I have a confession to make: I’m in the midst of a weather identity crisis. I’m a girl who grew up with 4 distinct seasons, who craves that change every couple of months. Well, now I live in a land where if it’s not too hot to go outside, it’s too rainy to go outside; yeah, there are a few magical weeks in the “spring” and “fall” when the weather is fabulous and relatively mosquito-free. But there just aren’t those breathtaking weeks in the spring when all the trees are blooming. The colors don’t really change in the fall–it’s just like one day, all the leaves have fallen off the trees. It’s devastating.
Throw in the bipolar weather and all is not well in my world! This is the middle of October and it is hot. So…I’ve started cranking my air conditioner waaaaaay down low. Like “That Snuggie is looking good!” low. Like “Is she going through premature menopause?” low. Like “Let’s call child services because this girl is putting her 2-year-old in footie pajamas when it’s 90 degrees outside” low. But I have needs! This is soup season and it has been WAY too long since I’ve had soups simmering in my kitchen. I honestly don’t care anymore if my utility bill is ridiculous. I’ll tell you what’s ridiculous: any temperature over 83 degrees in October. There. I said it. Soup’s on, baby.
When I started my family/personal blog a few years ago, I occasionally posted my favorite recipes to share with my friends and family (yeah, look where that got me! 🙂 ). This was not only one of the first that I shared, but also one of my favorites. Ever. Of all-time. I got this recipe from my friend Jen and along with my friend Lisa’s breadsticks, it is pretty much the perfect meal. It’s my go-to meal to take to friends who are sick or sad. I make it for my family when we’re celebrating–I mean, really, there’s no bad time to make this soup and I’ve yet to find someone who doesn’t just about die with happiness when they eat it.
To get started, you’re going to need about 1/2 pound of sausage or 3 links of Italian sausage (I use mild/sweet, but if you like it spicy, go for the spicy sausage), an onion, and some garlic.
Begin preheating a large soup pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat. If you’re using link sausage, remove the casings and crumble into the preheated pot. To remove the casings, you can use a sharp knife to cut a slit down one side of the sausage and then peel back the casing. And just so you know, both Sara and I have tried taking pictures of this method and there is no G-rated way of posting those pictures…
Begin cooking sausage over medium heat, stirring frequently. If your sausage is pretty fatty, you’ll want to drain it when it’s about halfway cooked. Meanwhile, chop onions and garlic and add to the sausage. Continue cooking until onions are translucent and your sausage is cooked. Your house will smell heavenly.
Add a can of diced tomatoes, a small can of tomato sauce, some apple juice (don’t forget this or leave it out because you think it’s weird–you’ll be sad if you do!), water, and a quart of chicken broth.
Also add in a cup of chopped carrots and a teaspoon each of oregano, and basil.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. While that’s simmering, shred two medium zucchini, measure out two tablespoons of parsley, and round up 10 ounces of cheese tortellini.
When the soup has simmered for 20 minutes, add the zucchini and parsley (NOT the tortellini). Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the tortellini and simmer for another 8-10 minutes or until the tortellini is tender.
Serve with bread and freshly-grated Parmesan.
Note: If you’re making these breadsticks, start the dough first, then prepare the first “phase” of the soup while the dough is rising. While the soup is simmering, twist the breadsticks, let them rise, and they’ll be done baking about the same time the soup is done.
Tortellini Sausage Soup
Description
Hearty and satisfying, this is one of our all-time favorite soups!
Ingredients
- 3 links Italian sausage
- 4 cloves pressed garlic
- 1 onion, diced
- ½ c. water
- 2 15-oz. cans chicken broth
- ½ c. apple cider (don’t leave this out! I did once and it wasn’t the same…)
- 1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 1 c. sliced carrots
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 medium zucchini, grated (great way to use your food processor if you have one
- 8–10 oz. package cheese tortellini (check the freezer section of your grocery store; if you can find it there, it will almost always be way cheaper than fresh tortellini. Also, Barilla makes a great dry cheese tortellini)
- 2 Tbsp. dried parsley (yes, that’s two tablespoons)
Instructions
- If you’re using link sausage, remove the casings and crumble into a large soup pot. To remove the casings, you can use a sharp knife to cut a slit down one side of the sausage and then peel back the casing.
- Chop onion and add to pot with garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Continue cooking until onions are translucent and your sausage is cooked. Your house will smell heavenly.
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, cider, water, chicken broth, carrots, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour. Add parsley and zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Add the tortellini and cook until tender, and then serve with bread and freshly-grated Parmesan.
Notes
- If you need to thin out leftovers, just add a little additional broth.
I popped in a parmesan rind while the soup was simmering and it gave it a really nice depth. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi there! My friend told me I HAVE to make this! LOL I was wondering about a few things…one, can you use fresh herbs? I have a ton right now. Also, I have a can of San Marzano tomatoes…could I just that and just crush/mince up the tomatoes? Thanks! Can’t wait to have this for dinner tomorrow! (just got some fresh tortellini’s from the farmers market) 😀
Staci- you DO have to make this, it’s fantastic! lol. Yes, you can definitely use fresh herbs. Just remember the ratio is 3 to 1, so you’ll want to triple the amount for fresh. Also, I’d probably wait until the last 15 minutes to add them in. And the San Marzanos would be just fine too!
I am so excited to try this! I’m going to make it for my small group Wednesday night with breadsticks, as you suggested. I have a question…I am making this for 6 adults. Should I double? 3 men, 3 women, one being pregnant. If we have leftovers, does it freeze well?
