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
½ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon rosemary (I omit this)
3. Add and boil for 1 minute:
½ 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.
Looks very good esp. on a cold winter day! I've never tried the dry tortellini before, I will have to look for that at the store. My kids like cheese tortellini with a little butter as a side dish or even for lunch.
I know what I'm cooking this weekend...looks delicious!
OH My...that looks fo good. Defintitely going on my next menu!
I am interested in trying this recipe. Trader Joes sells dried tortellini for less than $2 a pound. I have tried it a few ways and I think that it is pretty good. They also sell their fresh tortellini for less than $2, but that might be a 9 or 12 oz. package.
If this reipe is anything like your Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe, it will be great! I have to tell you ... your Tortilla soup recipe is a hit at my church! When some of our members have been sick they have actually requested that I make it! Pretty yummy I might say!!
Yummy! This is definitely going to me the next soup I make!
Does simmering the sausage overcook it and make it chewy? This looks great, by the way. I plan to give it a try.
HAve you ever made it without the meat? I don't eat meat, but my children do. I was wondering if a meatless version is just as good?
Do you use a red pepper?
It looks delicious, I'll definitely be preparing this one!
Lindsay, I think simmering the sausage makes it chewier, but that could be my imagination! lol
Dawn, I have not made it without meat, but I imagine you could sub some veggie sausage or beans and it would be tasty.
Anne, I used a yellow pepper this time, but I've used red before too. I don't usually use green because my family prefers the sweeter peppers.
Julie, I would rate this up there with the tortilla soup. 🙂
Mmmmm. I can't wait to try this! I just recently found your blog and I'm so inspired I started my own! Not quite as frugal, but a great way to keep me on track with the New Year's Resolutions! (You also inspired my weekly baking/cooking resolution!) You'll have to check out the rainbow cake I made for my husbands birthday yesterday! I made your monkey bread last week, the first time I've been inspired to make a recipe found online! Yummy! I will definitely make it again! Thanks for all the inspiration!
Mmm! This looks amazing!
THANK YOU for the printable version of your recipe. You rock Kristen! 🙂
Ahh, it's thanks to my readers! Several suggested CutePDF, which I downloaded and I am pleased to report that it works great.
I have this exact same recipe and we eat it ALL the time. The kids love it and they even eat the veggies. I've been using Spicy Italian sausage with it lately which gives it a really nice kick.
A twist on this soup is a hit at our dinner table. Essentially all the same except that I use chicken instead of sausage. A great way to use up left over chicken! I've used frozen tortellini as well as the dried variety. We like the frozen better. Adding some grated cheese puts it over the top. This is my son's (aka the soup and bread boy) favorite soup and he gobbles it up. Leftovers are great for lunch.
This looks yummy! My mom and my sister feed that brand of dried tortellini to her kids all the time, and I have to confess to snitching some from their dish any time I see it on the table.
Thanks for the new recipe! 🙂
Oh definitely another one to try! I have all the ingredients except the tortellini so should be cheap enough to make 🙂
I made this yesterday! It is one or our all time favorites! Served it with plain muffins jazzed up with added shredded cheddar and scallions. Yum, yum. And it makes awesome leftovers.
I made this tonight. FANTASTIC! We added black beans to it to make it stick to your ribs a bit more. Thank you for the recipe.
Well, the real Italian experience is: meat tortellini + real broth. Nothing more 🙂
As you have so succinctly pointed out, this is not an authentic Italian soup. But, I am not a real Italian, so we would expect this to be the case. lol
This is tasty, though. 🙂
Oh yeah, it sure looks tasty. (Didn't mean to imply it wasn't 🙂 )
I just re-discovered your blog, what a nice read!
Hi (from a fresh follower of your blog!) 😉
Just a quick question - if 8.oz are 227gr (according to Barilla package) and you're using only 4 oz. for the soup (about 110gr) - how many people does that feed? Are you very light eaters? Here (in Italy) they roughly say "100gr" per person... but there's 5 in your family....
Thank you in advance. Miriam
The pasta is dried, so the cooked weight is way more than 4 ounces. I'm not sure exactly how much the cooked stuff weighs, but it does grow immensely! Plus, there are vegetables and sausage in this soup, so it's not like the tortellini is the only substantial ingredient.
There are six of us, but we are not huge eaters, and four of our family are kids (ages 10, 8, 5, and 3). This soup recipe feeds us with plenty left over, though.
Hope you like it if you try it!
already have the sausage in the fridge 🙂
Will get the tortellini tomorrow, so I'll probably make it for tomorrow night and let you kinow how it goes (hubby is a bit picky with food, unfortunately).
We made this last night- YUM YUM YUM! I think I'll only do 1/2 lb of the sausage next time, or double everything else, but that's just us (my two toddlers were kinda picky about it)- served with fresh homemade french bread, perfect cold weather meal and very hearty. We had it again for lunch today with pita pizzas and my hubby is planning to eat the rest for lunch tomorrow (again). This definitely makes a lot- I think we'll freeze half next time (minus the pasta, of course), because we are going to be making this again!
This soup was awesome!!! I am making it again this weekend when my daughter and family come to visit! Your recipies are great!
I was wondering how to see all your recipes. I just found your site and would love to catch up. Thanks Zelda
Loved it. Easy, fast and something the whole family liked. I added a can of Cannolini beans I had on hand. I also added a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to my personal bowl for a little extra zip!
I made this tonight. And let me just say, this is absolutely wonderful! Served with some freshly baked Challah, its absolutely perfect for a rainy day!
I'm putting this on our family's menu in the coming weeks.
We had this last night and it was a HUGE hit. I used what was on hand: I subbed a can of cannelini beans and a can of garbanzos for the meat, and a can of petite diced tomatoes (we don't like "chunks") for the canned tomatoes. We don't care for green peppers, so in went some extra carrots and some sad looking celery. I also plopped a big spoonful of pesto in there, and used the entire 8oz bag of dried tortellini. Very hearty and truly a complete meal in one bowl. Today it's lunch-time leftovers in "stoup" form (soup + stew = soup) since the pasta absorbed quite a bit of the liquid overnight.
We made this (minus the carrots) today in the crock pot. We used 4 "Great Value" spicy breakfast sausage patties. It was very, very good. We'll make it again.
Where do you get the Barilla tortellini please ?
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.
I think I'll make this to use up some leftover homemade spaghetti sauce.
Is this soup spicy at all? Just wondering if it's ok for young kids...
Nope, it's not spicy at all, as long as you use sweet Italian sausage. So your kiddos should be just fine.
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!
Ooo...thank you so much for this recipe! Going to make it soon. 🙂
Still my go-to recipe nearly a decade later 🙂