This Instant Pot Tortellini Soup is a warm, hearty dish perfect for a chilly evening. With rich ground sausage, plenty of healthy vegetables, and cheesy tortellini, this perfectly balanced soup will have everyone coming back for seconds!
Why You'll Love This Dish
One of the best things about this Instant Pot Sausage Tortellini Soup is that it’s incredibly easy to make. Outside of a little chopping and sautéeing, the Instant Pot takes care of the rest.
It’s quick - ready in under 30 minutes, you'll have dinner on the table in no time.
It’s also versatile–use sweet or hot sausage, add more vegetables or take away the ones you don’t like, and use your favorite herbs. You can also pick whatever flavor of ravioli you like best.
And while I personally love vegetables, I know a few picky eaters. The delicious, rich broth, savory bites of pasta, and a healthy dash of parmesan seem to outweigh any aversion to the hearty serving of veggies.
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What You'll Need
- Tortellini Dried or frozen varieties will work here. Choose whatever flavor looks best to you!
- Olive Oil This is our favorite brand of olive oil.
- Sausage I personally like spicy Italian sausage here, but if you are sensitive to heat, try a mild or sweet sausage. I use ground sausage, but you can also slice different varieties of link sausage, like chicken, chorizo, or kielbasa.
- Broth I used commercial chicken broth for this recipe. Feel free to use vegetable broth or your favorite bouillon.
- Onion Try yellow or sweet onion here.
- Garlic Fresh garlic is always best, but you can also use jarred chopped garlic.
- Carrots Baby carrots will work great, too!
- Celery
- Spinach Baby spinach is nice because it’s easy to eat in one bite.
- Rosemary This is one scenario where I think dried rosemary or fresh rosemary are equally great.
- Kosher Salt Our favorite brand is Diamond Crystal. The shape of each individual grain is more of a flake than a concentrated cube, coating food more easily and making it harder to oversalt!
- Black Pepper Freshly ground black pepper is recommended, but use whatever you have on hand.
- Parmesan Optional, but recommended!
- Parsley Also optional. Fresh parsley is a fantastic garnish, but feel free to use other soft herbs. Basil or dill would be lovely here.
How to Make Instant Pot Tortellini Soup
Step One Prepare your ingredients. Brown the sausage in the Instant Pot on sauté mode. Remove from the pot.
Step Three Add the carrots, onion, and celery and cook a few minutes, stirring often.
Step Four Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant.
Step Five Add back in the sausage. Add the tortellini, broth, and seasonings.
Step Six Set the Instant Pot on high pressure for 5 minutes. Once finished, carefully utilize the quick release method to release the pressure from the Instant Pot. Once released, remove the lid, stir in the spinach, and taste for seasoning.
Step Seven Serve right away with fresh herbs like parsley or basil and a healthy serving of grated parmesan!
FAQ
Try some toast, bread, rolls, or a vegetable side, like salad or roasted vegetables.
See the "How to Serve" section below for more ideas!
You will find many different fillings for tortellini, from cheeses to meats to vegetables. Most commonly you will find cheese or spinach tortellini in grocery stores.
For this recipe, choose whichever flavor appeals to you most.
Definitely! Our only recommendation is that you avoid fresh, refrigerated tortellini as it will become too soft in the time it takes the remainder of the soup to cook.
You can, but it is recommended you freeze the tortellini and the remainder of the soup separately. See the "How to Store" section for more details.
Variations
- Different Vegetables Try adding some kale or Swiss chard in place of spinach. Remove the leaves from the stem and stir into the soup at the end. You can also add things like green peas, corn, broccoli, tomatoes, or any veggie you like!
- Spicy Use spicy Italian sausage and add just a pinch of red pepper flake for a spicier soup.
- Tomato Base In place of a plain chicken broth base, add a small tin of canned tomatoes when adding the tortellini for a tomato-y base to this soup.
- Creamy Replace one cup of broth with one cup of cream for a richer, more decadent soup.
How to Store
Fridge If planning to store this soup for later, you can store the soup base for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. I recommend cooking and storing the tortellini separately so that they do not become mushy.
Freezer Like with fridge storage, I recommend storing the soup and tortellini separately. Do not add the tortellini to the Instant Pot and instead cook separately on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot after you have thawed the soup.
The vegetables, sausage, and broth can be cooled completely after cooking, then stored in an airtight freezer-safe container such as a gallon freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Defrost overnight in the fridge and then reheat on the stovetop. Bring up to a boil and down to a simmer before serving.
