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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.
Love! We made some (accidental) variations and it came out wonderful!
The store was out of kale so we subbed for spinach and I realized after coming home that we were out of tomato paste. I had some delicious cherry tomatoes, so I cooked those in oil and blended it into the broth. We also wanted some meat so we browned up some sausage. So yummy and I look forward to trying more recipes soon!
Amazing!! I am really glad this recipe turned out well for you, Brandi! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
About to throw this all into a pot now! I only have skim or 2% milk. Will that mess up the recipe? Also have almond milk….Thoughts??
Hey Laura,
Skim or 2% is totally fine to use. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This looks amazing! Are you able to use any kind of pasta or is tortellini a must? I find that reg pasta bothers me to I usually go for rice pasta and I’ve never seen brown rice tortellini before. Thank you! Love all of your recipes, I will be making 3+ this upcoming week!
Hey Meghan,
Use whatever pasta you like:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was delicious! Added ground antelope sausage(because I needed to use it) and it paired so well!
Thank you so much Alyssa!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
We loved the soup! It’s the perfect fall recipe. Thanks!
Thank you so much Ashley!! xTieghan
Hi just wondering if the fennel could be substituted with another herb ( fennel gives me migraines)
Thank you
Hey Jan,
I would just omit the fennel:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This looks so good. Can you share the recipe for the beer bread you made with it?
Hey Pauline,
Here is the beer bread recipe: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/5-ingredient-beer-bread/
I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Just made this soup for dinner and served it with crusty beer bread,,,,,,it was delicious! Made it in my Instapot and the flavor was incredible. Thanks for all your wonderful vegetarian recipes!
I am so happy you enjoyed this Hannah! Thank you for trying this! xTieghan
As soon as I saw this soup, I knew I had to make it STAT, so I rushed out to the grocery store this morning to get all of the ingredients. All I can say is, “WOW!” This is absolutely delicious! It has so much flavor. I did use more broth instead of the wine, but it was still absolutely amazing. I highly recommend this soup! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Haha I am so glad you made this!! Thank you so much Sara! xTieghan
What size crockpot did you use? I have a super large one and a smaller 2.5 quart one? Just wondering if I should pull the big one out, haha.
Hey Lauren,
You will need the big one for this recipe. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Very good and super easy! I subbed spinach for kale. And accidentally used cayenne pepper instead of paprika… woops. Still ended up delicious!
Love to hear that! Thank you Alaina! xTieghan
Can I make your vegetable tortellini soup in my instapot?
Thanks! ?
Hey Beth,
Yes, the instant pot instructions are listed above:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Has anyone added potatoes to this recipe?
If so what type and how far into the cook did you add them?
Wanting them to be cooked but not falling apart
Hey Chad,
You could add diced potatoes with the carrots and celery. Just be aware of how much room you will have in your crockpot!
I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This looks great. Did you share the bread recipe? I may be missing it.
Hey Donnie,
Here is the recipe for the beer bread: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/5-ingredient-beer-bread/
I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Any substitute for fennel seeds? I’m not a fan of that particular seasoning.
Hey Julia,
You can just omit the fennel seeds:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan