This One Pot Creamy Chicken Sausage Tortellini Soup is a hearty, delicious, and easy-to-make soup with carrots, onions, garlic, Chicken sausage, and zucchini. Great to make ahead for busy weeknight dinners!
Man, do I love me a good creamy soup! But toss in some cheesy tortellini and salty sausage and I am in heaven. That’s what we have here with my One Pot Creamy Chicken Sausage Tortellini Soup. The base is a silky, creamy chicken broth thickened with a simple roux and milk. Store-bought cheese tortellini, carrots, onions, garlic, Italian chicken sausage, and zucchini bring so much flavor and texture. Oregano brings an herb-y flavor and the tortellini give that delicious salty, creamy, hearty bite!
You know what makes this recipe even better? It cooks entirely in ONE POT! Talk about easy clean up and a super easy Dinner!
Want more tips for making busy family dinners easier? Click here for my Free Printable 5 Simple Steps to Easy Family Dinners!
Balanced Meal in One Pot
The beauty of this Chicken Sausage and Tortellini Soup is that is a complete and balanced meal with protein, grains, vegetables all in one pot. There are many pasta recipes out there that tout their easy preparation in one pot or pan. But to be fully balanced, they really need to provide protein and vegetables too.
Here are some other balanced One Pot or Pan Meals to try!
- Chicken Parmesan Pasta with Zucchini
- Shell Pasta with Italian Sausage & Kale
- Lemon Dill Sauce Chicken & Asparagus
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
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EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR YOUR SAUSAGE AND TORTELLINI SOUP
For this recipe, you need a large (5-6 quart) pot. My prized possession dutch oven was perfect for this! Or any good quality enameled cast iron 5-6 quart dutch oven is great.
PREP-AHEAD STEPS FOR YOUR SAUSAGE AND TORTELLINI SOUP
We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are the steps you prepare in the day(s) in advance and store in the fridge as your meal Kit… (See the recipe below for more details)
As this is a One Pot meal, everything cooks in stages in one singular large pot! However, you could speed things up a bit by searing the zucchini in a separate pan while you make the soup. I would still sear the sausage in the soup pot, however, as it imparts great flavor to the soup.
For the prep, you can peel and dice the carrots and onions up to 4 days ahead, along with with the minced the garlic. These 3 veggies can be stored together.
You can also slice the zucchini and the sausage into ¼ to ½ inch slices and store separately in the fridge up to 3 days in advance.
COOK YOUR SAUSAGE AND TORTELLINI SOUP
Over Medium heat in your large pot or dutch oven, add Olive Oil and then the sliced zucchini in a single layer. Cook on the first side for 3-4 minutes to brown. Stir to flip the pieces over and sear the other side for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Do the same with the sausage and transfer to the same plate with the zucchini.
Add another teaspoon of olive oil to the pot and add the carrots, onions, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the butter, olive oil, and flour. Stir so all flour is moistened and combined with the veggies. Whisk in the milk.
Stir in the broth and then bring soup up to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Add back the sausage and the zucchini, plus the frozen tortellini. Stir, then cover and bring to a simmer, then cook for a final 10 minutes until the tortellini are warmed through.
RECIPE FAQS
Can I make my own chicken sausage?
Yes! In fact, I do that in several recipes on my blog! Simply check out Shell Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale or my Italian Sausage-Style Chicken Lasagna Recipe for instructions on how to make it. It’s incredibly easy! You just need to mix in a bowl 1 pound of ground chicken, 2 cloves minced, 3 tablespoons Parsley Chopped, 1 teaspoon Fennel Seed, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper. If you like it spicy, you can also add in ½ teaspoon or more to taste of red pepper flakes. Once the sausage it mixed through, in Cooking Step 2, add it to the pot with olive oil, break it up into bite-size pieces as it sears and gets browned. Then let the sausage completely cook through until no more pink can be seen. This takes about 5-8 minutes. Follow the instructions for transferring to a plate and adding into the soup later.
Can I use raw or pork sausage?