How to Serve
This soup is excellent as a meal unto itself. Below are some ideas for how to fill out your dinner table:
Toast Try this Air Fryer Toast, which includes directions for a garlicky crostini as well!
Salad A simple side salad is a great option here.
Rolls These Instant Pot Dinner Rolls are a wonderful addition to this meal.
Roasted Vegetables Looking for a warm vegetable side? Try this Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli or these Roasted Cherry Tomatoes on the Vine.
Expert Tips
- Browning your meat adds tons of flavor to any dish. If you are using sliced sausage, this will brown equally well. Just add a bit of olive oil so that it doesn’t stick to the pot.
- Taste your food! Once the soup is finished, taste for seasoning. Does it need a bit more salt? Being sure to taste before serving will improve your final dish.
- Added salt and things are still a bit bland? Whenever I encounter this problem, fresh herbs, dairy, and acid are your friends! Try adding a handful of basil or parsley, a sprinkling of parmesan, and even a squeeze of lemon.
More Recipes You'll Love
Looking for more soup recipes? Try the suggestions below!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Tortellini Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage hot or sweet
- ½ onion yellow or sweet, chopped
- 2 carrots thickly sliced
- 2 stalks celery thickly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 8 ounces tortellini dried
- 2 quarts chicken broth or prepared bouillon
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- ½ tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or to taste
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- parmesan grated, optional
- fresh parsley or other soft herbs like basil or dill
Instructions
- Place your Instant Pot on saute mode. Let heat for a few minutes. Add the olive oil and the sausage, stirring frequently, and cook until browned. Remove from the pot.
- Add the carrots, onion, and celery. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion has softened.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant.
- Add back in the sausage. Add the tortellini, salt, pepper, rosemary, and broth.
- Secure your Instant Pot lid. Select high pressure for 5 minutes and hit start.
- When 5 minutes have elapsed, carefully release the pressure using the quick release/manual method.
- Stir in the spinach. Taste for seasoning. Garnish with parmesan and parsley, if desired, and serve right away.
Notes
- Our Instant Pot takes 10 minutes to reach pressure. Be sure to account for additional time if your Instant Pot takes a bit longer.
- Estimated calories are for a recipe using hot Italian sausage and dried cheese tortellini.
- If planning to store this soup for later, you can store the soup base for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Cook and store the tortellini separately so that they do not become mushy.
- If freezing, store and cook the soup and tortellini separately. Cool the soup base completely, store in an airtight, freezer-space container, such as a gallon The soup base will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- You can use hot or sweet sausage. You can also use sausage links, like chicken sausage, kielbasa, or chorizo - just slice and brown in the olive oil, then follow the remaining recipe directions.
- Try fresh rosemary or dried. You can also use fresh or dried thyme.
- Feel free to use fresh basil or dill in place of parsley for garnish.
- For a creamy soup, replace one cup of broth with one cup of cream.
- For a tomato-based soup, add a small container of canned tomatoes in when adding the tortellini.
Journa Liz Ramirez says
This is our new favorite soup! It is so hearty and rich. This comforting recipe is also filled with flavors. Thanks Gen for this must-try recipe, I'll surely make this on repeat!
Genevieve says
Thank you!
Glenda says
What a deliciously simple and hearty meal! We loved this yummy soup! I like that I can do it in the instant pot, so it's easy clean up and a quick-fix supper. Thanks so much!
Genevieve says
Thanks, Glenda! So happy you and your family enjoyed it.
Allyssa says
Thanks a lot for this tortellini soup recipe, super loved the flavor and turned out really delicious! Loved it!
Genevieve says
Thanks so much, Allyssa!
Wendy says
This was so delicious and filling. The whole family loved it.
Genevieve says
Wonderful! Thanks Wendy.
Jenn says
I looooved how quick and easy this soup was to make! I had leftovers for lunch the next day, too! Delish!
Genevieve says
Yay! Thanks so much, Jenn!
Molly Pisula says
The perfect weeknight meal! This soup was so tasty, and it came together so fast with the instant pot!
Genevieve says
Thank you, Molly! So glad you liked it!
Shelby says
Total comfort food! Absolutely love the soup and how many veggies are in it! Great way to boost my intake.
Genevieve says
Thanks Shelby! I love a veggie-packed soup.
Kris says
I was worried the tortellini would come out mushy but I was wrong! The IP cooked all to perfection. We will make it again, thank you!
Genevieve says
Fantastic! So happy you liked it, Kris.
Ksenia says
This was such a perfect, satisfying comfort meal. The bursts of tortellini really made this into a filling, enjoyable treat!
Genevieve says
Thanks so much, Ksenia!