Creamy Tortellini Soup: A Quick and Satisfying One-Pot Dinner

Creamy Tortellini Soup

This creamy tortellini soup is the answer to a busy weeknight. Cheese tortellini simmer in a vegetable broth with diced tomatoes, garlic, and Italian seasoning, and then fresh spinach, parmesan cheese, and a little cream go in at the very end.

The result is a cozy bowl that tastes rich without feeling heavy, and the whole pot is ready in under 30 minutes.

I come back to this recipe because it fits almost any occasion. It is quick enough for a Tuesday dinner, yet it also works as a starter before a bigger meal or as a side next to a sandwich or a simple salad. On chilly evenings I ladle it into deep bowls and set out breadsticks for dipping.

The soup was inspired by the creamy tomato and spinach tortellini pasta recipe that has been a favorite here for years. Same creamy tomato base, same fresh basil finish, but in soup form.

That means you can prep it ahead when you have a spare minute, or throw it together at dinnertime with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

It is a vegetarian main dish too, which makes it an easy fit for a meatless night. One pot, one spoon, and a warm bowl of comfort at the end. That is exactly the kind of cooking I love most.

What I LOVE about this soup recipe:

Three things keep this soup in my regular rotation.

• Refrigerated tortellini do the heavy lifting. They are inexpensive, they taste better than dry packaged tortellini, and they cook faster, which is a big part of why dinner lands on the table so quickly.
• Creamy, but not too creamy. The base uses 3 cups of vegetable broth, and only 1/2 cup of cream or half and half is stirred in at the end. You get a silky broth while the tomato and basil still come through.
• It is versatile. Serve it as a main dish, as an appetizer, or as a side. It works for a family dinner, and it works just as well for a crowd.

Whenever I bring this pot to a gathering, someone asks for the recipe before the bowls are empty.

How to Make Tortellini Soup:

This is a fast stovetop recipe, and once the pot is on the heat, everything moves quickly. Here is the flow, step by step.

1. Cook the onion. Add the olive oil and butter to a large saucepan over medium heat. Once they melt, add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the garlic and flour. Stir in the minced garlic, then the all purpose flour, and cook for 1 more minute.
3. Build the broth. Pour in the vegetable broth, then add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and dried basil. Season with salt and pepper, taste the broth, and adjust the seasonings if needed.
4. Cook the tortellini. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, add the refrigerated cheese tortellini, and cook for a few minutes until they are tender.
5. Finish off the heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the fresh spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream. The spinach wilts right in the hot broth.
6. Serve warm. Stir in the chopped fresh basil, ladle the soup into bowls, and top with extra parmesan cheese. Breadsticks on the side are a very good idea.

Freezing and Storing Instructions:

Leftovers hold up well, which is one more reason to make a full pot.

• Store the soup covered in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
• To freeze, make the soup up to the point before the tortellini go in, let it cool completely, and store it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
• To reheat, heat the soup until it boils, add the tortellini, and cook until tender. Then take the pot off the heat and stir in the spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream.

Freezing before the tortellini are added is the trick that keeps the pasta from turning soft, so the bowl tastes fresh the second time around.

Recipe Variations:

This soup bends easily to whatever you have on hand. Here are the three ways I change it up most often.

• Sausage tortellini soup. Add cooked ground sausage and cook it with the onion in the first step. It turns the soup into a heartier meal without changing anything else in the pot.
• Extra vegetables. Sauté celery, shredded carrot, baby broccoli, chopped kale, or chopped zucchini along with the onion. It is a great way to use up the crisper drawer before the weekend shop.
• Crockpot tortellini soup. Sauté the onion first, then add it to the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients except the tortellini, spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream. Cook for 4 to 5 hours, add the tortellini during the last 30 minutes, and stir in the spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream a few minutes before serving.

Ingredients

The ingredient list is short and mostly pantry friendly. One note before you start: this recipe is built around refrigerated cheese tortellini, and the flour is what thickens the broth before the cream goes in at the end.

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, optional and to taste
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• One 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups packed fresh spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, or half and half
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Salt, pepper, and the crushed red pepper flakes are all about your own taste, so start small and adjust right at the end.

Instructions

1. Add the olive oil and butter to a large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
2. Add the minced garlic. Stir in the all purpose flour and cook for another minute.
3. Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and dried basil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, taste the broth, and adjust the seasonings if needed.
4. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then add the refrigerated cheese tortellini. Cook for a few minutes, until the tortellini are tender.
5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the fresh spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream.
6. Add the chopped fresh basil. Serve warm, with extra parmesan cheese on top if you like.

Keep the pot off the heat when the spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream go in. The leftover heat is plenty to wilt the greens, and the cream stays smooth instead of separating.

Notes

A few notes make this soup even easier to work with on a busy day.

• Make it meaty. Cook ground sausage with the onion in step 1 for a sausage version of the soup.
• Add more vegetables. Celery, shredded carrot, baby broccoli, chopped kale, and chopped zucchini can all be sautéed with the onion.
• Slow cooker method. Sauté the onion, then add it to the crockpot with everything except the tortellini, spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream. Cook 4 to 5 hours, add the tortellini for the last 30 minutes, and stir in the spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream a few minutes before serving.
• Storage. Refrigerate the soup covered for 3 to 4 days.
• Freezing. Freeze the soup through step 3, before the tortellini are added, once it has cooled, in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
• Reheating. Bring the soup to a boil, add the tortellini, cook a few minutes until tender, then remove it from the heat and stir in the spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream.

The recipe was first shared back in 2014 and was inspired by Closet Cooking. It has been a reader favorite ever since, and the version here is the one I make most often at home.

If you like numbers with your dinner, one serving of this soup comes in around 472 calories, with 46 grams of carbohydrates, 16 grams of protein, and 26 grams of fat. A serving also has 5 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, 13 grams of saturated fat, 74 milligrams of cholesterol, and 1490 milligrams of sodium.

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Creamy Tortellini Soup This creamy tortellini soup is the answer to a busy weeknight. Cheese tortellini simmer in a vegetable broth with diced tomatoes, garlic, and Italian seasoning, and then fresh spinach, parmesan cheese, and a little cream go in at the very end.

• Total Time: 25 min
• Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

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1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups vegetable broth
14.5 ounce diced tomatoes, canned
8 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces cheese tortellini, refrigerated kind
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves, packed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

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Instructions

1-Add oil and butter to a large: Add oil and butter to a large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
2-Add the garlic: Add the garlic. Stir in the flour and cook for another minute.
3-Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, tomato: Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and dried basil. Season with salt and pepper. Taste broth and adjust seasonings if needed.
4-Bring mixture to a gentle boil and: Bring mixture to a gentle boil and then add the tortellini. Cook for a few minutes, until tortellini are tender.
5-Remove from heat and stir in spinach,: Remove from heat and stir in spinach, parmesan cheese, and cream.
6-Add chopped basil: Add chopped basil. Serve warm.

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 15 min
• Method: stovetop

Nutrition

• Calories: 472kcal
• Sugar: 10g
• Sodium: 1490mg
• Fat: 26g
• Saturated Fat: 13g
• Carbohydrates: 46g
• Fiber: 5g
• Protein: 16g
• Cholesterol: 74mg