable broth to the pot. Stir to combine and dissolve any tomato paste off the bottom of the pot.
Turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the soup to come up to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add one 19oz. package of frozen cheese tortellini to the soup and continue to boil for 3 minutes, or as long as needed according to the package directions to cook the tortellini.
Turn the heat off and stir ½ cup heavy cream into the soup (optional).
Add about four large handfuls of fresh spinach to the soup, then stir it in and allow the spinach to wilt.
Give the soup a taste and adjust the salt or other seasonings to your liking (we added ¾ tsp salt and ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper).
I like my tortellini soup garnished with a light sprinkle of Parmesan and some freshly grated black pepper. 😋
Oh my goodness! I had been craving this since you posted it, but was out of town on vacation. I finally had the opportunity to make it tonight, and I am incredibly pleased. This will be added to my repeat list. Keep them coming, and I can’t wait for the book!
Tried this out last night and just halved everything :) Shared it with someone else and I still have yummy leftovers!
I made this one, have been eating it for the last two nights, and I haven’t made a dent in it.
Very nice explained recipe! Thank you very much.
Thank you for this recipe, too! I had about 4 cups of leftover homemade stock (something else you nudged me to start doing again this week), and so I used that with about 1/4 cup of jarred tomato sauce for the tomato base. There were chunks of tomato in the sauce, so I didn’t use canned tomatoes. I also sauteed some leftover celery with the onions, and added scallions to the soup. We had chard instead of spinach. My husband commented on the soup having “just the right amount” of tortellini, so THANK YOU for the reminder of restraint. All in all, this is about the 4th or 5th item I’ve made from the site, and I’m hooked! Tomorrow we’re doing the taco stuffed shells…
I tried this one out tonight and we loved it. I didn’t have any fresh garlic or onion on hand so I substituted minced versions of each and it worked out well. (1 tsp of the garlic and 2 tsp of the onion for anyone wondering.) Thanks for another awesomely easy and delicious recipe!
Delish! We accidentally overdosed on tomatoes so we added a dollop of light sour cream and that helped reduced some acidity. Definitely got us excited for fall!
It was great! We actually used meatballs instead of tortellinis. Great flavor, so easy, and ready in 30 minutes.
Another great recipe Beth. I made one change to it. I didn’t think the family would like such a heavy tomato broth. I used the diced tomatoes, but I made a quick dashi/veggie stock to replace the tomato sauce. Even my picky eater liked it.
Use a lot of extra water if you’re going to use dry pasta. Just tried this an it’s practically just spaghetti with spinach.
Becca – I think you could just add the dry quinoa and let it simmer until they’re tender. I cook quinoa in chicken broth, so I’m sure it’d work the same :)
This looks amazing! Any tips if I wanna put Quinoa in it instead of tortellini? Should I cook it before I put it in, or can I cook it right in it? Sorry for the silly question, i’m new to the whole soup making thing haha
I made this for dinner last night and it was amazing! I went a little crazy with the tortellini so it was more like tortellini with spinach sauce but it was still simple, affordable and delicious.
Gnocchi would be awesome in this!
considering using gnocchi that I made last week as I don’t have any other pasta at home right now… thoughts?