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. 😋
I made this last night and it was amazing!! I didn’t add any garlic at all, as my stomach can’t tolerate it anymore, and it tasted amazing without it. I DID add a bit of red pepper flakes though for some added spice… such a nice addition. Mine ended up more like a chili (probably because i added some tiny pasta to it) and not a soup, but I was fine with that. Will definitely make it many times over and over.
I just finished eating my first bowl of this wonderful soup! I made the recipe exactly as written and wouldn’t change a thing. Delicious!! I found this recipe and your website through Ziplist. I just finished my Ziplist Menu Planner for next week and it’s filled with your recipes! Oh, and I love, love, love that you have your vegetarian recipes easy to find, too.
unbelievably delicious, had this on a very cold night at home and it sure hit the spot! Not to mention we made a lot and had portions left for the next day, it was just as good even on the following supper.
Hi Beth!
I wanted to let you know I found your blog through Pinterest. I love it! This is the first recipe of yours that I’ve made and it was absolutely delicious. I featured it on my blog:
http://pinterestprojects.blog.com/2013/01/07/spinachtortellinisoup/
Thanks for the great recipe! :)
First post, thanks for this blog!
Always wanted to try making soup, thought this one would be a great one to start with. So easy and with the thick tomato base plus pasta and spiced with oregano and basil – I loved it!
This is my husband’s favorite dish! Thank you so much!
This is DELICIOUS. I have already made it once and just stocked up so I have all the ingredients on hand to make it again!!!! YUM! Great leftovers to take to work too!
made this for lunch. it was sooo good! and filled me up so fast. thanks for all ur recipes !!!
This recipe is perfect for those nights I get home from work late and don’t have a lot of time to cook. My husband loves it too and has requested it a couple of times since I first tried making it last month. So thanks for this delicious and ridiculously easy recipe I’ve added into my rotation. :)
I have to say that I found this recipe to be a bit under-spiced. I ended up adding about 1/2 tsp. paprika and a heavy dash of Tabasco to punch it up a bit.
I’ve made this soup twice now and it is so delicious! Thanks!
Instead of a whole can of water, I used half a can of water and half a can of chicken stock…delicious!
it was good, but pretty heavy. considering making it with soup stock instead of sauce to think it out next time. thanks for the recipe!!
I made this with a few modifications, and it was DELICIOUS! Instead of tomato sauce, I bought a can of 3 cheese “recipe starters” that Progresso just came out with. I also used some chicken ravioli that I already had on hand (from Sam’s club). SO GOOD.
I just had this with my family and it was well received. A side salad, soup and a hunk of bread ahhh yeah. I doubled the tortellini and it was a little more like tortellini with a lot of spinach sauce but that was the only way my usually carnivorous family would take it. Pretty good and still pretty cheap.