This creamy, insanely easy slow cooker tortellini soup is so good you’ll find yourself making it more than once a week!
It’s loaded with veggies, crumbled sausage, and finished with pre-packaged cheese tortellini and a couple of handfuls of fresh baby spinach.
I love this soup because it’s one of those “throw the ingredients together and turn on the slow cooker” recipes.
Not only that, but it’s ready to eat in record time … especially considering it’s a slow cooker recipe.
Some slow cooker recipes have you leave the ingredients in to cook for up to 8 hours, but this soup is done in just 2!
It’s a great work-from-home lunch because it’s so quick to make.
Just start by tossing the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning, and by lunchtime, you have something delicious to eat… with leftovers for the rest of the week!
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Sometimes when I make this soup, I divide the leftovers into individual containers. Then, when I’m ready to eat lunch, it’s right there, ready to be heated through for something quick and easy.
It’s not a freezer-friendly soup, I’m sorry to say- at least not after it’s been cooked.
I don’t recommend freezing leftovers of this soup, as the tortellini gets soggy after thawing and the creamy broth texture changes after it’s been frozen. But since it’s so easy to make, I’ll give it a pass!
I mean, we all know I’m a little obsessed with freezer-friendly soups, am I right?
How can I make substitutions and swaps?
Swap the veggies: This soup calls for onion, carrot, garlic, and fresh spinach as its veggie base. But you can add potatoes, red bell pepper, green beans, or other “wilt-able” fresh green. I recommend mustard greens, swiss chard, or even diced kale.
Leave out the sausage: You don’t need to use the browned sausage, either, if you’re going for a vegetarian option. Vegan sausage works, or you can leave it out entirely.
Instead of cream cheese: In place of the cream cheese, I haven’t tried this soup using a vegan option like Tofutti, but I have a feeling it will work just fine. If you do try this, let me know how it works for you!
Use regular pasta instead of tortellini: And speaking of vegans, if you’re not doing the cheese tortellini thing, a plain ole’ pasta version in your favorite shape would also work. If it’s dried pasta, you’ll have to add an extra 8 or so minutes at the end of cooking to ensure it cooks all the way through. Fresh pasta, like the prepared tortellini, will cook much faster.
Drop the heavy cream: The heavy cream is a nice addition to keep the soup creamy and velvety, but it can be left out entirely of this recipe if you prefer.
What’s the prep like?
This is a Prep Sesh rockstar: This soup lends itself really well to prepping ahead of time. If you’re doing a Prep Sesh and preparing the ingredients for more than one meal at a time, this soup is a great option to have on hand.
This slow cooker tortellini soup is not freezer-friendly: While the soup doesn’t freeze well once it’s prepared, you can prep the vegetables and brown the sausage ahead of time and freeze those first. Then, add the cream cheese, heavy cream, and broth (or liquid, if you’re prepping with bouillon) when you’re ready to cook.
Do a DIY Freezer Meal Kit: Cheese tortellini will freeze well too, so the option to make a “DIY Freezer Meal Kit” is there, too.
What are Freezer Meal Kits, you ask? Think of a freezer meal kit as a bespoke Blue Apron meal kit, created for you and your freezer only (and without the extra cost!). Prep the ingredients ahead of time, and store separate bags together, to be combined at the time of cooking. Just like when you receive a meal kit in the mail!
So, to make this slow cooker tortellini soup into a Freezer Meal Kit, here’s what to do:
- First, pack the veggies, broth/bouillon, and sausage in one bag, and the cheese tortellini and spinach in another.
- Store the bags together in the freezer until you’re ready to cook, at which time you’d add the cream cheese and heavy cream (ie the items that don’t hold up as well to freezing)
Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 1 14 ounce canned diced tomatoes
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 2 garlic clove minced
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- .5 cup heavy cream
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 9 ounces cheese tortellini (one package of pre-made tortellini)
- 2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach
Instructions
Prep Ahead
- Brown sausage, using a wooden spoon to break it up and crumble it as it cooks. When cool enough to handle, transfer to a resealable bag or container.
- Chop the carrots, onions, and garlic and store in a resealable bag or container.
- Cooked sausage will store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Chopped vegetables will store for up to 5 days.
Prepare From Prepped
- Add the sausage, diced tomatoes, onion, carrot, garlic, cream cheese, heavy cream, and chicken broth to a large 7-quart slow cooker and secure the lid.
- Cook on low for 4 hours, high for 2, until the vegetables are tender and cooked through.
- Add the cheese tortellini and fresh spinach to the slow cooker and return the lid.
- Cook a further 20 minutes, until the tortellini is heated through and the spinach has wilted.
- Stir to combine, the serve hot.
Make From Fresh
- Brown sausage, using a wooden spoon to break it up and crumble it as it cooks.
- Transfer the browned sausage to the slow cooker.
- Chop the carrots, onions, and garlic and add to the slow cooker.
- Add the diced tomatoes, cream cheese, heavy cream, and broth.
- Secure the lid and cook on low for 4 hours, high for 2, until the vegetables are tender and cooked through.
- Add the cheese tortellini and fresh spinach to the slow cooker and return the lid.
- Cook a further 20 minutes, until the tortellini is heated through and the spinach has wilted.
- Stir to combine, the serve hot.
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