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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!
Preparing for Wintergeddon and soup sounded good. Found this recipe and had most of the ingredients. Did stovetop version and subbed chard for the kale. The fennel seed was the perfect addition. Very good, comforting soup. It’s going into the rotation. Thanks!
Hey Tamara,
Happy Friday! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for making it!
I don’t normally write reviews but I had to for this one. This soup was so good. I made it while my husband was out of town because he typically is not a fan of a meatless recipe. However, I had alot of leftovers so I froze it in my souper cubes (including the tortellini). One day we were low on food so I dethawed and we ate for dinner and he was raving about it. He asked me to make it again this weekend which I couldn’t believe! I also was a huge fan though so this is a win win and paired with the leftover white wine and a piece of sourdough bread it is incredible. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hey Stephanie,
I’m grateful you tried this recipe and took the time to comment. Delighted it turned out!
This is a delicious soup, the fennel adding such a distinctive note. I didn’t have kale this time and made it with spinach, but I prefer the kale version. It’s warm and hearty and perfect for a winter night in Canada, such as we are currently experiencing. However, it’s also perfect in the spring and fall!
Hey Kristi,
Perfect! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed!
Hey! I really want to try this recipe, but I want to make it 2 days before and freeze it. If I don’t add the tortellini until the day I plan to serve it would it be okay to make early and freeze? What recommendations do you have. Thanks!
Hey Keddi-Anne,
Totally, that will work nicely for you! Honestly, if it’s just two days before you don’t even need to freeze it, just keep in the fridge.
I hope you love this recipe!
Can I use sausage tortallani instead of cheese?
Totally!
Recipe was SO good!! Family favorite!! I was wondering if you knew how much protein was in each serving?
Thanks so much, Emma! Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed by your family.
I am so sorry, I do not know the protein amount per serving. Please let me know if I can help in any other way!
It’s honestly not flavourful enough for the amount of stuff in it, especially dairy. I even added more spice than it called for.
Hi Emily,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, very sorry to hear it was not enjoyed!
Is this soup able to scale for a larger party?
Hi there,
Sure, just increase the serving size to what you need:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way!
One of the reasons I look forward to soup season 🙂 A favorite HBH recipe!
Thanks so much, Theresa:) Love to hear this recipe is always enjoyed!
Our family really enjoyed this soup- added white beans to increase protein. Thanks for an easy healthy meal!!
Hey Katie,
Happy Monday! Big thanks for making this recipe and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot!
This looks great, just wondering if the calories per serving is correct… it says 1349 kcal per serving…
Thanks so much, Jen!! I always recommend that if the nutritional information is important to you, you use your own personal calculator. Ours is automatic and controlled by google. It’s not something we’d prefer to be using. We are required to. I’m sorry for the trouble, we do our best! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
1300 calories per serving was a red flag to me as well!
This recipe seems amazing, but I was wondering how disastrous it would be to substitute spinach in place of the kale. My family isn’t big on kale, but I wanted to add that leafy green component without ruining the flavor profile
Hey Luchia,
Ohh that would be just fine for you to do!! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
This recipe was easy and delicious. It was my first time making it and I had to skip the paprika as I was out but I added extra cheese and chicken and it was so good. You’ve heard of breakfast for dinner? Well I had dinner for breakfast the next day after making it. Definitely recommend.
Hey Lucas,
Thanks for testing this recipe out, I’m thrilled it was a success for you. Happy November!🍂🍁
Perfect. Followed this to a t except some spicy chicken broth and low sodium veg broth. Had to add more broth at the end as more liquid was needed. Ended up being an amazing soup. I am so surprised how delicious it is!! I’ll keep making it! I grilled chicken with Evoo and Italian herbs, topped the soup, and it was delish.
Hey Leah,
Happy Monday! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks a lot for making it and your comment!
I made this in my slow cooker and added some Italian sausage & in addition to the yellow onion I added some sautéed shallots (since I love these too) It was yummy and I would definitely make it again! Thank you! 😋
Hey Terez,
Really appreciate you making this recipe and reporting back. Thrilled it turned out well!
When did you add the sausage? I assume you cooked it beforehand? I want to do the same thing!
Sadly this soup was tasteless. So disappointed after hours in the crockpot. No Italian scent or flavor. Dried herbs in oil seemed to float on top and would not mix in.
Hi Joy,
Very sorry to hear this. Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with. Thanks for trying the recipe!
You need to sauté the vegetables, garlic, and the spices in a saucepan on the stove before putting in crockpot. That’s where the flavor comes from 🙂
Hi! I am wanting to make this with some Italian sausage in it as well. What step would you recommend adding the sausage to the crockpot?
I was planning on slicing the sausage and cooking it on the stove top, removing from pan, and then cooking onion, garlic, etc. in the same pan to get that extra flavor with all the herbs and such.
Would you add then add the cooked sausage to the crockpot the same time as everything else to cook together on low for 6-8 hours, or wait to add the sausage back in at the end with the kale, cream, parmesan, and tortellini?
Hey Haley,
Great idea! I would add the sausage in towards the end with the kale, cream, parmesan, and tortellini. I hope you love this recipe!