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This creamy bowl of Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana is the perfect cold-weather dinner. Spicy Italian chicken sausage simmered together with basil pesto, cheese tortellini, kale, a little lemon, and finished with crispy bacon. Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese to each bowl and serve with crusty bread. It’s hearty, full of greens, and so delicious. A fun twist on the classic and great for just about any night of the week!
We finally have snow here! This has been the weirdest December I’ve ever seen. We’ve had very little snowfall and back to back days of sunshine. Usually by this time of year we have full snow cover and more snowy days than sunny. But this year has just been so strange.
I’m excited to report that we have a couple days of snow in the forecast. Snowy cold days mean soup! And this is one I’ve been looking forward to making for months.
A few years ago I made my own version of the Olive Garden’s very well loved Zuppa Toscana. It’s been such a favorite soup ever since. When I make it for people, they always ask for the recipe.
Back in the fall I had the idea to replace the potatoes in the soup with some cheese tortellini. At the time I had been making a lot of soup, so I held off on this recipe until I had the perfect day to make it.
Well, I finally made it, and I actually think it’s better than the original.
Here are the details
The key to a good Zuppa Toscana is the spicy sausage. So begin with the sausage, you’ll want to brown it with onions and garlic and add in some broth. Then, I love to add chopped sun-dried tomatoes and basil pesto for even more flavor.
This may not be traditional but it really adds so much to this hearty soup. I’ve found that both the addition of sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, and fresh lemon really lighten things up and truly enhance the flavors.
Once you have everything in the soup, add the kale and let it cook down into the broth. Towards the end of cooking, stir in the tortellini, cream, and parmesan.
Then just ladle the soup into bowls and top with crispy bacon. Nothing fancy at all, but so warming delicious.
Really excited to serve this to my family over Christmas break. My cousin Abby loves soup, so this is perfect!
Bonus, this soup is great to have after coming in from the cold and so easy to cook up too.
Looking for winter soup recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Creamy Gnocchi Soup with Rosemary Bacon
Creamy French Onion and Mushroom Soup
Lastly, if you make this Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 685 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
- 3/4 pound ground spicy Italian chicken or pork sausage
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
- 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, oil drained, and tomatoes chopped
- juice of 1 lemon
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 bunch Tuscan or curly kale, roughly chopped
- 1 pound cheese tortellini
- 3/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan or asiago cheese
Instructions
- 1. Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon. If there's excess bacon grease, drain off all but 1 tablespoon. 2. To the pot, add the sausage and onion. Brown all over, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the celery, garlic, and a pinch of chili flakes, cook 2 minutes. Pour in the broth, 1 cup water, the pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 3. Stir in the kale and cook 5 minutes, until wilted, stir in the tortellini. Cook 2-3 minutes, then add the cream and parmesan. Remove from the heat. Stir in the reserved bacon.4. Serve the soup topped with additional parmesan and fresh thyme, if desired.
This was simply delicious. Everyone loved it and the leftovers were gobbled up! Thanks for another great recipe.
Hi Nicole,
Awesome! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Happy Holidays!❄️ xT
Good morning… I am making this now but not sure if I should boil the fresh tortellini before adding it to the soup? Thanks so much for another amazing recipe!
Hi Angela,
Nope, the tortellini will cook in the soup. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Made this two nights ago for dinner – it was easy, quick and delicious. Reheated the leftovers for lunch yesterday and it was even better! This is definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Hi Cynthia,
Awesome! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Happy Holidays!❄️ xT
Try this with chopped pancetta rather than bacon.
Thanks for the recommendation William!
Love this soup! It’s perfect. Thank you for another great recipe!
Hi Karen,
Awesome! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Happy Holidays!❄️ xT
Okay, so my bag of tortellini needs to cook for 16 minutes, so I wish I hadn’t followed the directions of wilting the make first. ? Does your recipe secretly call for FRESH tortellini? Might be helpful to note? Otherwise nice soup!
Hi there,
Yes, you will want to use fresh tortellini in this recipe. Thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
This soup was delicious! We made it vegetarian and used Beyond (plant-based) Spicy Italian Sausage and didn’t include the bacon and it was still incredible. The flavors were rich and rustic and it made plenty for leftovers!
Hi Kiley,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Happy Holidays!? xx
I loved this recipe! It came together so easily and was perfect for a cold, snowy day!
Hi Missy,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Happy Holidays!? xx
This was so yummy!! We let the liquid sit and simmer to reduce some (because we seem to have to alter every recipe a little) then added in the kale and tortellini. It was so flavorful! This will for sure be made again!!
Hey Kristen,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Happy Holidays!? xx
Tieghan, I’d love to see a postnote about how to make this a day ahead. I’m going to make it today, bring it to the point of adding the tortellini and greens, and then stick it in the refrig. I hope it’ll be okay for heating back up tomorrow. Any advice on crock pot or day-ahead preparation notes would be amazing!
I love your recipes. You are my GO-TO, girl!!!
Hi Amy,
I think making the day before and then adding the greens and spinach the day of will work well for you! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
What is a good replacement for the meat (that isn’t fake meat)?
Hi Makayla,
I would just skip it:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I was so excited, but I turned heat down and put the milk ( not expired) in and it all curdled. What did I do wrong??
Hi Caren,
Sorry to hear this, was your milk at room temp? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
You say the key is sausage and potatoes but there aren’t potatoes in this recipe?
Hi Jessica,
The potatoes are replaced with the tortellini in this recipe. Please let me know if you give it a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I have made several of your recipes and loved them all. This soup is truly to die for, complex flavors yet SOOO easy to make. Love, love, love it.
Hey Sharyn,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Holidays! xx
Wow. This is, hands down, the best soup I’ve ever had. Everyone at the dinner table agreed and we will definitely be having this against! It was such an easy dinner to put together (few dishes required/quick cook time) and would be great for busy weekdays. Another thing I liked about this recipe is you can easily make some adjustments (we added more sausage/pasta to use up the packets we bought) without throwing off the entire recipe. Can’t wait for the leftovers tomorrow!
Hi Kaylyn,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Holidays! xx