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Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup
We make soup for dinner all of the time. Some like to serve soup as a starter to a meal, but we usually use it as the main course. If you don’t think soup can be a meal all by it’s lonesome, then you haven’t tried Josh’s Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup. This soup has it all-sausage, cheese, pasta, and veggies. You can get your entire meal in one bowl!
Our Tortellini Vegetable Soup is one of our all-time favorite soups, but one night Josh asked if he could make a “meaty man’s” version. I always love it when Josh volunteers to create a recipe. Ok, sometimes I get controlling and want to take over his recipe, but this time I let him have at it. He adapted our vegetable tortellini soup to include Italian sausage and his favorite veggies.
Josh rolled Italian sausage into tiny balls and cooked them before adding them to the soup. The mini Italian sausage meatballs were bite size and a great addition to the soup. Josh also included red peppers, tomatoes, and kale. The kale made the soup pretty. I don’t think Josh added the kale for prettiness since it was a “man’s” soup, but it was a nice touch!
Josh’s Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup is hearty, full of flavor, and easy to make. Josh makes it all of the time. We love easy one pot meals at our house.
And if you have a vegetarian in the family, you can make the soup and leave out the sausage until the very end. Josh always ladles up my bowl before he adds in the sausage. I love the soup without the sausage, but Josh and Caleb prefer to add it in. They like to bond over their meaty man soup:)
There is nothing wimpy about this Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup. It makes a great meal, especially on a cold winter’s day!
ITALIAN SAUSAGE TORTELLINI SOUP
Soup with Italian sausage, cheese tortellini, red peppers, and kale. Everyone always requests this recipe!
yield: SERVES 6 
prep time: 10 MINUTES 
cook time: 30 MINUTES
total time: 40 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 lb. Italian Sausage, rolled into 3/4 teaspoon size balls
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 red bell peppers, diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped kale
  • 2 cups cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS:
  1. In a large skillet, brown the mini sausage balls until cooked through. This will take about 5-7 minutes. Drain off the grease and place the sausage balls on a plate lined with paper towels.
  2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the red peppers, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Cook until peppers are soft, about 3 minutes.
  3. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, and kale. Add the cheese tortellini and cook until tortellini is tender, 7-8 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the mini sausage balls and heat until warm. Remove the bay leaf and serve.
Note-you can make this soup vegetarian by using vegetable broth and omitting the sausage. Josh always ladles up my bowl first, and then adds the sausage. This soup recipe is very adaptable!
All images and text ©Two Peas & Their Pod.