Instant Pot Sausage Tortellini Soup is a family favorite soup with loads of flavor from sausage, cheese tortellini and parmesan. Serve up with fresh breadsticks or cornbread and honey butter.
Note: SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below
Instant Pot Sausage Tortellini Soup
I give this soup 5 stars! It was a hit with each member of my family. With lots of flavor and a bit of creaminess it hits the spot and is comforting on a chilly night. We served ours up with our favorite cornbread. Another option is making homemade Little Casesars Crazy Bread. Either way you’ll have happy taste buds.
What kind of sausage should I use? I used ground breakfast sausage (it might have been the Farmland brand or maybe Jimmy Dean). You can use any type of ground sausage that you like. If you want to bump up the flavor use a spicy sausage or Italian sausage.
What kind of broth do you use? For making soups in the Instant Pot I like to use water and Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base*. I buy mine in the large jars from Costco. I used 4 cups of water and 4 tsp of the chicken base. You can also use canned or boxed chicken broths.
What kind of tortellini did you use? Look for cheese tortellini in the frozen section of your grocery store. They frozen tortellini and ravioli are usually found next to the frozen breads/doughs. I haven’t tried this recipe with fresh tortellini but I’m sure you could with great results. The fresh tortellini might need to cook a little longer than frozen.
What’s up with two types of tomatoes? By using crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes you get the best of both worlds. The crushed tomatoes have a more pureed texture and the diced tomatoes give you a few chunks of tomatoes in your soup. Alternately, you can use 2 cans crushed or 2 cans of diced.
How are the leftovers? The only issue with this soup is that the tortellini gets bloated and a bit mushy as leftovers. I will definitely still eat it! But it just won’t have the same texture as the first night.
Does this soup freeze well? This isn’t the best soup to freeze because of the dairy separating and the pasta getting mushy. Some other choices of soup that might freeze well are Instant Pot Brunswick Stew or Instant Pot Loaded Frito Taco Soup,
Can I halve this recipe? Yes you can. Just use one type of tomatoes (so you don’t have two cans that are half used). Cook for the same amount of time. Get more info on how to halve Instant Pot recipes successfully.
Can I double this recipe? This soup will only double if you have a large 10 quart Instant Pot. You can 1.5 times the recipe in the 8 quart pot successfully. Find out more about successfully doubling Instant Pot recipes.
Can I use a lactose free dairy option? I am not entirely sure on how it will affect the flavor profile but you can sure give it a shot. Let me know in the comments what you use and if it turns out well.
More Soup Recipes You’ll Love…
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup
Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup
Instant Pot Italian Tortellini Soup
Slow Cooker Italian Tortellini Soup
Instant Pot Italian Sausage and Spinach Soup
Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Spinach Soup
Want more tried and true Instant Pot recipes?
Receive FREE daily Instant Pot recipes and tips in your email box. Sign up by filling out the gray form below. Other ways to follow: join the 365 Days of Instant Pot Recipes Facebook group and subscribe to my YouTube channel where I share Instant Pot stuff with you weekly.
Instant Pot Sausage Tortellini Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
A family favorite soup with loads of flavor from sausage, cheese tortellini and parmesan. Serve up with fresh breadsticks or cornbread and honey butter.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground sausage
- 1 cup diced onion
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced carrots
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 (19 oz) package frozen tortellini
- 1 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream or half and half
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper (about ¼ tsp each)
- Fresh basil, for garnish
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to the sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the ground sausage and break it up*. Add in the onion, celery and carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes. Drain any excess grease. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in broth, tomatoes, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the soup button (or manual/pressure cook button) to 5 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Add in the frozen tortellini and turn the Instant Pot to sauté. The tortellini should cook through in just 2-3 minutes.
- Add a quarter cup of the hot liquid into the dairy and stir. Repeat. This will help temper the dairy to prevent separating.
- Once tortellini is cooked through remove the Instant Pot liner from the pot and set on the counter. Stir in the dairy and parmesan cheese. Then add salt and pepper to taste (this is important!).
- Ladle into bowls and top with chopped fresh basil.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the ground sausage and break it up*. Add in the onion, celery and carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes. Drain any excess grease. Add to the slow cooker.
- Add in broth, tomatoes, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Add in the tortellini and cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add a quarter cup of the hot liquid into the dairy and stir. Repeat. This will help temper the dairy to prevent separating. Add the dairy and parmesan cheese into the slow cooker.
- Add salt and pepper to taste (this is important!).
- Ladle into bowls and top with chopped fresh basil.
Notes
How I use paper towels to “drain the grease”–Tilt the Instant Pot to one side while holding the ground meat against the other side with a wooden spoon. This should make most of the grease pool on the tilted side. Lower the Instant Pot down, the meat should stay to its side and the grease on the other. Place a couple paper towels into the grease and use the spoon to sop up the grease. Discard the paper towels.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. No changes for the 8 quart. Halve the recipe for the 3 quart pot.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I made this last night and it was fantastic. I did use mild italian sausage, a blend of mozz/prov cheese instead of parm, and added a tbsp of red pepper flakes to liven it up a bit.
Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
A tbsp? Wow! Was that hot?
I made this for dinner last night. I used turkey sausage since I’m trying to eat healthy and since I only had about half the called for tortellini I threw in some ravioli I had on hand as well. My wife said it smelled strange, but we both really liked it. This will certainly go into my “make it again,” recipe book.
Glad you all ended up liking it!
Can’t wait to make this tonight! Can I substitute the sausage for ground turkey?
If you do I would add in a lot more seasonings since sausage adds so much flavor!
We love Tortellinis at our house. With only two of us, they get soggy for leftovers. I take the time after I’ve served us to “fish” out the Tortellinis and put them in a baggie. That way when I reheat it I just add them back, as many as I think we will eat. I’ve also been known to freeze the soup without the Tortellinis and then add more when I eat it later.
That’s a good tip Bonnie. Thank you.
Wow! I can’t wait to make this!!! It looks sooo yummy!
Thanks again for all your great recipes!
You’re welcome Susanna! We really loved it!