Creamy Tortellini Soup with Tomatoes and Kale {Slow Cooker, Instant Pot, Stovetop}
Published Mar 15, 2021•Updated Nov 04, 2024
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Cozy and comforting with Italian turkey sausage for heartiness and fresh kale (or baby spinach) for greens. Creamy Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Kale is an easy weeknight soup whether you use the recipe instructions for the stovetop, Instant Pot, or slow cooker. And if you’re looking for another soup to use up that leftover kale, but sure to check out my Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup as well.
I’m going to be honest with you, the internet is full of creamy tomato soups with tortellini just like this one. I’ve seen them floating around on Pinterest and Instagram, and while they’re a bit too prevalent to point to just one for inspiration, a quick Google search can offer up plenty of options. So while you probably don’t need another version for reference, I wanted to lend a bit of help by way of taking this simple combination and making it work in all of your (and my) favorite kitchen appliances.
This soup is perfectly easy to make on the stovetop, but there are days that just beg for something simmering in the slow cooker and days when only the hands-off feel of an Instant Pot / pressure cooker will do. There is another perk to cooking this recipe in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. Flavor. Like many soups, this one will develop more flavor as it simmers. The slow cooker gives the tomato soup that cooked-all-day flavor just as the Instant Pot can mimic that flavor in a matter of minutes (like with this fresh twist on classic chicken noodle soup).
No matter how you cook it, this simple soup is a classic and perfect for the fickle days of March that bounce from sunny and warm to gray and chilly.
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Ingredients
- Italian Turkey Sausage – Italian-style sausage made with turkey (instead of traditional pork) adds all the flavor and not as many calories and fat as the classic. In testing, I preferred the flavor and texture of this style of sausage in the soup, but traditional pork sausage will work just fine.
- Crushed Tomatoes with Basil – Be sure to grab the crushed tomatoes that include basil. It will add all the fresh flavor of basil to the soup without the need to purchase basil.
- Onion and Garlic – Add savory flavor as the soup cooks. If you dice these fairly small, they will melt right into the soup base.
- Smoked Paprika – This adds a great smoky flavor to the soup. It is not spicy. Regular paprika will work, or just skip it.
- Chicken or Vegetable Stock – Use your favorite store-bought or homemade stock.
- Parmesan Rind – Adding a parmesan rind will give the soup extra flavor and make it slightly more creamy. I always freeze the rinds from parmesan cheese after I’ve finished using them and toss them into soups. (This is great in Pasta E Fagioli too.) This adds more flavor, but skip it if you prefer.
- Kale or Baby Spinach – Add chopped kale or baby spinach for some flavor and greens.
- Heavy Cream – Look for heavy or “whipping” cream. The creaminess really puts the tomato base of the soup over the top.
Possible Variations
- Make it vegetarian – Just skip the sausage. If you’d like more protein, try stirring in a can of white beans at the end of cooking.
- Mix up the pasta – Tortellini makes the soup feel more hearty and filling, but any pasta will work here.
- Add veggies – In addition to the greens (or in place of), try simmering adding diced carrots, celery, or even squash to the soup.
More Weeknight-Friendly Soups
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Creamy Tortellini Soup
Equipment
- Dutch Oven, Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup diced Onion
- 16 ounces Italian Turkey Sausage (pork or chicken Italian sausage also work)
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika (can use regular paprika)
- 5 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
- 1 28-ounce can Crushed Tomatoes with Basil
- 1 Parmesan rind (see note)
- 4 large leaves Kale, stems discarded, leaves chopped (sub baby spinach)
- 8 ounces Fresh Cheese Tortellini
- 1/3 cup Heavy Cream
- Grated Parmesan Cheese, for serving (for serving)
Instructions
Stovetop:
- Heat a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add onion and sauté until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Add sausage and cook, breaking it apart until fully cooked, 8 to 10 minutes. If sausage releases a lot of oil, drain excess oil.)
- Stir in garlic and smoked paprika.
- Pour stock and crushed tomatoes over sausage. Add parmesan rind (if using). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover.
- Simmer soup until kale is tender, ~10 minutes.
- Remove lid and add kale and tortellini to soup. Simmer until tortellini is tender (check package for recommended time).
- Stir in cream. Taste and season with some salt if needed. Enjoy!
Slow Cooker:
- Heat a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add onion and sauté until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Add sausage and cook, breaking it apart until fully cooked, 8 to 10 minutes. (If sausage releases a lot of oil, drain excess oil.)
- Stir in garlic and smoked paprika and cook for 1 minute more.
- Transfer onion-sausage mixture to the bowl of a 6-quart slow cooker. Stir in stock, crushed tomatoes, and parmesan rind (if using).
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours (this is just to develop the flavors since everything is pre-cooked, so feel free to adjust the time as needed).
- In the last 20 minutes of cooking, stir in the kale and tortellini. (Check the tortellini periodically – the soup is ready when the tortellini is tender).
- Remove lid and stir in cream. Taste and season with some salt if needed. Enjoy!
Instant Pot:
- Turn Instant Pot’s sauté function to normal / medium. Add olive oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add onion and sauté until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Add sausage and cook, breaking it apart until fully cooked, 8 to 10 minutes. If sausage releases a lot of oil, drain excess oil.)
- Stir in garlic and smoked paprika and cook for 1 minute more.
- Turn off the sauté function. Slowly pour in stock while scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot (this is key – if any browned bits remain they could cause the burn error).
- Stir in crushed tomatoes and parmesan rind.
- Close and lock the lid. Set steam valve to Sealing. Cook on manual / high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then manually release any remaining pressure.
- Turn on the sauté function to normal / medium. When soup is simmering, add kale and tortellini. Simmer until tortellini is tender (check package for recommended time).
- Hit Cancel on the Instant Pot. Stir in cream. Taste and season with some salt if needed. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
