It was cozy, filling, and surprisingly easy to make.
There's nothing quite like a warm, hearty bowl of soup when the weather starts to cool down — especially one that's easy enough to throw together on a busy weeknight.
As fall approaches, I've been seeing recipes for sausage and tortellini soup all over social media. With savory Italian sausage , cheesy tortellini, and a rich, comforting tomato base, it looked like exactly the kind of low-effort recipe I'd reach for after a long day.
The recipe called for just a handful of standard ingredients I could find at the grocery store, along with a few pantry staples.
I was impressed by how quickly everything came together — the soup was cozy , filling, and surprisingly easy to make, with enough flavor to feel like I'd spent far more time in the kitchen than I actually had.
After trying it for myself, I can see why sausage and tortellini soup has become such a viral recipe. Here's how I made it and what I thought.
I started by gathering the ingredients for the soup.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The ingredient list was pretty straightforward. While I've seen many versions of this tomato, sausage, and tortellini soup online, I followed a recipe from Here's Your Bite , which was first posted on TikTok in 2024.
To make it, you'll need:
Ingredients:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb Italian Sausage, hot or mild
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1/2 cup carrot, finely diced
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp Italian Seasoning, to taste
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tsp red chili flakes, to taste
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
Parmesan rind
Bay leaf
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups spinach
I cooked the mirepoix in butter and olive oil first.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
In a large Dutch oven, I melted the olive oil and butter together before adding the diced celery, onions, and carrots over medium-high heat.
While the mixture cooked down and became fragrant, I added my seasonings.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The recipe called for Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. These were all standard seasonings I already had in my pantry.
I sautéed the vegetables for about 5 minutes.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
After a few minutes, the vegetables started to soften and lightly caramelize around the edges.
Next, I added garlic to the vegetables — I always add minced garlic to the pot later than other vegetables, as I find it starts to burn much more quickly.
By now, my kitchen was already smelling heavenly.
I browned the Italian sausage directly in the pot.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I used spicy Italian sausage for an extra kick. As it cooked, I broke the sausage into smaller pieces and mixed it with the vegetables to combine everything.
The recipe said to cook it until it was no longer pink, which took about 10 minutes.
Once the sausage was cooked, I cleared a space in the middle of the pot for the tomato paste.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The recipe recommended adding the 3 tablespoons of tomato paste right in the center of the pot and letting it cook on its own for about a minute before mixing it into the sausage and vegetables.
After that, I stirred the tomato paste into the sausage and vegetables.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The mixture became much richer and more tomato-forward.
I sprinkled the flour evenly over the sausage mixture and stirred until it disappeared into everything else. The recipe called for cooking it for a minute or two to remove any raw flour taste.
I then poured in the white wine and used a wooden spatula to scrape up any bits that had stuck to the bottom of the pan.
This is where the mixture really thickened and congealed into a delicious-smelling base for the rest of the soup.
After a couple of minutes, I added the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I seasoned the mixture with more salt and pepper, and poured a bit of water into my can of crushed tomatoes to make sure every drop was added to my pot.
Instead of using store-bought chicken broth, I made my own using Better Than Bouillon chicken base and boiling water. I find that it makes for a richer, more flavorful broth.
The pot finally started looking like soup.
I added a Parmesan rind while the soup simmered.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The Parmesan rind was optional, but I decided to use it. As someone who goes through a lot of Parmesan cheese, I luckily already had a nearly-used-up block in my fridge, so I just cut it down to remove the rind.
I dropped it directly into the tomato broth and also added a bay leaf for extra flavor. Then, I let the soup simmer uncovered for about 20 to 30 minutes.
As it simmered, the broth darkened and concentrated.
I added the tortellini and spinach near the end.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Once the broth had simmered, I removed the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind.
Then, I added the tortellini directly to the pot and stirred in the spinach at the same time. The tortellini only needed a few minutes to become tender, and the spinach wilted almost immediately into the hot broth.
After the tortellini had cooked, I added the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese as a final touch.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The heavy cream and grated cheese made the soup noticeably thicker. The finished soup looked creamy, hearty, and packed with tortellini.
The sausage was evenly distributed throughout the soup, and bits of spinach added color to each spoonful.
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