Description
This creamy Tortellini Soup combines cheese tortellini with a flavorful vegetable broth seasoned with fresh basil, diced tomatoes, and spinach. Ready in under 30 minutes, it’s a comforting and healthy American-style soup perfect as a side dish or light main course.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 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 cheese tortellini (refrigerated kind)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves (packed)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Sauté Aromatics: Add olive oil and butter to a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once melted, add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent.
- Add Garlic and Flour: Stir in the minced garlic and cook briefly to release its aroma. Then sprinkle in the flour and cook for another minute to form a roux, which will thicken the soup.
- Combine Broth and Seasonings: Pour in the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Stir in Italian seasoning and dried basil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Bring this mixture to a gentle boil and taste to adjust seasoning as needed.
- Cook Tortellini: Add the refrigerated cheese tortellini to the boiling soup. Cook for a few minutes according to package instructions until the tortellini are tender and cooked through.
- Finish Soup: Remove the pot from heat and stir in the fresh spinach, grated parmesan cheese, and heavy cream or half and half, allowing the spinach to wilt and the cheese and cream to enrich the broth.
- Add Fresh Basil and Serve: Stir in the chopped fresh basil leaves for a bright herbal finish. Serve the soup warm.
Notes
- Sausage Variation: Cook ground sausage with the onion in step 1 for a heartier version.
- Extra Vegetables: Add additional veggies like celery, shredded carrot, baby broccoli, kale, or zucchini when sautéing onions for more nutrition and flavor.
- Crockpot Method: Sauté onion then transfer to crockpot. Add all other ingredients except tortellini, spinach, parmesan, and cream. Cook on low for 4-5 hours; add tortellini in the last 30 minutes and stir in spinach, cheese, and cream just before serving.
- Storage: Refrigerate covered for 3-4 days.
- Freezing: Freeze soup after step 3 (before tortellini). Store in freezer-safe container up to 3 months. To reheat, bring to boil, add tortellini and cook until tender, then mix in spinach, parmesan, and cream.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Side Dish, Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (approximately 1.25 cups)
- Calories: 472 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 1490 mg
- Fat: 26 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 46 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 16 g
- Cholesterol: 74 mg
