Name: Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 lb tortellini; 1.25 lb sweet Italian sausage, ground; 2 medium carrots, chopped; 2 celery stalks, chopped; 1 medium onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tablespoon fennel seed; 2 tablespoon tomato paste; 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes; 8 cups chicken stock; 2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1 14 oz can cannellini beans; 1-3 tbsp olive oil; 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley; ⅔ cup heavy cream

There's a nostalgic comfort meal in every family, and my kids will remember this Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage as the one Dad always made to make them feel better. It's filled with delicious fennel and garlic flavor with a smooth, creamy finish.

Rustic Italian tortellini soup with sausage in a bowl topped with parmesan cheese next to a pot of the soup.

If you love this soup, you may want to give some of these a try, like our White Bean Lentil Soup, Curry Chicken and Rice Soup, orItalian Wedding Soup.

A Quick Look at The Recipe

✅Recipe Name: Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage
⏲️Ready in: 1 hour 15 minutes
👪Makes: 8 servings
📋Main ingredients: Sweet Italian Sausage, tortellini, crushed tomatoes, and chicken stock.
⭐Why You'll Love This Recipe: It's creamy and hearty with nostalgic Italian flavors for a comfort soup your family will love.

Have a question about the recipe? Ask Ai!

Google AIPerplexityGrok [feast_advanced_jump_to]

Why People Love "Rustic" Soups

What does a "rustic" soup even mean? Our rustic tortellini soup with sausage is an old-school classic. It's rustic because it's filled with chunky vegetables, seared sausage, beans for added heartiness, and a parmesan rind for savory flavor.

There are a million soups out there, so why trust classics like this one or Creamy Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup? We make these dishes the traditional way, and while it may be slightly more labor-intensive, the flavor will make it 100% worth it.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Sweet Italian Sausage- This is one of the most important ingredients in a tortellini soup with sausage. If you buy a low-quality sausage, that's what the soup will taste like. Try going to the butcher and buying their sweet Italian sausage, or make your own Homemade Italian Ground Sausage. It's super easy. Sometimes I use my ingredients for Italian Ring Sausage (Chevalatta)and just make it at home!
Stock- Of course, homemade stock is amazing, but we don't all have unlimited time. I usually use Trader Joe's or Kirkland brand chicken stock.
Tortellini- This is another one in which quality matters! The Trader Joe's tortellini is okay, but if you have a local pasta shop or market that sells fresh tortellini, I highly recommend it because the better the quality, the better the taste! Or substitute our fresh Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi. You can also try tortellini in our Chicken Tortellini Soup.
Parmesan rind- I always add a parmesan rind to my Italian soups for extra flavor. I also do this in my Escarole and Bean Soup!
Onion- Substitute a fennel bulb if you love that anise flavor and want to add more of it to the soup!

*Please see the recipe card below for more information on ingredients.

How to Make Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

Remove your sweet Italian sausage from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. This will help with the searing process. The dutch oven will lose less heat if the sausage isn't that cold.

Searing and browning sausage in a dutch oven.

Step 1: Bring a large dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place the ground sausage into the pan in a very flat patty. Let it sear for 3 minutes untouched. Then use a wooden spoon to break it up and continue cooking until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set it aside.

Sauteing vegetables and caramelizing tomato paste in a dutch oven.

Step 2: Remove leftover oil from the pan and add 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the carrots, onions, and celery. Sauté until softened, about 8 minutes. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Step 3: Stir in the garlic and fennel seed and sauté for 2 additional minutes.

Step 4: Create a small well in the center of the vegetables and add the tomato paste. Let it caramelize in the pot for 2 minutes. This will release a more intense tomato flavor.

Step 5: Stir the tomato paste into the vegetables well.

Simmering crushed tomatoes and chicken stock in a dutch oven.

Step 6: Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Season with 1 teaspoon salt.

Step 7: Once the tomatoes are simmering, pour in the chicken stock. Raise the heat to medium-high. Once boiling, lower the heat to a gentle simmer.

Returning sausage to the dutch oven and adding tortellini.

Step 8: Return the sausage to the pot and add the parsley, parmesan rind, and cannellini beans. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Step 9: Add the tortellini to the pot and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes until the tortellini is al dente.

Step 10: Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Serve immediately and top with parmesan cheese!

This Italian tortellini soup is so hearty and delicious. If you love a traditional soup like this, try our Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms or Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage.

Rustic Italian tortellini soup with sausage in a bowl topped with parmesan cheese.

Pro-Tips

Sear the sausage to get the best flavor from the meat. Start by removing the sausage from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to cooking to bring it closer to room temperature. Let the dutch oven get HOT before you place the sausage in. Leave it untouched once you place it in the pot for 3 minutes. The more surface area, the better, so form it into a big flat patty and then break it apart.
Season throughout the process with salt and pepper to avoid a bland soup. Crushed tomatoes NEED seasoning. Season in layers and always taste the soup at each step to see if you need more salt.
Caramelize the tomato paste. This small step makes a HUGE difference. Caramelizing the tomato paste releases an intense tomato flavor and leaves a fond on the bottom of the pan that will develop into big flavors!

Recipe Variations

Vegetables- Add more vegetables for a veggie-forward dish, like doubling up some of the sofritto ingredients or adding spinach to wilt at the end. Or try some chopped broccoli rabe to give it more of a Broccoli Rabe and Tortellini Soupvibe.
Sausage- Make this dish spicier by making it with hot Italian sausage or chorizo.
Heavy Cream- This rustic soup holds up with or without heavy cream! Make it creamier with mascarpone or leave out the creaminess altogether with no heavy cream at all.

Reheating and Storage

Storing- Store this traditional Italian soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. This soup does well in the refrigerator, but the tortellini will absorb some of the broth, so plan on adding more chicken stock.

Freezing- If you plan on freezing the soup, cook the tortellini separately and add to the soup as needed. If you freeze the tortellini, it falls apart upon reheating and soaks up a lot of the liquid.

Reheating- Reheat the soup in a pot on medium heat until heated through completely. Plan on adding more chicken broth because the tortellini will soak up a lot of the liquid and turn this soup into a stew.

Recipe FAQs

What do you serve with Tortellini Soup?

This soup goes well with Ricotta Bruschetta, Air Fryer Zucchini Fritters, andEasy Steamed Artichokes.

I also love to serve it before dishes like Chicken Francese, Chicken Marsala, andChicken Saltimbocca.

What is the difference between tortellini and tortelloni?

Tortelloni is just a larger version of the same pasta shape. They can both have the same ricotta filling or a variety of different fillings, including meat, spinach, and parsley.

Should I cook the tortellini in the soup?

Cooking any pasta directly in a soup will let the pasta soak up more flavor, but it will also soak up more soup. Sometimes, upon reheating, you may need to add more broth to the soup if the pasta soaked up a lot of the broth.

Should I use fresh or refrigerated tortellini?

I prefer refrigerated tortellini for soup because it absorbs liquid more slowly and won't soak everything up instantly. If you use fresh, only simmer it for 3-5 minutes before serving.