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Easy Frugal Cooking |Tortellini Soup

I’ve been meaning to post this recipe here forever, but have not, for one reason or another, gotten around to it. I made it again just the other day, though, and was freshly reminded that it really did need to be shared.

I got the recipe from my mom a few years back, and it’s been a staple at our house ever since. It’s simple, customizable, and inexpensive if you can get the turkey sausage and tortellini on sale.

Tortellini Soup
Printable Tortellini Soup Recipe (ta-dah!)

1. Brown:

1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (I use Shady Brook Farms…my favorite!)
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1 clove garlic, minced

2. Add, and simmer 30 minutes:

5 cups beef broth (use homemade, canned, or reconstituted bouillon)
1 pint (2 cups) canned tomatoes
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 cup sliced carrots
1 medium pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon rosemary (I omit this)

3. Add and boil for 1 minute:

1/2 cup red wine or sherry
8 oz. fresh tortellini, or 4 oz. dry tortellini, cooked according to package directions

Want to see how easy this is? Just brown the first group of ingredients:

Add the second group and simmer:

(I don’t really like my sausage to simmer, so I complicate matters by taking it out of the pot while I simmer the second group of ingredients.)

Although you can certainly use fresh tortellini, I’ve found the dry variety to be the least expensive option. I usually use Barilla.

It’s kind of like having fresh pasta, except that it’s much more shelf stable.

Add the cooked tortellini, wine (and the sausage if you decided to complicate matters by taking it out!).

I like to serve this with some homemade bread, like

If you’d like some other frugal dinner ideas, take a peek through the Main Dish and Pizza categories.

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Kimberly

Friday 4th of November 2022

Ooo...thank you so much for this recipe! Going to make it soon. :-)

Ames

Monday 27th of March 2017

Making it now and its almost done! I just sampled the sauce to see if I need salt or pepper but its perfect as is! Just waiting on the tortellini to cook and I can't wait!

Lori

Friday 12th of February 2016

Is this soup spicy at all? Just wondering if it's ok for young kids...

Kristen

Friday 12th of February 2016

Nope, it's not spicy at all, as long as you use sweet Italian sausage. So your kiddos should be just fine.

Dede

Monday 2nd of March 2015

I think I'll make this to use up some leftover homemade spaghetti sauce.

Luisa

Monday 23rd of December 2013

Where do you get the Barilla tortellini please ?

Kristen

Monday 23rd of December 2013

I buy it in the dry pasta aisle at my grocery store. It's not frozen or refrigerated...it's dry and in a shelf-stable little blue bag.

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