When the leaves begin to turn and a chill fills the air, we know the time has come to embrace the flavors of fall with a comforting bowl of soup. This Creamy Pumpkin Sausage Tortellini Soup is the perfect way to celebrate the season, featuring the rich flavors of pumpkin, the savory kick of Italian sausage, and the delightful addition of cheese tortellini. Cozy up with a bowl of this hearty and satisfying soup that will warm you from the inside out.
Why I love this soup, and hope you will, too
Winter squash soup is always a favorite and the star of every fall soup menu. As a vegetable gardener who’s grown many a gourd in her time, it’s a thrill to walk through the carpet of green leaves, hunting for the winter squash hiding underneath. Pumpkins, butternuts, honeynuts, kabochas, acorns. You treasure-hunt the tiny fruits mid-summer and then obsessively watch them plump up and change colors.
So, when harvest time finally arrives, the mind spins with all of the yummy recipes these squash inspire. For me, pumpkin means soup and chili, not desserts. The tender flesh cooks up so rich and creamy, it adds incredible texture to all kinds of soup. Including today’s soup.
Reasons this soup is a hit at Casa SoupAddict:
- It’s packed with fall flavors. The combination of pumpkin, sausage, and sage is a classic for good reason.
- It’s hearty and satisfying. This soup is packed with protein and fiber, so it will fill you up and keep you satisfied.
- It’s easy to make. This soup comes together in just one pot, so it’s perfect for a weeknight meal, under 45 minutes from stove to table.
- It’s versatile. You can easily customize this soup to your liking. Use a different type of sausage, or even swap out the tortellini for another type of pasta.
Main Ingredients, Preparation Notes, and Substitutions
Italian sausage — Mild spiced sausage is the perfect complement to the gentle, neutral sweetness of pumpkin. If you’ve never had pumpkin soup before and skeptically have visions of pumpkin pie dancing in your head, you can put those thoughts aside. This is a savory soup, and sausage makes it so.
For Creamy Pumpkin Sausage Tortellini Soup, I used pork sausage, but you can use chicken or turkey for a healthier take. Even plant-based sausage will work. Just make sure, whatever you choose, that it’s ground — or “crumbleable” sausage. Sausage in casings will work if the sausage is not solid like a hot dog. Smoked sausage that’s meant to be sliced will produce a different, although no doubt still tasty, result.
Pumpkin puree — In this stage of life, I’m grateful for the availability of canned pumpkin puree, and there’s no shame in that game because I can tell you that many a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie has been made starting with a can.
However, if you’re a DIY kind of person, late fall is the time to try to your hand at homemade pumpkin puree. I’ve done it many times; it’s so easy!
Fall herbs — Sage, rosemary, and thyme are classic fall herbs, and enhance the seasonings of the sausage while lending more savory flavors to the pumpkin soup base.
You can use dried or fresh interchangeably, it’s up to you. Dried herbs are more concentrated than fresh, so use twice the amount of fresh. I made a point of using fresh sage because I have so much of it growing in my garden, and it’s so beautifully fragrant.
Cheese tortellini — Refrigerated tortellini, which is packaged partially cooked, is your friend here, as it’s quick cooking, tender, and stuffed with lovely cheeses. If you must go with a dried pasta, I would recommend cooking the pasta in a separate pot, and adding it all the end. The world won’t end if you boil the soup for 10 minutes to cook the pasta, but I just think it’s a better result to do it separately.
Dairy — The soup gets its silky, creamy texture from both the pumpkin puree and the half-and-half or heavy cream added at the end. I also mix in some medium and aged cheeses for an extra salty little kick. Smoked gouda is lovely in this soup.
Cook’s Notes
- It’s important to take your time early on in the recipe to let the soup base thicken with the small amount of flour called for. A heavier roux is a quicker shortcut but it’s also a flavor dampener, so I wanted to use just enough flour to get the job done without creating a “sauce.”
