We love this quick and easy tortellini soup, which is made with store-bought tortellini pasta, a garlicky broth, and lots of veggies. It takes about 30 minutes to make!
I’m always thrilled when this vegetable tortellini soup is for dinner. I enjoy so many of the soup recipes on Inspired Taste, but this one truly delivers on the comfort food front! It’s hearty and delicious.
Feel free to use your family’s favorite tortellini in the soup, which means you can try out different fillings to find what you love most. For more hearty soups, check out our vegetable soup, creamy chicken noodle soup, or this Italian wedding soup.
Key Ingredients
- Tortellini: I’m a fan of cheese-filled tortellini, but feel free to use your favorite kind. You’ll find a wide variety of fillings at the store, including vegan options. Small ravioli is a great substitute! Or, if you don’t have tortellini and only have pasta, use that (the base of the soup is still delicious)!
- Veggies: I pack this hearty soup with onion, carrot, zucchini, garlic, and kale (or spinach).
- Tomato Paste and Spices: Tomato paste adds color and flavor to the soup, while the spices bring incredible flavor. I use Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes. The pepper flakes are optional but provide a touch of heat.
- Broth: For a vegetarian tortellini soup, use vegetable broth. If that’s not a concern, chicken broth works great.
- Fresh Herbs: I love fresh herbs, especially parsley and dill, stirred into the soup before serving.
How to Make Tortellini Soup
Making tortellini soup is super easy! I start by cooking chopped onions and carrots until they begin to soften. Then, I stir in plenty of minced garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and chopped zucchini. These ingredients are added later since they cook faster than the onions and carrots.
Next, I pour in the broth and let everything simmer until the veggies are tender. Once they are, I stir in the tortellini and a generous amount of torn kale leaves. It only takes a few minutes more to cook. The kale should be wilted, and the pasta should be tender.
Finally, I season the soup to taste. Add a splash of cream or non-dairy milk if you like a creamy soup. I also love tossing in a handful of chopped fresh herbs if I have some on hand. Fresh dill or parsley both taste lovely in this soup. And that’s it! You’ve got a simple, delicious tortellini soup. It’s the best!
Easy Tortellini Soup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
We love this quick and easy tortellini soup recipe, which uses store-bought pasta, garlicky broth, and veggies. I keep it vegetarian and buy cheese-filled pasta for this soup, but you can use whatever you love. Consider spinach, sausage, chicken, and even vegan fillings. Most (if not all) are available in larger grocery stores here in the US.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium zucchini, chopped
4 medium cloves garlic, minced, 1 heaping tablespoon
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, omit if sensitive to spice
8 cups (1.8L) vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 (8 to 10oz) package tortellini
1 small bunch kale, thick stems removed and chopped
Splash cream or non-dairy milk, optional
Handful chopped fresh herbs like parsley or dill
Dash fish sauce, optional
Parmesan for serving, optional
Directions
1Heat the oil in a large pot, such as a Dutch oven, over medium heat. Toss in the onions and carrots, and then cook, occasionally stirring them, until they soften, about 5 minutes.
2Stir in the zucchini, garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes, and cook for one minute.
3Pour in the broth, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook the soup at a low simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
4Stir in the tortellini and kale, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the heat to low and stir in the milk/cream (this makes the broth a little creamy, but you can leave this out if you prefer plain broth).
5Taste the soup and season with additional salt as needed. For extra flavor, add a few dashes of fish sauce (optional). Serve with chopped fresh herbs and grated parmesan cheese scattered on top (optional).
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Vegan tortellini soup: To make this soup vegan, look for a vegan tortellini (Kite Hill makes one) and omit the cheese and fish sauce.
- Fish sauce: This is optional but adds a lovely flavor to sauces and soups like this tortellini soup. Two to three dashes season the soup nicely. Think of fish sauce as salt on steroids. It doesn’t make the soup taste fishy but makes the flavor pop.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We did not include optional ingredients and assumed regular (not low-sodium) vegetable broth.
I made this today. I can’t stop eating it. So good. I used baby spinach instead of kale. Maybe a little less crushed red pepper but that is a personal choice. Thank you for this recipe.
Super easy, quick and tasty! The red paper flakes add a kick, which we like! I’m saving this for the future!
Delicious soup recipe. Family loved it. Thank you. Bonus…. so easy, so fast.
This was really delicious! While the recipe is perfect as is, I had a few random things in my fridge that I felt would be great additions. Here’s what I changed: —I added some parsnip (my FAVORITE veggie soup ingredient… it’s literally what a carrot wishes it tasted liike) and celery—both of which I sauteed along with the carrots and onions. —Used more like 2 tablespoons of tomato paste instead of 1 —I also topped my bowls with some fresh cilantro and fresh cracked black pepper (Nothing like a bunch of garnishments to make a dish look – and taste – so beautiful.) —I boiled the tortellinis in a separate pot and spooned them as needed into each bowl before ladleing in the soup so leftovers weren’t ruined by the noodles soaking up the broth. So now we have PERFECT soup for lunch with a side of tortellini ready to go for a swim. —I made some crusty bread to dip (it was the ideal complement for such a fantastic winter night soup) —While I didn’t do this, I think this soup would go great with some small chunks of sweet Italian sausage (maybe next time!) Overall, the broth had a very deep flavor for only taking a short 30 min to make and not having too many ingredients/spices. I highly recommend this dish to anyone who wants a robust and filling veggie soup.