This quick and flavorful Instant Pot Tortellini Soup, ready in just 25 minutes, combines cheesy tortellini with savory chicken sausage for a comforting, hearty dish. It's the perfect go-to soup for a chilly day!
During the cooler months, this recipe will become a staple in your rotation. With its creamy texture and mild spice, it's a family-friendly meal that's both satisfying and easy to make. Best of all, this sausage tortellini soup is ready in under 30 minutes, making it ideal for busy weeknights.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
- Sausage. Italian sausage with the casing removed is key for this flavorful soup. Just like in Italian sausage pasta, you could opt for a mild, sweet or spicy Italian sausage. You can also substitute another protein such as ground turkey or ground beef.
- Diced tomatoes. I used a can of diced tomatoes with juices, but if needed you could substitute a can of crushed tomatoes.
- Chicken broth. Chicken broth is my go-to broth to use here as I find it more flavorful than vegetable broth but it will work too!
- Cheese tortellini. Fresh or frozen tortellini. If you choose to substitute dried tortellini, it must be cooked in a separate pot before adding it to the soup.
- Milk. Full-fat canned coconut milk or heavy cream will work here. Feel free to use what you prefer.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
Cook the sausage
Set the Instant Pot to the sauté function on high. Add the oil then the onions and sausage. Break the sausage into crumbles and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Pressure cook
Turn off the pot and stir in the Italian seasoning, diced tomatoes and broth. Scrape browned bits off of the bottom of the pot. Pressure cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients
Release the pressure, remove the lid and set it to the sauté function. Add in the tortellini and cook for 2 minutes then stir in the spinach and milk and allow the spinach to wilt. Serve and enjoy!
Stovetop Tortellini Soup
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sausage, breaking up the sausage while it browns, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the spices, diced tomatoes, and broth. Stir well, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the tortellini and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the tortellini is tender. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach and milk until the spinach wilts.
Sarah's Top Tips
- Double check you have scraped any browned bits from the bottom of the pot - If any browned sausage or garlic has stuck to the bottom of the pot and is not scraped up before pressure cooking, your soup may not come to pressure and will trigger a burn warning. Always check to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom before securing the lid and beginning the cooking cycle.
- Don't overcook the tortellini. Just like any pasta, overcooking tortellini will cause it to become incredibly soft and deteriorate.
Serving
This Instant Pot Tortellini Soup is quite filling and can be served on its own as a standalone meal with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. If you are looking for a few simple sides to pair alongside it, try arugula and parmesan salad or roasted broccoli.
Storage & Reheating
This sausage tortellini soup will last for up to 4 days. For best results, I recommend storing leftovers in glass over plastic and allowing the soup to cool to room temperature before storing.
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Instant Pot Tortellini Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound Italian chicken sausage, casing removed
- 1 (15 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 10 ounces fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
- 1 (5 ounce) package baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup coconut milk or heavy cream
Instructions
- Begin by heating the oil in the Instant Pot using the sauté function on high.
- Add the diced onion and chicken sausage and brown while crumbling for about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Next, add in the spices, diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Stir everything together and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot, if needed.
- Close the lid, set the valve to seal and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.
- Quick release the pressure, turn on the sauté function again, add the tortellini and cook for 2 minutes while simmering.
- Turn the power off, add the spinach and milk and stir to combine until the spinach wilts.
- Serve with Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and bread.
Sarah's Tips
- Double check you have scraped any browned bits from the bottom of the pot - If any browned sausage or garlic has stuck to the bottom of the pot and is not scraped up before pressure cooking, your soup may not come to pressure and will trigger a burn warning. Always check to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom before securing the lid and beginning the cooking cycle.
- Don't overcook the tortellini. Just like any pasta, overcooking tortellini will cause it to become incredibly soft and deteriorate.
- This sausage tortellini soup will last for up to 4 days. For best results, I recommend storing leftovers in glass over plastic and allowing the soup to cool to room temperature before storing.
Tools I Use for This Recipe
- Cutting board
- Garlic press
Kathy says
I made this last night, and we loved it. I couldn’t find the chicken sausage in our grocery store, so I wound up substituting regular mild Italian sausage. I bought frozen tortellini, cooked it and kept it separate. I should have spooned out some of the grease after browning, I can probably scrape it off the top now that it’s been in the fridge, but it didn’t taste greasy so it really wasn’t a probably. I shared the recipe with a friend and will make this again. Delicious!
Sarah Holt says
Hi Kathy, really happy you enjoyed the soup! I will add a note about removing some grease after browning the sausage in case people want to do this. Thanks for sharing the recipe with a friend 🙂