Creamy Sausage & Tortellini Soup

Every bite is packed with delicious flavors in this 6-ingredient Sausage Tortellini Soup. With the help of the Crock Pot, this recipe comes together fast and easy. A total crowd-pleaser!

As mentioned above, this recipe only has 6 ingredients!

1. Ground Italian pork sausage – You can sub turkey or chicken sausage.
2. Petite-diced, Italian-style tomatoes – If using plain diced tomatoes, add a dash of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and dried basil to the soup.
3. Low-sodium chicken broth – Here is how to make your own broth.
4. Fresh Spinach – Kale would work instead.
5. Frozen cheese tortellini – You could sub gluten-free tortellini or bowtie pasta.
6. Cream cheese – Get the block so you can cut it into cubes. Also, don’t use low fat.

How to Make Creamy Sausage and Tortellini Soup

In a large skillet, brown the sausage over medium-high heat until there is no more pink showing, about 4 minutes. Drain any excess grease.

Add the sausage, diced tomatoes (juices and all), and chicken broth into a 5 quart or larger slow cooker. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook the soup on LOW for 6-8 hours. You can also cook it on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Turn the temperature to high. Stir in the frozen tortellini.

Next, stir in the chopped spinach.

Replace the lid, and cook for about 30-45 more minutes, until warmed through.

While the tortellini and spinach are cooking, it’s time to prep the cream cheese for the soup. Note: If you skip this step, the cream cheese won’t melt in, leaving you with little specks of cream cheese in the soup. While the taste is still good, it’s not very appealing.

1. Place the cream cheese in a glass or ceramic bowl. Microwave in 10 second increments until softened, stirring in between. (Or use this water bath method.)
2. Use a ladle or measuring cup to add a little of the hot soup liquid to the cream cheese.
3. Stir until fully combined and smooth.

This is the same method for tempering eggs so you don’t scramble them when adding to a hot dish. It works to prevent curdling of cream cheese too! You can see pictures of these steps below.

Stir in your cream cheese mixture and gently stir it until all the cream cheese has liquified. It should be smelling SO good! The cream cheese will continue to melt in and the soup will thicken as it sits.

While we have loads of delicious Crock Pot Freezer Meals, this recipe isn’t an ideal one for the freezer. The tortellini wouldn’t play nice being cooked, frozen, and then thawed.

If you’re determined to find a way to make this a freezer meal, you could follow steps 1 and 2. Don’t cook the soup though. Freeze it alongside the tortellini and have fresh spinach when serving.