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This Crockpot tortellini soup with sausage is a comforting, hearty, and easy to prepare slow cooker soup. Italian sausage, tomatoes, cheese tortellini, a splash of cream, and spinach make this one delicious soup.
This post was originally published on September 17, 2018. I periodically go through old posts and revise them to improve the recipes and update the photos.
Clearly I’m a fan of pasta and Italian sausage in soup because this Crockpot Italian sausage soup, my lasagna soup, this Zuppa Toscana, and this creamy Italian sausage tortellini soup come to mind. I’m sure there’s more since Italian sausage is one of my very favorite things to cook with.
This is the perfect soup to come home to. Get everything ready in the morning, and then pop the tortellini in while you’re unwinding after work. Or let it cook overnight if that’s your thing.
I decided to give this recipe a bit of a facelift because it’s been bugging me for a while. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but I thought it could definitely be improved upon. I added more tomatoes, some cream, more sausage, and new photos. I hope this gives the recipe new life, since I don’t think many people have made the old version of this recipe, and that made me a little sad. I can always do better!
How to make slow cooker tortellini soup with sausage (overview)
- Add the sausage meat to a skillet along with the onions and sauté for about 7 minutes (add the garlic just before it’s done). Drain most of the fat. Add the sausage mix and the remaining ingredients except for the cream, spinach, and tortellini to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low 7-8 hours.
- About 30 minutes prior to serving, add the cheese tortellini, cream, and spinach. Season to taste.
This soup is delicious served with fresh parmesan grated over top!
A few recipe notes:
- Use spicy Italian sausage if you want a little heat to this Crockpot tomato tortellini soup with sausage.
- You could skip the step where you sauté the sausage and onion (I have tested similar recipes where I’ve just thrown raw sausage into the slow cooker), but I do recommend that step because it imparts more flavor into this dish, and you can also drain some of the fat.
- Anything around the amount of tortellini I added in should be fine. I know tortellini package sizes vary, so feel free to add anything around that ballpark amount.
- Keep in mind that the pasta will soak up the soup the longer you leave it, so if you are reheating leftovers, you may need to add more chicken broth if needed.
- If you want to make this soup ahead (or freeze it), I suggest waiting to add the tortellini, cream, and spinach until you’re ready to eat it.
- I made this a Crockpot creamy tortellini soup, but, with that said, you can leave the cream out and it’ll still taste delicious.
Love tortellini? Try these recipes:
- Creamy Spinach Tortellini Soup with Chicken
- One Pan Tortellini with Sausage
- Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Chicken Tortellini Alfredo
- Cheese Tortellini with Butter, Mushrooms, and Crispy Sage
Hope you’ll love this slow cooker tortellini soup with sausage!
Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below.
Crockpot Tortellini Soup with Sausage
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Italian sausage see note
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots sliced or chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped finely
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (28 fluid ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (14 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 (9 ounce) packages refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream optional
- 2 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the sausage meat and chopped onion to a skillet. Sauté for about 7 minutes. Add the garlic in towards the end so it doesn't burn. Spoon out most of the fat (you don't need to be precise... fat gives the soup more flavor). Add the sausage mixture to your Crockpot.
- Meanwhile, chop your carrots and celery. Add all ingredients except for the tortellini, spinach, cream, and salt & pepper to the Crockpot. Keep in mind that if you want the soup to cook in 3-4 hours, the carrots will have to be chopped pretty finely. If you're cooking it for 7-8 on low or 4-5 hours on high, you can chop them larger.
- About 30 minutes prior to serving, add in your cheese tortellini, cream, and spinach (I set the heat to "high"). Give it a stir occasionally. Season with salt & pepper as needed prior to serving.
Notes
- Use ground sausage meat or whole sausages (take the sausage meat out of the casings). Feel free to use spicy sausage!
- The leftovers of this soup do soak up the broth a lot, so this soup is best eaten when it's fresh. I suggest adding more chicken broth to leftovers if you need to.
- This is the 7-quart Crockpot I used to make this recipe. My Crockpot was pretty full by the time I added the tortellini.
- You can make this soup without the cream and it'll still taste good.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Absolutely delicious. Great bold flavor, filling, and simple to make; I added a little cornstarch because I had to sub half-and-half for the cream, and topped with a dash of fresh parmesan. I am trying to use what I have on hand instead of buying groceries constantly; a lot of Natasha’s recipes use staple pantry and freezer ingredients. Perfect! I set the recipe for 3 (small eaters here) and we have enough for another meal left over.
So glad you liked it! 😀
Made this tonight and It was delicious. I accurately followed the recipe except for the tomato sauce (I didn’t have that on hand) so I subbed in a can of tomato paste into 3 cups of beef broth and added it to the crockpot. My family couldn’t get enough. This recipe is a definite keeper. Thank you for posting!
So happy it worked out, Andrea! 😀
if i make it on stove3 top hshould i mke the3 sqame way
can i make this on stove top
c
Hi! The stovetop version is here: https://bit.ly/3NIRWCV
This reminds me of a soup that Bertolli pasta put out there for a short bit. Loved it and then poof, it was gone. This is the closest thing I’ve found to that. This is delicious!! I go a bit easy on the tortellini (just personal preference), and cook some grilled cheese to go along with it. Chef’s kiss!
Well that’s awesome to hear!! I’m so glad it’s a close match to your old favorite. 😀
Made just as written and it came out fantastic! 5’year old loved it despite diligently picking out every piece of spinach. Husband loved it. We have enough leftovers for dinner tomorrow. Only thing I’ll do different next time is bake a loaf of crusty bread to go with it. Might also play with some different veggies like zucchini in the last 30 minutes. Overall, tasty, easy recipe!
“Diligently picking out every piece of spinach” hahahaha. So glad it was a hit overall! Thanks for your review! 🙂
Best soup ever! A big hit at my home, even the teenage boys give it 2 thumbs up.
I love that!! Thank you!!