Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup Recipe
Tomato soup is acclaimed as a childhood classic, but the truth is, it's often very plain and bland, especially the store-bought kind. When you make it yourself, though, you can add a lot of flavor as well as embellishments like pasta, and such is the case with this creamy tomato tortellini soup.
As recipe developer Hayley MacLean describes it, "This soup is so delicious and creamy with a rich tomato taste and little bites of cheese tortellini goodness." She says that the use of diced tomatoes in addition to the pureed tomatoes and the tomato paste deepens the flavor, while the spinach and the basil garnish "add a wonderful freshness." if you like, you can even spice things up with a little crushed red pepper. While making this soup certainly requires more effort than simply opening a can, the prep work isn't too bad, and it will be ready to eat in under an hour.
Gather the ingredients for creamy tomato tortellini soup
For this soup, you'll be using three kinds of canned tomatoes: diced ones, pureed ones, and tomato paste. You'll also need an onion and some garlic, as well as a bay leaf and some Italian seasoning. You'll also need olive oil, vegetable broth, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, spinach, and heavy cream.
As regards these last two ingredients, MacLean says you can use frozen spinach in place of fresh, as this makes for "a great way to make this dish easy and cost effective." She also allows that half-and-half or whole milk could take the place of the cream to "lighten the recipe up" while still keeping it creamy.
Sauté the aromatics
Heat a pot on a stove burner set to medium, but be sure to add the oil before the pot itself scorches. Once the oil is in the pot, cook it until it shimmers, then add the onion. Cook this for about three to four minutes, at which point the onion should appear somewhat translucent. Add the garlic to the onions and cook them for another minute or so, until the garlic is fragrant but not brown.
Simmer the tomato soup
Stir the cans of diced tomatoes into the onions (no need to drain them) along with the bay leaf, Italian seasoning, and (if desired) crushed red pepper. Cook the diced tomatoes for five minutes until they soften and release their juices, then stir in the broth along with the tomato puree and paste. Cover the pot with a lid, leaving it partly open, then simmer the soup for 15 minutes.
Add the final ingredients
Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the cream and tortellini, then cook the soup for five to seven minutes, until the pasta is soft or at least al dente. Take out the bay leaf at this point, then stir in the Parmesan and keep stirring until it melts. Add the spinach, too, and cook until it wilts. Your soup is now done!
If you'd like, you can garnish this soup with fresh basil and/or some additional grated Parmesan. MacLean particularly recommends the basil, calling it "a classic pairing with tomato and cheese [that] adds the perfect herbaceous accent." She recommends serving the soup for lunch alongside a salad or perhaps as a starter course for a dinner of grilled chicken and garlic bread.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 (14 ½ ounces) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (28 ounces) can tomato puree
- 3 tablespoons canned tomato paste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 20 ounces cheese tortellini
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup fresh basil, torn or chopped
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pot and heat until it shimmers.
- Add the onion to the oil and sauté until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the onions and continue cooking for another minute or until fragrant.
- Add the diced tomatoes, bay leaf, and Italian seasoning to the onions, along with the red pepper flakes, if you'll be using those.
- Cook the tomato mixture for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and released their juices.
- Add the vegetable broth, tomato puree, and tomato paste to the tomato mixture.
- Partially cover the pot with a lid and simmer the soup on low heat for 15 minutes.
- Stir the heavy cream and tortellini into the soup and cook on medium-low for 5 to 7 minutes, until the pasta is cooked.
- Remove the bay leaf from the soup and add the Parmesan, stirring until the cheese melts.
- Add the baby spinach to the soup and cook until it wilts.
- Garnish the soup with fresh basil and/or additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
| Calories per Serving | 589 |
| Total Fat | 28.0 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15.1 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 102.5 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 66.8 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8.8 g |
| Total Sugars | 13.4 g |
| Sodium | 1,450.4 mg |
| Protein | 22.9 g |