I think you’ll be fine just cooking a single batch, although you could make 1 1/2 batches if you’re nervous. Leftovers freeze well. Mmmmmm…maybe making this for dinner tonight. 🙂
YES I found chicken bouillon cubes! yay 🙂
Yum- looks so good. would beef broth work the same as a substitute for the chicken broth? I forgot to pick that up at the store… oops.
Jacy–Beef broth definitely has a stronger flavor. I’m sure it would still taste good, but it would be a very different flavor. Do you have any chicken base or chicken bouillon cubes?
This soup has fast become a go to meal in the snowy mid-west…thank you!
This was YUMMY!!!
Thanks so much!
It was loved by the whole family.
~Amy
This is a keeper! I made it tonight, and even my 17 yr old son, who claims he hates soup because it doesn't fill him up, went back for thirds, and then just couldn't eat any more.
I love, love, love this soup and have been making a slight variation of it for about 20 years. I have made it for gatherings and brought it in to work and gotten rave reviews every time. You can't lose with this soup. Comforting…
I like to serve it with garlic bread – horizontally slice a bagette, top with roasted garlic butter (roast one head of garlic and add to 1 cube of softened butter and a couple tablespoons of raw garlic) top with a sprinkle of paprika, a teeny tiny bit of garlic salt. Bake in the oven for about 20 min..
I made this last night and it was a hit at our house too! One of my daughters is a vegetarian, so I followed the recipe w/o adding the sausage & subbing veggie stock until it was time to add the tortellini. Before adding the sausage to the big dish, I dished out a serving or 2 of soup, put it in a small saucepan and then added the tortellini to both pans. My vegetarian thought it was delicious too. Thanks!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit with my husband … and my 3 1/2 year old picky son! I made the breadsticks as well … yum! This will definitely make it into our regular rotation!
Made this tonight and it was amazing! I am the only one in the house that likes zucchini and everyone LOVED it!! Thanks for another great recipe!
I love this. My kids ate it. My husband ate it. And I loved that I didn't feel like I was in a dirty kitchen with dishes from yesterday and today…I had already been transported off to Italy to eat this delectable soup! Will have again. And again. And already thinking about taking it to the school party next year when we have a soup contest! Oh…and I didn't have apple cider so I used apple juice with a little bit of cinnamon and a little nutmeg and it seemed to be fine! 🙂 Thanks Kate!
soccer mom–You could cook most of the soup on low all day and then add the zucchini in the last two hours (on high). Cook the tortellini separately and then add it right before serving.
Hope that helps! 🙂
could i do this in a crockpot? if so, what is the best way?
Um this was amazing!! 🙂 my husband loves it and could not even tell there was zucchini (hes a zucchini hater!). My 3 year old was in heaven and kept telling me how amazing the dinner was! WILL MAKE AGAIN AND AGAIN! 🙂 we also made the bread sticks with it and they were SO good with it!
Made this for dinner tonight and we really liked it. My nephew had 3 bowls of it. Thanks for the great recipe!
I loved the recipe, aside from as "herb -ie" as it was….it was a little strong for me…..I might have substituted the sausage for ground sirloin and not used as much herbs. Good recipe though. Thanks for sharing!
I made this soup for my Halloween party a couple of weeks ago and meant to tell you how delicious it was. I served it without trying it first and finally sat down with everyone a little late. I started eating it and proclaimed, "This is delicous!" Everyone agreed and asked who made it. Proudly, I announced it was me! Of course, I gave all the credit to you all. Thanks for yet another delicious recipe! You gals rock my world!
Eve–It freezes okay; the concern is the tortellini. If you're making it with the PLAN to freeze it, you might want to consider leaving out the tortellini and then when you reheat it, add them in the last few minutes.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Just wondering if you've ever frozen this soup for a future meal? I'm wondering how it would do frozen. I think it'd be okay but what do you think? By the way, it's one of my favorite soup recipes! I seriously need to try more stuff on your blog, the recipes I do try are so good that I keep just making the few I've tried.
I made this tonight for dinner, and it felt like the perfect fall meal! I didn't have any zucchini, so I used a yellow squash that I had on hand; it made it even more season-appropriate! Thanks!
I made this last night and it was SO good! I loved everything about it! You girls are awesome!
yummmmmm. mmm mmmm mmm. nom nom nom. seriously so good. i left out the zucchini because we didn't have any handy and after it was done cooking i added another cup or so of chicken broth to make it more soupy and less pasta-y. this is so a keeper
Thanks so much! Dinner was great tonight! Hubby sat down, took a bite of soup, a bite of the breadsticks and said, "You got this off the blog huh? It's way good."
I made this soup the other night to a family full of skeptics. As soon as the soup was underway and the aromas were drifting through the house, I was hearing -"When will it be ready?". Needless to say this soup was a HUGE hit with my family and I look forward to making it again. I also made it with the garlic twists – AWESOME.
Jenissa- 3 links would be 12 oz, or 3/4 lb.
Quick question…
Wasn't quite sure what I was looking for when I went to buy the sausage. So I just bought some spicy ground sausage (1lb). How much should I use? I guess my question is, how much is the equivalent of 3 links of sausage?
Thanks!
Give Johnsonville Italian sausage a try. They are by the Bratwurst in the fresh meat section. Should come in a similar package to Bratwurst as well.
This is the best soup I have ever tasted! THANK YOU for posting this recipe! Then again, every single one of your recipies are out of this world!
I made this for a play date/ lunch date with friends this week – BEST SOUP EVER! This totally hit the spot and all my friends LOVED it. I actually had it for dinner as well…
my husband and in laws loved it too! This is going to definitely be one of my go to recipes now – IT'S SO EASY! Thanks for this one. I just added this site to my food blog and my facebook page. Looking forward to trying out more of your recipes!