Yes, you definitely can add in the sausage of your choice. Raw Italian sausage links would be great and are traditional. Simply buy the meat in bulk or squeeze it out of the links in Cooking Step 2 and in the pot, break it up into bite-size pieces as it sears and gets browned. Then let the sausage completely cook through until no more pink can be seen. This takes about 5-8 minutes. Follow the instructions for transferring to a plate and adding into the soup later.
What else can be added to this soup?
I love the sweetness of the carrots and hearty bite of the zucchini in this soup. But there are many other veggies that would be great in here. You could add kale, spinach, mushrooms, or peas. You can also add in white beans for more protein and to bulk it up. It’s really up to you and your family preferences here, so have fun with it! You can also make it more of a tomato soup by adding a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes.
How many days ahead can I make this?
You can cook this entire soup up to 5 days in advance! Store it in the fridge in a tightly sealed container. You can also portion it out and freeze it for up to 4 months.
Can this be cooked in the slow cooker?
Yes, you can make this in the slow cooker, but you will do it slightly different vs. the instructions. You will still want to follow the Prep-Ahead Steps and Cooking Steps 1 and 2. Then, to the slow cooker insert, add the sausage, carrots, onions, garlic, oregano, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Do not add the zucchini, tortellini, flour, butter, or milk yet. Set the slow cooker to 6 or 8 hours, depending on your schedule. During the last hour of the cooking, you can make the roux in a separate saucepan. Add the butter, olive oil, and flour to the pan and stir so all flour is moistened and combined. Slowly whisk in the milk until smooth, then slowly whisk in 1 cup of the broth from the slow cooker. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then whisk into the slow cooker. At this point, you can add in the tortellini and let the soup cook for the final hour and thicken. Finally, add the zucchini and let it just warm through.
ENJOY! 😍 Carrie
One Pot Creamy Chicken Sausage and Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
Zucchini and Sausage
- 1 Large Zucchini
- 4 Precooked Chicken Sausage links
- 4 teaspoons Olive oil
Other Soup Ingredients
- 1 cup Carrots, diced
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 3 teaspoon garlic, minced (3 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ cup flour
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup milk
- 5 cups Broth
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 12 ounces Frozen Cheese Tortellini
Instructions
Prep Ahead Steps
- Peel and dice the carrots and onions. Mince the garlic.
- Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise and then slice those halves in half. Slice into ½ inch triangles. Slice the sausage links into ¼ to ½ inch slices.
Cook
- Preheat the large pot on Medium heat. Add 1-2 teaspoons of Olive Oil to the pot and then the sliced zucchini in a single layer. Cook on the first side for 3-4 minutes to brown. Stir to flip the pieces over and sear the other side for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- To the same pot, add another 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and then the sausage slices in a single layer. Sear the sausage on the first side for 5-6 minutes. Stir to flip the pieces over and sear the other side for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to the same plate with the zucchini.
- Add another teaspoon of olive oil to the pot and add the carrots, onions, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the butter, olive oil, and flour. Stir so all flour is moistened and combined with the veggies. Whisk in the milk.
- Stir in the broth and then bring soup up to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Add back the sausage and the zucchini, plus the frozen tortellini. Stir, then cover and bring to a simmer, then cook for a final 10 minutes until the tortellini are warmed through. Enjoy!
Chef Mimi says
Tortellini are just magical. And I’ve never met a sausage I didn’t like. So I know I’l love love love this soup!
Linger says
This soup recipe is the perfect comfort food for the chilly weather that we are beginning to experience here in the Midwest. And how could you possibly go wrong by adding “sausage.” What a great idea. Love it. Thanks so much Carrie for sharing.
Chef Mimi says
Well this is fabulous! Tortellini are so good, especially when you can buy them! Great recipe.
Ellen Johnson says
This was a delicious soup for a cold winter day! I added some fresh chopped Kale to round out this meal and will definitely make it again. Thanks for sharing this “comfort in a bowl” recipe 🙂
Melissa says
This was such an easy, filling meal! I added some smoked paprika and cumin but kale, mushrooms or asparagus would be delicious added to it as well for next time. Made it for a couple of families with children that needed a hot meal after being sick and another having a baby. Was perfect!