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Creamy Spinach Tortellini Soup

Twenty-five minutes, one pot. The cream goes in off the heat and the tortellini go in last.

Prep
10 min
Cook
25 min
Makes
Serves 6
Jump to the recipe
Tortellini in broth with spinach leaves
Photo: Nadin Sh / Pexels

This is a weeknight soup, and the two rules that keep it from disappointing are both about timing. Chicken noodle soup is the weekend version, made from a whole bird.

The tortellini go in for the last four minutes and not a moment before. Fresh filled pasta is done in three to five; leave it longer and the parcels swell, split, and release their filling into the broth. If you plan to have leftovers, cook the tortellini separately and add them per bowl — otherwise by tomorrow they will have drunk half the soup.

The cream goes in off the heat. Boiled cream in an acidic broth — and tomato paste makes this acidic — will curdle into grainy specks. Pan off, cream in, stir. It stays smooth and it stays smooth reheated, provided you never boil it again.

For the slow-cooker version of the same idea, see crockpot tortellini.

The spinach needs about ninety seconds and it needs to go in last of all. It looks like far too much and it collapses to almost nothing.

Green spinach tortellini before cooking
Photo: Lebensmittelfotos / Pixabay

Creamy tortellini soup: the card

Twenty-five minutes, one pot. The cream goes in off the heat and the tortellini go in last.

One pot, one list

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 1.2 liters (5 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
  • 14 oz (400 g) tin chopped tomatoes
  • 18 oz (500 g) fresh cheese tortellini
  • ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream
  • 5 oz (150 g) baby spinach
  • ½ cup (50 g) grated parmesan, plus more to serve

Building the broth, then the pasta

  1. 1 Soften the onion in the oil over medium heat for 6 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, herbs and chilli and cook 90 seconds, until the purée darkens — that is the raw tinny taste cooking off.
  2. 2 Pour in the stock and tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook 12 minutes to let it come together.
  3. 3 Add the tortellini and cook 4 minutes, or as the packet says, no longer.
  4. 4 Take the pan off the heat entirely. Stir in the cream and the parmesan.
  5. 5 Add the spinach in handfuls, stirring until it wilts — about 90 seconds in the residual heat.
  6. 6 Season and serve with more parmesan.

Leftovers and frozen tortellini

  • For leftovers, cook the tortellini in a separate pan and add them to each bowl. In the soup overnight they turn to mush.
  • Frozen tortellini work; add two minutes and do not thaw.

Stopping creamy tortellini soup from curdling

The cream boiled in an acidic broth. Take the pan off the heat before the cream goes in, and warm leftovers gently without letting them bubble.