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This super simple Healthier Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Vegetable Soup is the perfect fall dinner…great for nights when you’re craving Italian, but want something warming and healthy too. A mix of vegetables, simmered with Italian seasonings, a splash of wine, kale, and cheese tortellini. Finish each bowl off with an extra sprinkle of cheese and serve with crusty bread. It’s hearty, full of greens, and so delicious. Great for just about any night of the week. Plus the leftovers the next day make for the best lunch!
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As promised…a new slow cooker recipe to start off the week. And a healthier one too. But don’t worry, it’s still creamy, cozy, and of course, delicious. I mean, it’s October, I wouldn’t share a non-cozy recipe at this point in the year. Cozy is always the way to go when the weather begins to turn cooler.
To be completely honest, I don’t love all soups. To me, a dinner soup needs to be hearty. It needs to be brothy, but it also needs texture, carbs, and preferably some cheese on top too. French onion? Yes – yum. Hearty, thick chili? Of course. Ramen with double the noodles? Yes, 100%.
But a brothy soup with just a few vegetables just doesn’t do it for me, which brings me to this soup. It’s vegetable soup, but it’s not your average vegetable soup. This one is creamy, cheesy, and made with not just vegetables, but cheese tortellini too.
It’s all the things I love in a bowl of soup, yet made on the healthier side too. Promise you guys, this one is good, and kid-friendly too!
Here is the story:
This soup just sounded good to me. I’ve never done an Italian-style tortellini soup, but oddly I’ve done a Mexican-inspired tortilla soup with tortellini. Not sure where I got that idea, but it sure is different. Nothing like this bowl of tortellini soup.
When I presented the idea of a vegetable-based tortellini soup to my sister-in-law, she gave it a double thumbs up. Granted Lynds loves a bowl of soup, but she’s also picky about her them. So instead of second-guessing my ideas, like I always do, I took her double thumbs up and I ran with it. And the verdict? I am very, very happened I listened. This is such a delicious bowl of warming soup. And I love that I was able to make it a touch healthier than the versions you might find in a restaurant.
And my favorite part…well, aside from the taste…this is actually the easiest soup to make. You can cook it low and slow in the slow cooker, or speed things up by cooking it in the instant pot, or you can even cook it on the stove-top.
To make this tortellini soup:
I love to start this off on the stove-top. I know it’s annoying, but I really think cooking your vegetables with the dried herbs and spices before slow cooking adds so much wonderful flavor. If you have an all-in-one browning slow cooker then you can do this all in the slow cooker bowl. I literally just hit purchase (before starting this post) on this all-in-one All-Clad slow cooker with a browning function. I cannot wait for it to arrive this week!
Cook the onions with a mix of my favorite Italian spices…the dried herbs, fennel, and smoked paprika. They are all KEY here. They add so much flavor, almost like Italian sausage, but minus any of the meat.
Once the onions have been seared, add everything to the bowl of your slow cooker. Then add tomato paste, a good splash of dry white wine, and plenty of vegetable broth. Cover and cook low and slow.
I like to just let my soup cook all day long. The house smells incredible as this simmers away in the slow cooker. But, as I mentioned, I’ve also included directions for the Instant-Pot and stove-top variations, in case you’re in a crunch.
Once the soup has finished cooking, before serving, stir in a few large handfuls of kale, cream or milk, parmesan cheese, and the cheese tortellini. Cook another few minutes and then that’s it.
Easy. EASY. But yet so delicious.
I’d highly recommend serving this soup with a side of crusty bread. If you own the HBH Super Simple cookbook, there’s a really good, really easy, no-knead bread recipe that’s perfect to pair with this soup.
If you’re planning to enjoy this soup leftover, be sure to first remove the tortellini from the broth before refrigerating. That way the tortellini won’t soak up all the broth. Then just add them back in before serving.
Alright, and with that, I’m going to leave you all to it. If your Monday night needs some warming soup, this should be it. I’m actually beyond excited to make this again today on Instagram stories. It’s the perfect fall soup.
Cannot wait!
Looking for other fall soup recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Creamy Wild Rice Chicken Soup with Roasted Mushrooms
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar and Zucchini Soup
Instant Pot Pesto Zuppa Toscana
Lastly, if you make this Healthier Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Vegetable Soup 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!
Quick How-To Video:
Healthier Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Vegetable Soup.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1-2 teaspoons fennel seeds, use to your taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 6 carrots, chopped
- 4 celery stalks, chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 4-6 cups roughly chopped kale
- 1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 pound fresh cheese tortellini
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion, garlic, thyme, basil, oregano, fennel, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, until very fragrant. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of your crockpot. Stir in the tomato paste, carrots, and celery. 2. To the crockpot, add the wine, broth, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5.3. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, stir in the kale, cream, parmesan, and the tortellini. 4. Serve the soup topped with additional parmesan and fresh oregano, if desired.