- Remember that you can substitute the dried herbs with fresh — use twice as much (dried herbs have more concentrated flavors)
- Choose aged or medium-aged cheeses, rather than young, soft cheeses, like mozzarella. I used a nice smoked gouda and Parmigiana Reggiano. Melty cheeses might become stringy when added to the soup, whereas aged cheeses will dissolve right in.
- Make the soup vegetarian by substituting the sausage and broth for plant-based versions.
- Can you freeze the soup? With its creamy base and tortellini pasta, it’s not a good candidate for freezing, as the pasta will get mushy and dairy will separate into liquids and solids. If you’re dead set on freezing it anyway, cook the soup through the part where you’ve added the broth and simmered it. Then freeze that soup base. Later, after thawing and reheating, bring the soup up to a simmer and continue with the recipe, adding the tortellini, dairy, and cheeses to finish.
How to Make Creamy Pumpkin Sausage Tortellini Soup
Ready to make the recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to get the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through of making the soup.
Step 1: Cook the sausage and aromatics
Thoroughly brown the sausage in a little oil over medium heat. Stir frequently to prevent burning and break up the clumps as you go.
Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Stir the garlic and herbs.
Step 2: Make the thickened soup base
Add the flour and a splash of chicken broth and mix well with the sausage mixture.
Add one cup more of the broth and increase the heat to high. Let this base cook for a few minutes to let it thicken a little.
Step 3: Add the pumpkin and cook the soup
Spoon in the pumpkin puree and mix well. The base will be very thick and a deep orange.
Pour in the rest of the chicken broth, stir well, and let the soup come up to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Cook the pasta in the soup
Add the tortellini and cook for the time indicated on the packaging.
Step 5: Finish the soup
Stir in the dairy and cheeses, and give the soup a final dusting with freshly grated nutmeg and serve.
Storage
Store leftovers of Creamy Pumpkin Sausage Tortellini Soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Gently reheat and stir, doing your best to avoid damaging the softened pasta. Freezing is not recommended (see Cook’s Notes above).
I hope you’ll try this lovely taste of fall, and fall in love with savory pumpkin soup, as I have.
Creamy Pumpkin Sausage Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 medium onion , diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage , chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- whole nutmeg seed (for grating, see recipe)
- 3-4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 9 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
- 1 cup grated tasty cheeses, such as smoke gouda and parmesan (I used this combo)
For garnish:
- 4 or 5 fried fresh sage leaves , sliced
- additional grated cheese
- grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Heat oil in a 4 or 5 quart Dutch oven or soup pot over medium until the surface shimmers. Add the sausage and cook until browned, breaking up large clumps and stirring to ensure all pieces are cooked through, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and herbs and mix well. Using a fine or small-holed grater, shower 4 or 5 grates of the nutmeg seed over the sausage mixture (you will not use the entire seed for this recipe; it stores well in an air-tight container or in its original jar).
- Spoon in the flour, along with one cup of chicken broth to the pot, and raise the heat. Stir the flour and broth into the sausage mixture and let that heat for a few minutes. This will create the thickened base of the soup.
- Spoon the pumpkin puree into the pot and mix thorough with the soup base. It should be thick and very dark orange.
- Add more chicken broth, one cup at a time, until the soup thins out a bit and bring it up to a boil. When the soup is actively bubbling, adjust heat to maintain a moderate bubbling (more than simmering but not with bubbles bursting and spitting). Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the refrigerated tortellini to the pot, and cook in the bubbly soup per package directions (note that different brands have different cooking times, depending on how they pre-cooked the pasta). It might look like there’s not enough pasta for the soup, but they will expand during cooking.
- When the tortellinis are plump and a bit floaty, turn off the heat.
- Stir in the half and half gently. Use a wide spatula so that you don’t damage the tortellini. Then stir in the cheeses until completely dissolved into the soup. Grate additional nutmeg over the soup. Carefully taste the soup and add salt to taste as needed (it probably won’t need more salt). Serve with your preferred garnishes.