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Try this recipe for a quick Italian tortellini soup you'll love

Aimee Blume, Evansville Courier & Press
·3 min read

EVANSVILLE – Are you hungry for something delicious, quick, inexpensive and healthy for dinner tonight? It does exist!

Here’s a soup that is reminiscent of that creamy Zuppa Toscana you get at the Italian restaurants, but it’s much healthier and lower in calories. With a little chopping and dicing it comes together in less than 30 minutes, and most of that is cooking time.

We use plenty of onion, garlic, carrot and celery for flavor and nutrition. We swap out pork sausage for Italian seasoned ground turkey to save on fat calories. Instead of potato, we use a can of garbanzo beans, because they have more fiber and protein, and throw in a handful of tortellini pasta for interest. If you’re gluten-free, just add another can of garbanzos or one of cannellini beans.

Delicious Italian Tortellini Soup contains Italian sausage, lots of veggies, greens, beans and tortellini pasta.
Delicious Italian Tortellini Soup contains Italian sausage, lots of veggies, greens, beans and tortellini pasta.

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We do not add cream at all, because it’s just not necessary. Do choose a good quality brand of chicken stock or bone broth, however. We used Pacific Organics. Zoup makes a good quality stock in glass jars, too.

Use the greens of your choice. If you’d like to go with kale or collards, add them with the tortellini so they have time to cook down. If you use something softer such as spinach or chard (we had bok choy languishing in the fridge, so we used the leaves and it was great), stir it in towards the end of cooking time.

To make a meal, serve it with a salad and garlic bread.

We're using garbanzo beans in our soup instead of potatoes because they're higher in fiber and protein.
We're using garbanzo beans in our soup instead of potatoes because they're higher in fiber and protein.

Italian tortellini soup

Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic (more or less to taste)

Handful fresh parsley leaves, minced, divided

Big pinch salt

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 large ribs celery, diced

1 pound turkey Italian sausage

2 quarts good-quality chicken stock

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, undrained

6 oz dry tortellini*

2-3 cups sliced greens of your choice

DIRECTIONS

Use whatever kind of greens you like best for this recipe. It could be kale, spinach or even bok choi.
Use whatever kind of greens you like best for this recipe. It could be kale, spinach or even bok choi.

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven and add the onion, garlic, and half the parsley. Sprinkle with salt, cover, and permit to soften and reduce until golden, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the carrots and celery and continue to cook a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the sausage and raise the heat to high. Cook the sausage, breaking it up, and cook until brown. Add the stock and garbanzo beans and their liquid and bring to a full boil.

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4. Add the tortellini and the greens IF you are using kale or collards. Hold off if you have a softer green. Grind in generous black pepper. Boil until the tortellini is soft, about 10-11 minutes. If you are using softer greens, add now.

5. Taste and adjust salt if necessary and add remaining parsley.

*To cut down on cooking time, Aldi offers shelf-stable fresh Priano brand tortellini which cooks in only 2-3 minutes.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Italian Tortellini Soup with turkey Italian sausage and garbanzo beans