Crockpot Tortellini Soup with Sausage is Italian sausage, carrots, celery, crushed and diced tomatoes and chicken broth cooked low and slow, with cheese tortellini, a splash of cream and fresh spinach stirred in for the last half hour. The sausage gets browned first, the slow cooker does the rest, and the pasta goes in at the end so it’s just cooked through when you serve. It makes 6 servings.
How to make it: Brown the sausage with onion in a skillet until it reaches 160°F, stir in garlic and move it to the slow cooker. Add the carrots, celery, both cans of tomatoes and the broth, and cook on low 7 to 8 hours or on high 4 to 5. About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the uncooked tortellini, cream and spinach, turn the heat to high and cook until the tortellini is tender.
Why You’ll Love It
- Hands-off: ten minutes at the stove, then the slow cooker takes over for the day.
- No pre-cooking the pasta: the tortellini cooks right in the soup at the end.
- A full meal in a bowl: sausage, vegetables, cheese-filled pasta and greens.
- Creamy or not: the cream is optional, so you can keep it a brothy tomato soup.
Ingredient Notes
Italian sausage: 16 ounces with the casings removed, browned before it goes in the slow cooker. If you use turkey or chicken Italian sausage, cook it to 165°F instead of 160°F.
Vegetables: half a medium onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 medium carrots and 2 stalks of celery. Chop the carrots fairly fine if you’ll cook on high; for a long day on low they can be bigger.
Tomatoes: a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes and a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes with their juices.
Chicken broth: 4 cups. Low-sodium broth lets you control the salt; the sausage adds plenty.
Cheese tortellini: two 9-ounce packages of refrigerated cheese tortellini, added uncooked. Frozen cheese tortellini also works.
Heavy cream and spinach: 3/4 cup of cream (optional) and 2 packed cups of fresh baby spinach go in with the pasta.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium carrots, sliced or chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped finely
- 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes, with their juices
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 packages (9 ounces each) refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach, packed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
How to Make Crockpot Tortellini Soup
1. Brown the sausage. Add the sausage meat and the chopped onion to a large skillet. Sauté for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking the sausage up with a spoon, until it is browned and cooked through to 160°F on a food thermometer. If needed, spoon out some of the excess fat.
2. Add the garlic. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the sausage mixture to the Crockpot.
3. Fill the slow cooker. Add the carrots, celery, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with their juices and the chicken broth to the Crockpot. Keep the lid on and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. For a 3 to 4 hour cook, chop the carrots pretty finely; for the longer times they can be larger.
4. Add the tortellini, cream and spinach. About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the cheese tortellini, cream and spinach and set the heat to high. Stir occasionally and cook until the tortellini is cooked through.
5. Season and serve. Season with salt and pepper as needed before serving.
When to Add the Tortellini
Tortellini goes into the slow cooker at the end, uncooked. There’s no need to boil it first.
The sausage, vegetable and tomato base cooks on its own for most of the day. Then, about 30 minutes before you want to eat, stir in the tortellini with the cream and spinach, turn the slow cooker to high and let it cook until the pasta is tender. Stir now and then so the pieces don’t stick together.
Slow cookers vary. If yours runs hot, start checking the pasta a little early so it doesn’t overcook. Frozen tortellini works the same way and may need the full 30 minutes.
Tips for Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup
- Brown the sausage first. Cook it in a skillet to 160°F before it goes into the slow cooker, and spoon off extra fat.
- Thaw frozen sausage first. Meat should go into the slow cooker thawed, never frozen.
- Keep the lid on. Lift it only to stir or check, so the soup holds its heat.
- Match the carrots to the time. Chop them finely for a shorter cook on high.
- Adjust the thickness. Stir in extra broth at the end if you like a thinner soup.
Variations
- Cream cheese instead of cream: a creamier version lays an 8-ounce block of cream cheese, cut into pieces, on top of the broth at the start and stirs it in once it has melted.
- Kale instead of spinach: stir in about 3 cups of chopped kale with the tortellini.
- No cream: leave it out for a brothy tomato soup.
- Toppings: grated Parmesan, fresh basil or chopped parsley.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours after cooking in shallow covered containers. They keep 3 to 4 days.
Freezer: Leftovers are safe frozen for 3 to 4 months, but soups with cream don’t freeze well; the cream can separate. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Reheating: Reheat on the stove, in the microwave or in the oven, bringing the soup to a rolling boil or 165°F. Don’t reheat leftovers in the slow cooker; heat them first, then you can keep hot soup on the slow cooker’s warm setting at 140°F or above for serving.
What to Serve With It
Something to dunk is a must: homemade cheesy garlic breadsticks are made for tomato soup. For a lighter side, serve a spinach salad with warm bacon dressing.
More slow cooker Italian dinners: slow cooker lasagna soup, slow cooker baked ziti and slow cooker Amish tomato noodle soup. For a creamy soup with spinach and gnocchi, try million dollar soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put tortellini in a slow cooker?
Yes. Add uncooked tortellini about 30 minutes before serving and cook on high until tender.
Do you need to cook tortellini before putting it in soup?
No. Refrigerated or frozen tortellini cooks right in the hot soup.
What’s the best broth for tortellini soup?
Chicken broth, ideally low-sodium since the sausage is already salty. Vegetable broth also works.
Can I make crockpot tortellini soup without meat?
This soup is built on sausage. For a meatless soup, use a recipe written for it, such as a vegetable broth soup with white beans, kale and Parmesan.
Can I use turkey sausage?
Yes. Brown it the same way, but cook it to 165°F, the safe temperature for poultry.
Final Notes
Brown the sausage in the morning, let the slow cooker work all day and stir in the tortellini half an hour before dinner. If you try it with kale, tell me in the comments how it turned out.
Crockpot Tortellini Soup with Sausage
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Ingredients
- 16 ounces Italian sausage casings removed
- 1/2 onion medium, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 carrots medium, sliced or chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped finely
- 1 can crushed tomatoes 28 ounces
- 1 can diced tomatoes 14 ounces, with their juices
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 packages refrigerated cheese tortellini 9 ounces each
- 3/4 cup heavy cream optional
- 2 cups baby spinach fresh, packed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the sausage meat and the chopped onion to a large skillet. Sauté for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking the sausage up with a spoon, until it is browned and cooked through to 160°F on a food thermometer. If needed, spoon out some of the excess fat.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the sausage mixture to the Crockpot.
- Add the carrots, celery, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with their juices and the chicken broth to the Crockpot. Keep the lid on and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. For a 3 to 4 hour cook, chop the carrots pretty finely; for the longer times they can be larger.
- About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the cheese tortellini, cream and spinach and set the heat to high. Stir occasionally and cook until the tortellini is cooked through.
- Season with salt and pepper as needed before serving.
