This Tortellini Sausage soup is a reader favorite and one of the most popular on Our Best Bites! It’s full of flavor from Italian sausage and hearty with vegetables and tortellini. We love this soup with a simple loaf of crusty bread for dipping, but you could also serve it with a heftier grilled cheese and side salad for a more filling meal. Try this once and it will become an instant hit at your dinner table!
Ingredients Needed
- Italian Sausage – Italian sausage is usually found either in links, or in a package like ground beef. If you guys links, you’ll need to remove the sausage from the casings. You can either use a sharp knife to cut all the way down the sausage and peel the casings off, or you can snip one end with a pair of kitchen shears and squeeze it out. Make sure to check your labels, as Italian sausage comes in sweet (which is mild) and hot (spicy) versions. I prefer sweet, but if you like heat, go for the spicy version.
- Fresh garlic
- Onion
- Chicken broth
- Apple Cider – Apple cider as in unfiltered apple juice, NOT apple cider vinegar. If you can’t find apple cider, apple juice will work just fine.
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Canned tomato sauce
- Carrots
- Dried basil
- Dried oregano
- Zucchini
- Cheese Tortellini – Fresh works well, but be sure to check the freezer section of your grocery store; if you can find it there, it will almost always be way cheaper than fresh tortellini. Also, Barilla makes a great dry cheese tortellini.
- Dried parsley
- Kosher salt and black pepper
How to Make Tortellini Sausage Soup
- To get started, you’re going to need about 1/2 pound of sausage or 3 links of Italian sausage, an onion, and some garlic. Heat a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and crumble the sausage into the preheated pot.
- If your sausage is pretty fatty, you’ll want to drain it when it’s about halfway cooked. Meanwhile, chop an onion and garlic and add to the sausage. Continue cooking until onions are translucent and your sausage is cooked. Your house will smell heavenly.
- Add a can of diced tomatoes, a small can of tomato sauce, some apple juice (don’t forget this or leave it out because you think it’s weird–you’ll be sad if you do!), water, and a quart of chicken broth. Also add in a cup of chopped carrots and a teaspoon each of oregano, and basil.
- Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. While that’s simmering, shred two medium zucchini, measure out two tablespoons of parsley, and round up 10 ounces of cheese tortellini. When the soup has simmered for 20 minutes, add the zucchini and parsley (NOT the tortellini). Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the tortellini and simmer for another 8-10 minutes or until the tortellini is tender.
- Serve with bread and freshly-grated Parmesan.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- Freeze soup in individual portions for a quick meal on busy days.
- Tortellini sausage soup is great with these Homemade Breadsticks. If you’d like to make these, start the dough first, then prepare the first “phase” of the soup while the dough is rising. While the soup is simmering, twist the breadsticks, let them rise, and they’ll be done baking about the same time the soup is done.
- Other options for easy bread sides include homemade garlic bread using this Homemade Garlic Bread Seasoning, One-Hour Dinner Rolls, or this Easy No Knead Overnight Artisan Bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Of course! Allow the finished soup to cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat small portions in the microwave, or reheat the whole batch on the stovetop.
Can I freeze this soup?
Yes! Soup in general makes a great freezer meal and this one is no different. For easy reheating, freeze individual soup pucks in silicone muffin trays or my favorite Souper Cubes, then store in a zip top bag in a freezer. Pull out as many as you need for a serving and heat in the microwave or on the stove top.
Tortellini Sausage Soup
Hearty and satisfying, this is one of our all-time favorite soups!
Servings cups
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 links Italian sausage
- 4 cloves garlic pressed
- 1 onion diced
- ½ cup water feel free to use broth or additional apple cider/juice here.
- 1 quart chicken broth
- ½ cup apple cider NOT apple cider vinegar
- 1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 cup carrots sliced
- 1 teaspoon basil dried
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- 2 zucchini, medium grated
- 8-10 ounce package cheese tortellini check the freezer section of your grocery store; if you can find it there, it will almost always be way cheaper than fresh tortellini. Also, Barilla makes a great dry cheese tortellini
- 2 tablespoons parsley, dried yes, that’s two tablespoons!
- kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- If you’re using link sausage, remove the casings and crumble into a large soup pot. To remove the casings, you can use a sharp knife to cut a slit down one side of the sausage and then peel back the casing.
- Chop onion and add to pot with garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Continue cooking until onions are translucent and your sausage is cooked.
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, cider, water, chicken broth, carrots, oregano, and basil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper. Cover and simmer for ½ hour. Add parsley and zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes or so.
- Add the tortellini and cook until tender. Add additional salt and pepper until it tastes perfect.
- Serve with bread and freshly-grated Parmesan.
Notes
- If you need to thin out leftovers, just add a little additional broth.
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- Freeze soup in individual portions for a quick meal on busy days.
- Tortellini sausage soup is great with these Homemade Breadsticks. If you’d like to make these, start the dough first, then prepare the first “phase” of the soup while the dough is rising. While the soup is simmering, twist the breadsticks, let them rise, and they’ll be done baking about the same time the soup is done.
- Other options for easy bread sides include homemade garlic bread using this Homemade Garlic Bread Seasoning, One-Hour Dinner Rolls, or this Easy No Knead Overnight Artisan Bread.
Nutrition
Calories: 271kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 45mg, Sodium: 887mg, Potassium: 351mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 2779IU, Vitamin C: 12mg, Calcium: 77mg, Iron: 2mg
Calories: 271kcal
Cost: $8
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Questions & Reviews
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit with my husband … and my 3 1/2 year old picky son! I made the breadsticks as well … yum! This will definitely make it into our regular rotation!
Made this tonight and it was amazing! I am the only one in the house that likes zucchini and everyone LOVED it!! Thanks for another great recipe!
I love this. My kids ate it. My husband ate it. And I loved that I didn't feel like I was in a dirty kitchen with dishes from yesterday and today…I had already been transported off to Italy to eat this delectable soup! Will have again. And again. And already thinking about taking it to the school party next year when we have a soup contest! Oh…and I didn't have apple cider so I used apple juice with a little bit of cinnamon and a little nutmeg and it seemed to be fine! 🙂 Thanks Kate!
soccer mom–You could cook most of the soup on low all day and then add the zucchini in the last two hours (on high). Cook the tortellini separately and then add it right before serving.
Hope that helps! 🙂
could i do this in a crockpot? if so, what is the best way?
Um this was amazing!! 🙂 my husband loves it and could not even tell there was zucchini (hes a zucchini hater!). My 3 year old was in heaven and kept telling me how amazing the dinner was! WILL MAKE AGAIN AND AGAIN! 🙂 we also made the bread sticks with it and they were SO good with it!
Made this for dinner tonight and we really liked it. My nephew had 3 bowls of it. Thanks for the great recipe!
I loved the recipe, aside from as "herb -ie" as it was….it was a little strong for me…..I might have substituted the sausage for ground sirloin and not used as much herbs. Good recipe though. Thanks for sharing!
I made this soup for my Halloween party a couple of weeks ago and meant to tell you how delicious it was. I served it without trying it first and finally sat down with everyone a little late. I started eating it and proclaimed, "This is delicous!" Everyone agreed and asked who made it. Proudly, I announced it was me! Of course, I gave all the credit to you all. Thanks for yet another delicious recipe! You gals rock my world!
Eve–It freezes okay; the concern is the tortellini. If you're making it with the PLAN to freeze it, you might want to consider leaving out the tortellini and then when you reheat it, add them in the last few minutes.
Hope that helps! 🙂