Pumpkin Tortellini Soup with Sausage (Printable Version)

Creamy pumpkin soup with chicken sausage, cheese tortellini, and kale - perfect autumn comfort in a bowl.

# What You'll Need:

→ Produce

01 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
03 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 2 cups pumpkin puree
05 - 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
06 - 4 cups chopped kale, stems removed
07 - 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

→ Meats

08 - 12 oz chicken sausage, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

→ Pasta

09 - 9 oz cheese tortellini, fresh or refrigerated

→ Dairy

10 - 1/2 cup heavy cream

→ Seasonings

11 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
12 - 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
13 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
14 - Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

→ Garnish

15 - Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
16 - Chopped fresh parsley, optional

# How to Prepare:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot, sautéing for 4 to 5 minutes until softened.
02 - Add minced garlic and sliced chicken sausage to the pot, cooking for 3 to 4 minutes until sausage is lightly browned.
03 - Stir in pumpkin puree, chicken broth, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
04 - Add kale and tortellini to the pot, simmering uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes until tortellini are tender and kale is wilted.
05 - Lower heat and stir in heavy cream. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes as desired.
06 - Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Serve immediately while hot.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It comes together in under an hour, which means you can go from craving soup to actually eating it without much planning.
  • The pumpkin melts into the broth so seamlessly that even people who claim they don't like pumpkin end up asking for seconds.
  • Heavy cream makes everything taste like you spent all day tending a pot, when really you've got time to fold laundry simultaneously.
02 -
  • Canned pumpkin puree is not the same as pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar and spices that will throw off your soup completely—read the label or your soup will taste unexpectedly sweet.
  • Kale becomes bitter if you let it simmer too long, so add it near the end of cooking and stop cooking once it's tender rather than pushing it further.
03 -
  • Taste the broth before adding cream—once cream goes in, it softens your ability to salt properly, so get your seasonings right first.
  • Keep the heat gentle once cream is added, which protects both the texture of your sauce and any delicate cream you're using from breaking or splitting.
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