Sausage Tortellini Soup

Sausage tortellini soup ingredients

• Oil – We use olive oil, but you can use your favorite.
• Sausage – Mild or hot Italian sausage make this soup hearty and flavorful. Remove the casings from linked sausage or use bulk if you can find it.
• Vegetables – Onion, carrots, celery and fresh greens make this soup a delicious way to get some vegetables in. For the greens you can use spinach, kale, chard or a combination.
• Seasoning – We use an Italian inspired blend of dried oregano, dried basil and dried thyme, then salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper (for an extra kick) round out the spices.
• Pantry – Convenience ingredients like canned diced tomatoes (we use fire roasted) and chicken broth make this soup as easy as it is delicious.
• Tortellini – We use fresh tortellini (a five cheese refrigerated variety). If you use frozen tortellini, adjust the cooking time as necessary.

Recipe tips

• Remove the sausage from its casing and tear into small pieces (if you’re not using bulk). This will make it much easier to break up once it hits the hot pot.
• Depending on the sausage used, you may want to drain excess oil from the pot. An easy way to do this, is to take the pot off the heat and mound the sausage on one side of the pot. Then, gently tip it so that the oil pools on the opposite side. Use a large spoon to scoop out the excess.
• Make a seasoning mix when multiple spices go in a recipe at the same time. That way, you are not standing over a hot pot measuring spices.
• If you want to use frozen tortellini instead of fresh, keep in mind that the temperature of the soup will drop. It will take longer for it to come back to a boil and for the tortellini to cook. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.
• Hold off until the end to add salt because the Italian sausage, chicken broth, diced tomatoes and tortellini all contain a good amount already.

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage for 4-5 minutes until browned.
• Next, sauté the onions, carrots and celery on medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, black pepper and crushed red pepper (if using); cook for 1 minute.
• Then, add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth and water to the pot. Stir well, scraping any bits off the bottom. Bring the broth to a boil. Lower the heat and cook the soup for 15 minutes keeping it at a simmer.
• Add the tortellini to the sausage soup and stir. Raise the heat to get the broth boiling. Cook the tortellini, uncovered for 6-8 minutes.
• Finally, add the greens to the pot and stir them for a few minutes until they wilt.
• Taste the tortellini sausage soup and add salt if needed. As a reference we added ¼ teaspoon to ours.

Serving and storing

Serve the soup with crusty bread for dipping and enjoy!

Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. To reheat, place the soup in a saucepan and heat over medium-low to low heat until warmed through; or use the microwave.

Can you freeze this soup? Generally, pasta doesn’t do well in the freezer because it gets mushy. If you would like to freeze it, don’t add the tortellini. Freeze them separately and store for 2-3 months.

You may also like these easy soup recipes:

• Chicken Egg Noodle Soup
• Lentil Sausage Soup
• Chickpea Soup
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Chicken Cabbage Soup
• Broccoli Cauliflower Soup