Sausage Tortellini Soup with Spinach

You're going to love this Sausage Tortellini Soup with Spinach that combines robust Italian sausage with fresh veggies and hearty cheese tortellini for a delicious twist on minestrone.  We've simplified this recipe for the stovetop or pressure cooker and either method creates a delicious soup that tastes like it cooked all day!

What Is Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup?

Our version of this sausage spinach tortellini soup is a twist on a traditional minestrone soup. Minestrone soup is made with beans, pasta, and lots of veggies. We've swapped the elbow macaroni for cheese tortellini and added hearty Italian sausage for a rich flavor and heartier soup that's perfect for a full meal.

If you love our sausage tortellini spinach soup you might want to try more hearty soup recipes such as this Zuppa Toscana Recipe or Mexican Meatball Soup.

Why You Will Love This Sausage Spinach Tortellini Soup Recipe

• Choose Your Cooking Method: If time is short you can cook your soup in the Instant Pot but can also be cooked on the stove if you don't have a pressure cooker. Both methods create a delicious soup!
• Packed With Veggies: This soup combines hearty and satisfying Italian sausage with pasta and plenty of veggies! It's a great way to get more veggies into your meals in a way everyone will love.
• One-Pot Meal: Everything cooks up in just one pot reducing your time spent cleaning up and it's pretty much a meal in a bowl so you won't need to cook a bunch of sides.

Ingredients

Here are the main ingredients you need to make this tortellini minestrone soup you'll need a few different things!

• Italian sausage: It brings so much extra flavor to the soup. Choose from mild or spicy depending on your preference.
• Aromatics: Onion and garlic are sauteed with the sausage and as it browns it layers in more flavor for your soup.
• Canned tomatoes: We love using stewed tomatoes for the added flavor they have. You can also use diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, or whole tomatoes. No matter which one you use be sure you add the liquid from the can to the soup for flavor and moisture.
• Kidney beans: The traditional bean used to make minestrone soup with tortellini. You can also use other beans you prefer such as chickpeas, white beans, or even pinto beans.
• Veggies: Zucchini and yellow squash add a chunky texture to the soup.
• Chicken broth: You can use store-bought chicken broth or for added nutrients make a batch of our Instant Pot Bone Broth and use it in the soup.
• Cheese tortellini: This recipe uses frozen tortellini. We recommend cheese tortellini but of course, you can use other flavors as well. You can use any brand you prefer but I really like Rosina.  Their pasta is fresh-frozen and tastes as close to homemade as you will get from a store-bought product.
• Spinach: A generous handful of fresh spinach is our favorite. If all you have is frozen you can use it as well. There's no need to thaw it out as long as it's not in a huge block. Simply add it in and it will heat up pretty quickly. You can also use other greens such as arugula or kale.

Be sure to check the recipe card below for the full list and quantities of each.

Recipe Variations

Here are a few ideas for making changes to your batch of Instant Pot sausage tortellini soup.

• Chicken Sausage Tortellini Soup: Swap the pork sausage for chicken or turkey for a slightly leaner version of this soup. You may need to add a bit of olive oil to the pan when cooking it since it has less fat.
• Vegetarian: You can make a vegetarian version by adding extra beans instead of the sausage and using vegetable broth. The sausage adds more layers of flavor due to the many extra herbs and spices it contains so if you decide to make it vegetarian you may find you need to add some additional seasonings such as Italian seasoning, fennel, or crushed red pepper. Another option is to stick with a classic minestrone soup recipe and substitute tortellini for the elbow pasta.
• Skip the Sausage: Whether you simply don't like the flavor or want to use something else, you can use ground beef, chicken, turkey, or pork. I would recommend adding some additional seasonings to the pot for the missing flavors from the sausage such as Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper.
• Richer Tomato Flavor: Add a tablespoon or two of tomato paste to the soup along with the stewed tomatoes.
• Spicy: If you like your meals with a little heat make sure to use spicy Italian sausage and you can even add crushed red pepper flakes.

How to Make Sausage Tortellini Soup

Here are the simple steps to make this recipe in the Instant Pot. If you prefer to cook it on your stove the instructions are in the recipe card for this method.

• Step 1: Brown your sausage, onion, and garlic together using the saute setting on your Instant Pot.
• Step 2: Add the kidney beans.
• Step 3: Pour in the stewed tomatoes.
• Step 4: Toss in the zucchini and yellow squash.

• Step 5: Add the chicken broth and bay leaf.
• Step 6: Add the frozen cheese tortellini. Seal the lid and cook on manual high setting for 0 minutes. Release the pressure immediately.

PRO TIP: Using a 0-minute cook time, the pot will come to pressure and then beep before cooking further. This is just enough to heat up the soup and cook the veggies without turning them to mush.

• Step 7: Add the fresh spinach and stir it into the soup. It will wilt quickly.
• Step 8: Serve immediately garnished with fresh parmesan and basil.

How to Store

• Storing: Cool your soup completely after it's cooked. Then transfer it to an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can freeze it if you want but I find the tortellini end up quite soft after freezing. If you decide to freeze it is best enjoyed within 2-3 months.
• Reheat: To reheat your soup return it to a saucepan and heat over medium heat until heated through. You may need to add some additional broth or water as the soup may thicken after being stored. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave.

Serving Suggestions

Tortellini soup with sausage is a great meal on its own especially since it's filled with meat, pasta, and plenty of veggies. If you want to round out your meal here are some of my favorite sides for what to serve with sausage tortellini soup.

• Bread: A simple French Bread or this Crusty Herb Bread works great to soak up all the juice in your bowl which I promise you will want to do. Other options include some Homemade Breadsticks or our Sizzler Copycat Cheese Bread.
• Salad: A side salad also works quite well especially if you want to eat even more veggies. The options are endless but this simple Fresh Asparagus Salad or our Arugula Salad would be quite tasty.

Expert Tips

• Release Pressure Immediately. Your tortellini sausage spinach soup will continue to cook if you use natural pressure release. For the best outcome, you want tender but not overly soft veggies and tortellini.
• Use Frozen Tortellini. This recipe hasn't been tested using dry tortellini which likely would need additional liquid added during cooking.

Recipe FAQs

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