Creamy Tortellini Soup with Vegetables (Printable)

Creamy tortellini soup with chicken broth, cheese pasta, carrots, spinach, and Italian herbs in 40 minutes.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
02 - 2 medium carrots, sliced
03 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
04 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
05 - 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped

→ Broth and Dairy

06 - 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
07 - 1 cup heavy cream

→ Pasta

08 - 18 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini

→ Seasonings

09 - 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
10 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
11 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
12 - 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

→ Garnish

13 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
14 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

# Step-by-Step:

01 - Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil, then sauté onions, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes until softened.
02 - Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Pour in chicken broth and bring to a gentle boil. Stir in Italian herbs, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using.
04 - Add the cheese tortellini and simmer according to package instructions, usually 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
05 - Lower the heat, add heavy cream, and simmer for 3 minutes.
06 - Stir in chopped spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes.
07 - Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
08 - Ladle into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley before serving.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It tastes like you spent hours on it, but your hands were barely busy for longer than a coffee break.
  • The cream makes everything silky and comforting without feeling heavy or pretentious.
  • You can make it with whatever vegetables you have lurking in your crisper drawer.
02 -
  • Don't skip the sauté step with the vegetables—those five minutes of softening is where the soul of this soup lives.
  • Heavy cream curdles if it boils hard, so keep that heat low and gentle once it goes in, or you'll have a beautiful soup with weird little flecks floating in it.
03 -
  • If you're adding cooked chicken or sausage, slice it thin and add it when you add the spinach so it just warms through and doesn't toughen.
  • The secret that changed everything for me was using the actual good chicken broth instead of the discount kind—you taste the difference in every spoonful.
Go back