creamy tortellini soup
Servings: 6
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium white/yellow onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp paprika
- 0.5 tsp dried fennel seeds
- salt & black pepper
- crushed red pepper
- 2.5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
- 4 cup vegetable stock
- 1 (~10 ounce) package tortellini
- 1.25 cup heavy cream
- 1 bunch kale chopped
- 0.5 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil.
- Add onion, garlic, paprika, fennel, 1 1/2 teaspoons each salt and black pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, until the onion is just softened and everything is fragrant.
- Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it darkens, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Adjust heat to high, stir in tomato puree and stock, cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil.
- Add the tortellini and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes (1 minute longer if frozen).
- Add the heavy cream, kale and basil, and cook, stirring, until warmed through and the kale and basil are just wilted, 2 minutes more.
- Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Stir to incorporate, then taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve warm topped with plenty of grated Parmesan. Soup can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Sep 11, 2025: Soup was good but a tiny bit bland. Try the following:
- Get better tortellini and likely put more in there
- Just use the heavy cream, it's not that much of it and I think the greek yogurt, milk combo you used detracted a bit
- I think it would be great with kale
{
"title": "creamy tortellini soup",
"cuisine": "ITALIAN",
"effort": "EASY",
"course": "LUNCH_OR_DINNER",
"servings": 6,
"core_ingredients": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"unit": "TBSP",
"name": "olive oil"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"unit": "UNIT_UNSPECIFIED",
"name": "medium white/yellow onion diced"
},
{
"quantity": 6,
"unit": "UNIT_UNSPECIFIED",
"name": "garlic cloves minced"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"unit": "TSP",
"name": "paprika"
},
{
"quantity": 0.5,
"unit": "TSP",
"name": "dried fennel seeds"
},
{
"quantity": 0,
"unit": "UNIT_UNSPECIFIED",
"name": "salt & black pepper"
},
{
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{
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{
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"unit": "UNIT_UNSPECIFIED",
"name": "(28-ounce) can tomato puree"
},
{
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},
{
"quantity": 1,
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"name": "(~10 ounce) package tortellini"
},
{
"quantity": 1.25,
"unit": "CUP",
"name": "heavy cream"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"unit": "UNIT_UNSPECIFIED",
"name": "bunch kale chopped"
},
{
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"unit": "CUP",
"name": "roughly chopped fresh basil"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"unit": "UNIT_UNSPECIFIED",
"name": "lemon, juiced"
},
{
"quantity": 0,
"unit": "UNIT_UNSPECIFIED",
"name": "grated Parmesan"
}
],
"additional_ingredients": [],
"instructions": [
"Heat the olive oil.",
"Add onion, garlic, paprika, fennel, 1 1/2 teaspoons each salt and black pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, until the onion is just softened and everything is fragrant.",
"Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it darkens, 2 to 3 minutes.",
"Adjust heat to high, stir in tomato puree and stock, cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil.",
"Add the tortellini and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes (1 minute longer if frozen).",
"Add the heavy cream, kale and basil, and cook, stirring, until warmed through and the kale and basil are just wilted, 2 minutes more.",
"Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Stir to incorporate, then taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.",
"Serve warm topped with plenty of grated Parmesan. Soup can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months."
],
"notes": "- **Sep 11, 2025**: Soup was good but a tiny bit bland. Try the following:\r\n - Get better tortellini and likely put more in there\r\n - Just use the heavy cream, it's not that much of it and I think the greek yogurt, milk combo you used detracted a bit\r\n - I think it would be great with kale",
"reference_url": "https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026148-creamy-tortellini-soup",
"total_time_minutes": 30,
"date_created": "2025-09-11T15:43:00Z"
}