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. ;)
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. 😋
This was the first time me or my husband has ever tried tortellini and it was a winner! Made the recipe exactly as written. Wouldn’t make any changes. Perfect for a comforting weeknight meal. I found tortellini at my local Sam’s Club for only $9.78 (48 oz)! I used what I needed and just froze the rest for next time.
super delicious! I added some turkey sausage for more protein.
The soup was only soup the first night. It turned into some stew like pasta dish after it sat. Didn’t taste quite like I expected, but was definitely not a proper tomato soup.
It’s not supposed to be a “proper tomato soup” though…
This is a great soup! I was surprised to find that I liked it more the second day. I thought the pasta would be mushy but it wasn’t! The flavors mingled a bit better. I would definitely increase the seasonings, maybe double them.
This absolutely hit the spot – rich and creamy but also packed with veggies. Even my husband, who is not a soup guy, went back for seconds. Might be my new favorite way to have tortellini! I subbed zucchini for celery because I happened to have it on hand and used frozen spinach. And I added a bunch of garlic and doubled the seasonings.
Quick question. I feel this is similar to a recipe that was on the website before. It was a tortellini, spinach and tomato soup. There was no heavy cream is the recipe that I’m remembering. I can’t find it anymore. Is there a way to get that link?
Hi, Martine! What’s your email? I can send you a PDF of the older version of this recipe that was removed from the site and replaced with this updated version. ~Marion :)
Thanks!
Sure thing! ~ Marion :)
Hello, I am a big fan of the original recipe as well. Can you please send me the original by email?
Is the email account associated with your comment the best way to send it to you? Let me know and I will send it over! Otherwise, you can email support@budgetbytes.com directly and request the recipe that way! ~ Marion :)
Yes – the email associated with my comment is the best way to reach me. Please send the recipe to that email. Thank you!
Sent! :)
Ive made several the recipes on this site and they’re awesome. This one is not so great. Its not really a soup, more like tortellini in a weak pasta sauce. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this one, but I would always encourage folks to check out some of the other recipes on here!
What a great soup! Actually a meal in a bowl! I did saute sliced carrots, zucchini and celery for more veggie goodness. And a little crushed red pepper which further lifted the flavors. Thank you for sharing this gem!
Loved this!! Super easy, quick, and cheap. I was only going to have 1 serving so I made the full batch but didn’t add all of the tortellini because they don’t reheat well. Now when I want to make another serving I heat the soup and throw in a serving of tortellini and eat it fresh :) I also froze some of the soup base sans tortellini so I can thaw and add what I want later. This would be good with sausage too!