Vegan Tortellini Soup

Why We Love This Recipe

• Easy enough for a weeknight meal: This soup takes about 45 minutes to make, but it's mostly hands off. It's packed with nutritious ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Doesn't get much easier for a healthy, hearty dinner!
• Hearty and comforting: With plant-based sausage, tortellini and a splash of cream, this soup is plenty filling. It's definitely a full meal, especially served with some crusty, warm bread!
• Packed with flavor: Spicy sausage, Italian herbs, garlic and tomato paste make for a flavorful broth that packs a punch. If you're not a huge fan of spice, you can tone it down with regular sausage. Either way, there's no shortage of flavor in this recipe!

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this vegan tortellini soup:

Ingredient Notes

• Plant-based meat: We use this Impossible Foods spicy sausage – it's the best 1:1 substitute in our opinion! You can really use any brand. If you're sensitive to spice, feel free to use plain or sweet Italian sausage.
  • Not a fan of plant-based meat? Sub with cooked green lentils or crumbled tofu. 
• Vegan tortellini: We use this Kite Hill vegan tortellini (with a ricotta filling). We are able to find it at most grocery stores (especially Whole Foods) and it's delicious! Feel free to use any vegan tortellini you can find. You can also use tortellini with a vegetable filling (spinach, mushroom, etc) instead of cheese.
• Vegetable broth: Use a low sodium vegetable broth so that you can better control the salt content in the soup. If you'd like, you can also try this recipe to make homemade vegetable broth from leftover veggie scraps!
• Italian seasoning blend: We use a blend because it's easier than measuring out several different herbs. If you don't have any of the blend, you can also use 1 teaspoon total of a mixture of dried basil, parsley and oregano instead.
• Spinach can easily be swapped out for another leafy green like kale or Swiss chard.
• Vegan cream/milk: We typically use oat milk creamer, which has a super creamy consistency and neutral flavor. You can also use almond, cashew or soy based milk.

Instructions

(1) Add the oil to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

(2) Add in plant-based sausage and sauté until the sausage is browned, about 8 minutes. Add in garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.

(3) Stir in carrots, celery, tomato paste, Italian seasoning blend, ½ teaspoon of salt, and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften. 

(4) Stir in the flour and let it cook for 30 seconds. Stir in 2 cups of vegetable broth, turn heat to high and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the broth starts to thicken.

Add in the remaining broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.

(5) Add in the tortellini, spinach, parsley and cream. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until tortellini is al dente. Serve right away.

Tips and FAQs

• If not serving immediately (or making for meal prep), cook and store the tortellini in a separate container, otherwise it will get soggy and soak up too much liquid. 
• Sensitive to spice? Use sweet Italian sausage instead of spicy.
• Like the heat?: If the spicy sausage alone isn't hot enough for you, feel free to amp up the heat with ¼-1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
• Serving suggestions: Here are a few pairings that would be delicious with this vegan tortellini soup:
  • Vegan Garlic Bread
  • Italian Chopped Salad
  • Vegan Cornbread
  • Spinach Chickpea Salad
• Storage: Let the soup cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Freezer storage: Let the soup cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for 3-6 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat on the stove. If specifically making this soup to freeze, leave out the tortellini and cook just before serving.
• Make it lighter: For a slightly lighter version of this soup, you can leave out the heavy cream. The soup is still plenty thick enough without it (from the flour). 
• For a thicker soup, you can add an additional tablespoon of flour. To prevent lumps, always add flour to a small amount of liquid and whisk well before adding it to the soup.

More Soup Recipes to Enjoy

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