I don’t know about you, but I’m very excited for the fall. Cooler temperatures are hopefully right around the corner and with it comes soup season. This tortellini soup with kale should be bookmarked for your fall soup lists! It’s the perfect mix of homemade with a few key store-bought ingredients to make it doable on a weekday.

Read on to learn my trick for making this tortellini soup really delicious and getting homemade stock flavor without actually making stock from scratch.

Stock makes a difference

In my ideal kitchen, there’s always a vacuum-sealed bag of wonderful homemade stock (and a variety of chicken, beef, and seafood) in my freezer. This homemade stock magically replenishes and is always there for me.

Ya right.

When I’m making soups like this tortellini soup though, it is really important to use very good stock. There aren’t actually many ingredients in the recipe so using good stock is a dealbreaker to making the recipe really special.

That’s why I cannot preach loud enough about Zoup! Good, Really Good® Broths. They are the closest thing I’ve found to homemade stock and even though they are admittedly more expensive than some of the watered-down stocks you’ll find in the store, the flavor is unmatched. The broths were developed by a 20+ year soup industry veteran and the team behind Zoup! Eatery and are kettle-cooked in small batches with the freshest and finest ingredients to give it a complex, yet balanced homemade flavor.

While we were eating this soup for dinner, my wife actually commented that it was noticeable how good the broth was in the soup. And guess what? It was from a Zoup! Jar! Not from my freezer.

Soup ingredients and stock.

A Zoup! Coupon for you!

So, stock up on good stock this soup season. It’s worth it! You can find Zoup! Broth at retailers across the country, plus online at ZoupBroth.com and Amazon.com. For a limited time, use the coupon macheesmo20 for 20% off your Zoup! order on Amazon!

The full lineup includes new seafood broth and new spicy chicken bone broth, original and low sodium chicken broth, veggie broth, chicken and beef bone broth, plus certified organic chicken and veggie broth. The products are low in calories, paleo-friendly, and completely free of artificial ingredients, preservatives, hormones, gluten, GMO’s, fat, trans fat and saturated fat. Zoup! is also introducing Culinary Concentrates, a super-premium, gourmet broth concentrate lineup available in chicken, beef and savory vegan. Learn more at www.zoupbroth.com.

Starting the base of the soup

Okay, let’s take a step back and talk about the base of this soup. It’s starts like so many good soups with onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. Start the hearty aromatics in olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Aromatics cooking for soup!

Once they start to soften, after a few minutes, you can add the garlic and spices. Don’t sauté them too much once you add the garlic or you might burn it.

Then add the stock along with the canned tomatoes and beans. Bring that to a simmer and after the soup simmers for a few minutes, add the kale to wilt.

Add-ins and broth going in the pot.

Add-ins and substitutions

Kale added to the soup at the end of cooking.

I would encourage you to dive into your pantry and veggie drawer when you are making this soup. It’s a hearty soup and can handle some add-ins. Here are a just a few ideas for you to consider:

  • Sauté some sliced mushrooms and add them to the soup.
  • Add ground beef for a meatier soup base.
  • Substitute the kale for any sturdy leafy green like chard or broccoli rabe.
Finished soup with kale.

Adding the Tortellini to the soup

Many tortellini soup recipes will have you add the tortellini to the soup base to cook. I actually don’t like doing this.

While it’s an extra pot and an extra step, cook the tortellini separately in salted water as it should be cooked. There are some good reasons for this.

Tortellini cooking in pot.

For starters, you avoid the problem of the tortellini soaking up all the soup base that you just worked on. If you cook the tortellini in the soup, you’ll end up with more of a chunky stew situation instead of a hearty soup.

But, it’s also just easier to serve if you cook the tortellini separately. You can spoon as many tortellini as you want into each bowl and then ladle in the soup! Trust me on this. It’s the way to do it!

Storing and reheating the soup

Tortellini Soup with Kale

Assuming you’ve followed my advice and cooked these things separately, storage and reheating is easy! Store them separately or the tortellini will soak up all the soup and bloat up in the fridge.

Reheating both is straightforward enough! It’s best to do it on a pot with a splash of extra stock or water over low heat. It’ll keep great in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Tortellini Soup with Kale and Cannellini Beans

5 from 2 votes
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
This fall-ready tortellini soup is on the table in less than 45 minutes and is loaded full of veggies like kale and cannellini beans.

Ingredients 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 quart Beef Bone Broth
  • 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed
  • 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1 bunch kale, about 4 cups chopped
  • 20 ounces store-bought tortellini

Instructions

  • In a large dutch oven, add olive oil over medium heat along with onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring regularly, until vegetables start to wilt, but not brown.
  • Add chopped garlic, dried basil, and salt. Stir together and cook for 30 seconds.
  • Add Zoup! Beef Bone Broth, canned diced tomatoes, and cannellini beans. Bring soup to a slight simmer, then turn heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • While soup simmers, prepare kale by washing it well and chopping the leaves off the stems. Then roughly chop the kale. Add to the soup pot and stir together.
  • To prepare tortellini, boil in salted water separate from the soup. Cook for 3-4 minutes until tortellini are floating.
  • To serve the soup, divide the tortellini between soup bowls and ladle the beef soup over the top of the tortellini. Serve immediately.
  •  
  • Store leftover tortellini and soup separately and reheat in a pot on the stovetop for best results.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 379kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 879mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 4354IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 176mg | Iron: 3mg
Course: Appetizers, Main Dishes, Soups
Cuisine: Italian

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Tortellini Soup

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