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Italian flavored Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup with Ground Beef is the perfect cozy winter meal! It's full of hearty beef, white beans, kale, garlic, and cheese tortellini in a richly seasoned tomato broth. This easy one-pot soup is a family favorite!
- A Well Rounded Meal! - This tortellini soup combines a quick pound of ground beef, often thawed from the freezer, with vegetables, white beans, canned tomato, broth and refrigerated tortellini for an easy weeknight dinner!
- Comfort Food! - With everything you love about an Italian pasta night in a one-pot soup, this recipe is quick and easy, warm and cozy for those chilly winter nights!
- If you Love this Soup, try my Italian Sausage White Bean Soup with Pasta and this Tuscan Chicken Gnocchi Soup!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Just a few simple ingredients and a bag of refrigerated cheese tortellini, this soup is perfectly creamy and delicious without being overly rich! No need for a block of cream cheese like is a lot of tortellini soups!
- Ground Beef - Starting this soup off with just your basic ground beef makes it filling and hearty. You could also substitute ground Italian sausage, which will be a bit richer. Sausage is heavily seasoned so you can back off on the salt, pepper and spices.
- Seasonings and Spices - Italian seasonings gives a lot of flavor while I'm also using just a hint of crushed red pepper flakes. It doesn't make the soup overly spicy, but gives it a cozy warm undertone. We love this spice combo in my Spicy Rigatoni with Meat Sauce too!
- Kale - Dark leafy greens cut the richness of the cheesy tortellini and add texture to the soup. If you aren't a kale fan, chopping it small and adding it with the beef makes it blend right in. You can also substitute a few big handfuls of fresh spinach.
- White Beans - Canned white beans make this soup extra filling and satisfying! It's really a variation of Pasta Fagioli Soup, it's soup with pasta and beans!
- Canned Tomato - I used whole peeled tomatoes, chopped them on a cutting board and added all their juices. They combine with the beef stock for a silky red broth. You could also use diced tomatoes or fire roasted tomatoes, and a 14 or 28 ounce can would both be fine. Avoid crushed tomatoes, the thickness will make the soup a little too saucy and not broth-y.
- Tortellini - I used Rana brand cheese filled refrigerated tortellini. An 18 ounce bag worked well, but if your bag is a little smaller, that will be fine. Refrigerated tortellini can also be frozen to keep these soup ingredients on hand. You can add the tortellini straight from frozen.
- Beef Stock - Beef or chicken stock work fine for this soup. You'll also likely need to add some water if the soup gets too thick.
- Cream - A little bit of heavy cream turns the tomato broth a silky texture. You can leave it out if you like, or substitute half & half to make it less rich.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This one-pot tortellini beef soup is built in layers on the stovetop and is ready in under 40 minutes!
Step 1 - Brown the ground beef together with the onions. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 2 - Stir in the kale, garlic and seasonings.
Step 3 - Add the canned tomato, chopped on a cutting board, white beans, tortellini, beef stock and cream.
Step 4 - Simmer about 20 minutes or until the tortellini are just cooked through.
Recipe Notes & Helpful Tips
- Don't Overcook the Tortellini - This isn't the soup to simmer all afternoon! Tortellini are quick cooking, and once they're done, you should eat! They will continue to cook, and overcook, as long as you leave the soup on the burner.
- Adding Water - Don't get overly worried about the tortellini continuing to cook a little bit. Just know that as the pasta keeps cooking, it will start to over-thicken the soup. This is easily fixed by adding water. You'll likely need to add a cup or 2, and then especially add water when reheating leftover soup. The soup should be broth-y, not saucy!
- Easy Substitutions - Diced or fire roasted tomatoes can be used instead of whole peeled. Kale could be swapped with spinach. The ground beef could be substituted with bulk Italian sausage, just omit the salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper, and use less Italian seasoning.
- What to Serve it With - Tortellini soup definitely needs to be topped with Parmesan cheese! We really like dipping crusty bread like a baguette or my Overnight Dutch Oven Bread. A big salad like my Italian Mixed Greens Salad or this Spinach Arugula Salad would make a great meal!
- Storage and Freezing - Extra soup can be stored in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. You'll likely need to add water when reheating since the soup will thicken so much. Soup with tortellini is not the best to freeze.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! If you've got late summer tomatoes and you're ready for a cozy fall pot of soup, go ahead and chop 2 or 3 large tomatoes. You especially want their juices!
Yes! You could easily make several variations of this Tortellini Soup by substituting the tortellini with 1 package of gnocchi or about 1.5 cups of dry pasta such as bowtie, medium shells, orecchiette, or ditalini. The cooking times will vary, but the soup is ready when the pasta is al dente.
The tortellini will continue to cook as long as you leave it on the burner. You should eat when the pasta is done, but if the soup gets too thick, just add water at any time.
More Cozy Winter Soups!
If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!
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Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup with Ground Beef
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Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 grinds fresh black pepper
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups kale or spinach chopped
- 2 cans white beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can (28oz) whole peeled tomatoes with juices chopped
- 18 ounces cheese tortellini (about 4 cups, refrigerated)
- 1 quart beef stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 to 2 cups water (as needed, see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Saute the ground beef with the onions, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until fully browned and caramelized. About 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the crushed red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, garlic and kale and cook another minute.
- Add the white beans, juice and tomatoes chopped on a cutting board, beef stock, tortellini and cream. Stir to combine.
- Simmer the soup, lowering the heat at needed to keep it at a gentle bubble, about 20 minutes.
- When the pasta is cooked through, taste one, it's ready! Garnish with chopped parsley or basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Don't Overcook the Tortellini - When the pasts is ready, you should eat! As the tortellini sit on the burner, they will overcook. If you won't be ready to eat that soon, you can wait a bit to add the tortellini and cream.
- Adjust with Water - The finished tortellini will over-thicken the soup the longer it sits on the burner. You can easily adjust this by just adding water. You may need to add 1 or 2 cups, and more when reheating the cold soup.
Ann says
Made this soup tonight for supper. It was delicious! In order to freeze some for later, I only added enough tortellini for two servings. I will keep the rest of the package in the freezer, and add it as I reheat future bowls. I used about half an
8 oz. pkg. of spinach instead of the kale. Another easy recipe and so good!