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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!
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!
I love this soup and so does my family. My husband is not a “soup” person and he loves it. My mom ate three bowls and made herself feel sick from overeating because it’s so good! The only thing I change is I never have fennel so I don’t put that in, and I don’t love kale so I put spinach in it instead. This is a wonderful, filling, cozy soup. Thank you for the recipe.
Hey there,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe. I am delighted to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
This was my first recipe I cooked from your web site, now I am hooked. This soup has so much flavour and very filling . Cant wait to try something else.
Hey Kathy,
Fantastic! Love to hear that the recipe was enjoyed, thanks bunch for making it. Have the best weekend:) xTieghan
Easy and delicious! Comforting too. Can’t wait to make again.
Hey Paige,
Awesome! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and sharing your feedback. I’m glad it was enjoyed! xTieghan
love this recipe. waiting for the weather to cool down so we can make this again- made almost weekly last winter. leftovers keep really well! the fennel is the star :0)
Hey there,
Happy Monday! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xxTieghan
I have made this SO many times and it never gets old. It’s comforting, easy and delicious. A huge bonus that it’s vegetarian too. I usually add a parmesan rind in the last couple of hours of cooking to give a little extra yumminess.
Hey Taylor,
Awesome! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have a wonderful weekend☀️ xTieghan
This was sooooo good! Made it for dinner last night. I don’t even care that it’s not soup weather here (82° today). I would eat this all spring and summer long!
Hey Sara,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan Also very jealous of your weather!!
This is my all time favorite soup! I go back to it again and again when I need a hit of veggies and something comforting and easy! I like to cook and add the tortellini separately to each bowl of soup as I find the leftovers reheat better without the pasta soaking up all the broth and then breaking apart.
Hey Mandy,
Awesome! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a go! Have a wonderful week:) xTieghan
So good!!! I usually make it stovetop and it’s super easy.
Hey Angela,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it!! xTieghan
I’m craving soup today and have been looking for a recipe to use my tortellini for! Do you think this soup will freeze well? I’m making the whole batch but will be the only one eating it. Thanks!
Hey Bailey,
You can totally freeze this soup, but I would recommend doing so without the tortellini. Enjoy the recipe! xTieghan
I’ve made this soup about 10x now and am obsessed. I rarely have cooking wine on hand, but I found that using 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar + extra broth works just as good! Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Emily,
Thanks for making this recipe! I am so glad it was a hit! xTieghan
Same !!!
Delicious and easy! I used chicken broth because it is what I had on hand. I also added one shredded chicken breast for a little protein. Looking forward to enjoying my leftovers!
Hey Emily,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Have the best weekend☀️ xTieghan
Does anyone know if this can be doubled for the instant pot or slow cooker?
Hey Olivia,
I would just be sure that you have a large enough pot for the recipe to be doubled. I hope you love the soup, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This soup is amazing!!
I used a small butternut squash tortellini and it was fantastic.
Hey Barb,
Thanks a lot for giving the recipe a try, I am delighted that the recipe was enjoyed! Happy Sunday! xTieghan
Call us “purests” but we rarely use our slow-cooker. But we tried this recipe, and could not be happier about the time spent (not much) and the flavors developed in such a short time with this soup. It tastes like it’s been simmering for hours, like a good stew. To be honest, we did not have kale on hand, so we used spinach (which I like better) and we also used a combo of chicken stock and veggie stock…but it didn’t seem to change much. Great soup…loved it.#halfbakedharvest
Hey Doug,
Thanks a lot for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that the recipe was enjoyed! Have a fantastic weekend! xTieghan
In a word, YUM! Made the soup using the stove top method and it hit the spot, house smells amazing. I’m not a huge fennel fan so I used only 1/2 teaspoon but next time will use a full teaspoon.
Hey Amy,
I am so glad the recipe was enjoyed, thank you for making it! xTieghan
I made this tonight for my husband and I. When I described it to him his eyes glazed over (probably at the thought of vegetables and kale) but when we served it he had THREE bowls and thanked me for making such a delicious hearty meal! We both feel so good after eating it. This is the third recipe I’ve made from your website – didn’t disappoint thank you xx
Hey Sheila,
I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan