Sausage Soup with Tortellini

 

Looking for a cozy and comforting meal idea? Try this delicious tortellini soup recipe! Start by grabbing some cheese tortellini and Italian sausage - spicy or mild, your choice. Sauté the sausage with onions, carrots, and garlic for a flavorful base. If you don’t have heavy cream, use can make a roux made with butter, flour, and milk to thicken the soup.

You can add half and half or heavy cream for an extra indulgent touch. The key is to use high-quality sausage for the best flavor. If your sausage is greasy, rinse it before adding it to the soup.

This creamy and hearty soup is perfect for a chilly day. Give it a try and let me know how you like it.

 Yield: 6 -8 serving

Description

This Creamy Tortellini and Sausage Soup is quick and easy to make, full of great flavor, and so rich and creamy, and comforting.

Ingredients

1.25 pounds ground Italian sausage or sausage links but remove from casing.

1 small white onion, peeled and diced

2 large carrots, peeled and diced or you can use stick carrots (1 cup)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

6 cups chicken stock or bone broth

1 (10-ounce) package of refrigerated cheese tortellini

5 ounces of greens of your choice (I used a mixture of spinach and collards)

2 cups milk (*see recommendations below)

Salted butter if making a roux

salt and pepper

Instructions

In a large stockpot over medium-high cook Italian sausage until browned, crumbling it as it cooks.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked sausage to a separate plate and set aside.  Reserve two tablespoons of grease in the pan, discarding the rest.  (Or if there’s not enough grease remaining, add olive oil to make up the difference.)

Stir in onions, and carrots, and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.  Add in the garlic and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the flour until it’s evenly coating the veggies, and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Gradually add in the chicken stock and stir to combine.  Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer.  Then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 7 minutes.

Stir in the cooked sausage, tortellini, spinach, and milk, and continue simmering for 5-7 minutes, or until the tortellini is al dente.

Taste, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  (I generally add in about 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.)

Serve immediately.  Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days.

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts from Pheonix University in Business Management, then a degree in Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology, her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. In her spare time, Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink, Gouache, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 6 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, and opinion or history pieces each week.