Instant Pot
- 1. Set Instant Pot to sauté. Add the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, basil, oregano, fennel, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, until very fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste. Turn the Instant Pot off.2. To the instant pot, add the wine, broth, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cover and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.3. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function. Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Stir in the kale, cream, parmesan, and the tortellini. Cook until the kale is wilted, about 10 minutes. Turn the Instant Pot off. 4. Serve the soup topped with additional parmesan and fresh oregano, if desired.
Stove-Top
- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook 5 minutes, until golden. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, basil, oregano, fennel, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook another 5 minutes, until very fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the wine, broth, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Simmer over medium heat for 20-30 minutes, until the carrots are tender. 2. About 10 minutes before serving, stir in the kale, cream, parmesan, and the tortellini.3. Serve the soup topped with additional parmesan and fresh oregano, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Hi! Will be making this recipe tonight. Was just wondering, if I am making this in the crockpot, do I need to cook the tortellini before or will it cook in the crockpot?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it out!
Hey Abby,
The tortellini will cook in the crockpot. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Another amazing, crowd pleasing recipe. Hearty and satisfying for all ages. Thank you Tieghan!
Thank you B! I Am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan
Hi! Making this yummy recipe today, and wondering about frozen tortellini? Should I put it in sooner? Cook it on the stove prior? Thank you! I loooove your recipes so much!
Hey Mackenzie,
I would just add the tortellini during the last hour of cooking. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So good! I added some chicken to it. Definitely saving this recipe. The whole family loved it. Thank you.
Thank you so much for trying this recipe, Renee! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
The temperature finally dropped enough for us here in Southern California that it now feels like autumn (of as autumn as we can have in San Diego). With the rain and finally being able to bust out the flannels, the day was made even better with this soup simmering away in a slow cooker. I can think of no other way to best stimulate an appetite than having something yummy cooking away all day 🙂 The soup, like all recipes I’ve tried of yours, was delicious. It was filling, healthy, and comforting. I did omit the cream/milk to lighten things up a little (I’m sure it would’ve tasted even better with it) and added slices of Napa cabbage since I had it available. Soooooo good. Throwing this one into the rotation for good feelings all fall and winter long. Thanks!
That sounds like the perfect day for soup! I am really glad this turned out so amazing for you, Marilu! I hope you are staying warm! xTieghan
Can you use cooking wine instead?
Hey Ashley,
Yes that will work. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This is our new favorite soup. I’ve made it twice this week. I used spinach instead of kale since that’s what I had, and added a TBSP of pesto that I needed to use up. Thanks for another great recipe!
Thank you Maria! I am really happy you loved this one! xTieghan
This soup was so comforting to eat! The perfect cozy meal on a fall day, and I loved all the nutritious veggies included, too. I didn’t end up adding the fennel, paprika, or red pepper (mostly because I didn’t have them on hand), but the soup was still incredibly delicious!
I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you, Amanda! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
Made this in the instant pot tonight and it was PHENOMENAL. Only edit was no fennel, since we do not enjoy the taste…. needless to say it was SO. GOOD. Silky, creamy broth and the seasoning on the veggies made for a rich taste! LOVING THIS!!!
I am so happy you have been loving this recipe, Dominique!! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
This recipe is amazing, delicious, and so easy!!! I subbed kale for spinach and it was perfect. We also ended up using a 20oz pack of tortellini which was good. I’m going to make this for the second time in a week this time on the stove (used crock pot first time)!
I am so happy this turned out so well for you, Kendall! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
This is my new favorite soup! I use the wine to deglaze the pan that I cook the onions, garlic and herbs in. I cook it in a crockpot. Love that it is a vegetable soup. I did cut down on the fennel to 1/2 tsp. Love your cookbooks and recipes.
Keep up the good work!
Hi Victoria! I am really glad you have been loving this and other recipes of mine! I hope you continue to! Thank you so much! xTieghan
I made the stovetop version of this tonight along with a side of your beer bread. Delicious! The soup had such incredible flavor. I look forward to making this over and over again this winter.
Thank you so much Emily! xTieghan
This has such excellent flavor! I wanted some extra protein, so I did add some shredded chicken…and mushrooms too. It was delicious! I made it on the stovetop, but did use my instantpot to cook the chicken.
Thank you so much for trying this recipe, Melissa! xTieghan
Should you cook the tortellini before putting it in the crock pot?
Hey Mackenzie,
The tortellini will cook in the crockpot. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this yesterday using the slow cooker. Absolutely delicious. Today all the broth was soaked up into the tortellini though. Still tastes good but that broth was to die for!
Thank you so much Jane! xTieghan