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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.
Is it okay to use store-bought grated parmesan cheese in this?
Hey Joyce,
Yes that is fine to use! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I followed the stovetop recipe and it was awesome. I love fennel in soup so I added the full two teaspoons of fennel seeds. I did a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika just to be safe and the soup was still pretty spicy, which I like but definitely something to keep in mind. I was feeling courageous so I made my own cheese tortellini. It was all just so good. Perfect for a Fall Sunday afternoon. Thank you for another fabulous recipe!
Thank you Jessie! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for. you! xTieghan
Can you use Apple cider vinegar to replace the wine?
Hey Ruby,
I would use additional veggie broth in place of the wine. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Perfection as all of your recipes are! Keep em coming. You are truly talented!!
You are too kind! I am really glad this soup turned out so well for you, Sue! xTieghan
This soup was SO good! I never seem to make soups flavorful when starting from scratch, but this one was delicious. I used the slow cooker method, and it was so easy, perfect dinner for a lazy, cold day.
I am so happy this turned out so well for you, Ally! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
My husband loved this! I substituted the kale for spinach and added hot sausage and it was delicious
I am really glad you enjoyed this, Erin! Thank you! xTieghan
Made it on the stovetop. Didn’t have kale so I subbed baby spinach. Threw in some cooked hot Italian sausage, too. Absolutely delicious. This one is keeper!!
Thank you so much Tracey! xTieghan
Hi! Looking to make this next week! CANT wait. Question: can you do a chicken stock instead of a vegetable broth?
Hey Emily,
Yes that would be totally fine to do! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I recently found your recipes on Instagram and this was the first one I started off with. Very delicious. All I needed to do was a little bit more broth but other than that it was great!
I am really glad you loved this one, Alejandra! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Prepared this soup along with your beer bread and your pumpkin butter for the first time and delivered it all to a sick friend. It’s always a risk preparing food for others that you’ve never tested yourself—-but thanks to your amazing recipes I never really worried. All these were delicious, beautiful and a perfect fall menu!! Thank you so much, Tieghan, I love your site and recipes, you are a treasure!!
Aw I am really happy you have been enjoying my recipes, Vanessa! I hope you continue to! Thank you so much! xTieghan
It’s in the crockpot as I type this and smells AMAZING! Can’t wait for dinner tonight!
I hope you love this one, Michelle! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hi! I am making this over the weekend and am SO excited. It’s going to be in the 30s all week so this is going to make a perfect lunch/dinner. I just wanted to say how cool I think it is that you have the battery for the calorie symbol, I love that. Thank you for showing that calories are our energy, nothing more, nothing less. Just energy for our bodies! So cool!
Aw thank you so much Jessica! I hope this soup turns out amazing for you!! Perfect for a chilly evening! xTieghan
This was SO delicious! My husband and I both loved it. We did swap out some of the dried herbs for fresh and it was an excellent swap as we like the texture of fresh over dried better. Additionally, while the recommendation is to take out the tortellini before storing any leftovers, we left them in because, well, weeknights, and actually both thought the leftovers were almost better! The tortellini does soak up some of the liquid but it makes them so flavorful and it becomes more stoup like, which we loved! Will definitely be making this again!! Thanks so much, Tieghan, for your amazing recipes!
Amazing!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you, Maddie! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Do you think I could use frozen tortellini instead of fresh?
Hey Julia,
Yes that will work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
New favorite fall soup 🙂 Everyone wanted seconds and my house smelled amazing!
Wow love to hear that! Thank you so much Haylee! xTieghan