Tortellini Sausage Soup

While my favorite will probably always be the creamy soups, at least one of our boys prefers the broth kind. So in a effort to find something he would enjoy, we tried this recipe. With both sausage and tortellini, I knew it was like to be a favorite, and indeed, everyone said they enjoyed it. For the original recipe, use this link:

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/tortellini-sausage-soup/

Tortellini Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 links Italian sausage, the kind that is uncooked in casings – see note
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ½ cup apple cider
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 medium zucchini, grated (no need to peel)
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 8-10 ounce package refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini

Directions:

1. Remove the casings by slicing down one side of the sausage and peeling the casing back from the sausage. In a large pot, cook the sausage over medium heat until it starts to brown, using a wooden spoon to crumble as it cooks. Add the chopped onion and garlic. Continue cooking until the onions are translucent and the sausage is cooked through. Drain any excess grease, if needed (alternately, if your sausage is extra lean, you may need to add a drizzle of olive oil to keep it from sticking).
2. Stir in the chicken broth, apple cider, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, carrots, oregano, and basil. Bring the soup to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini and parsley simmer for 10-12 minutes. Add the tortellini and cook until tender (usually only a couple of minutes, even when the packages call for 7-9 minutes cooking time, I only cook the tortellini for 4-5 minutes so it doesn’t fall apart). Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.

Marsha's Notes:

I used apple chicken sausage large links that were not in casings and just sliced them into thin rounds and it worked great. I think you could really use any kind of sausage (pre-cooked, raw, in links, ground up, etc.) as long as you make sure it cooks all the way through if needed. I picked the apple chicken sausage because it was a bit healthier and I thought it would pair nicely with the apple cider in the recipe. Next time, I wouldn't hesitate to use ground Italian sausage either.

I also did not use zucchini, and instead opted to add potatoes to the recipe instead. As with most soups, you can really change up the veggies to your liking. If you want to keep a bit of green color in the soup, you could sub with peas instead of potatoes.