Pumpkin Tortellini Soup Chicken Sausage (Printable Format)

Creamy pumpkin soup with cheesy tortellini, savory chicken sausage, and fresh kale for a comforting autumn meal.

# What's Needed:

→ 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 ounces chicken sausage, sliced into ½-inch rounds

→ Pasta

09 - 9 ounces cheese tortellini, fresh or refrigerated

→ Dairy

10 - ½ cup heavy cream

→ Seasonings

11 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
12 - ½ 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 Make It:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add diced onion and carrot, sautéing for 4–5 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and sliced chicken sausage, cooking for 3–4 minutes until sausage develops light browning.
02 - Stir in pumpkin puree, chicken broth, dried thyme, ground nutmeg, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a gentle simmer.
03 - Add chopped kale and cheese tortellini to the simmering soup. Simmer uncovered for 8–10 minutes until tortellini are tender and kale is wilted.
04 - Reduce heat to low and stir in heavy cream, incorporating fully. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes as desired.
05 - Ladle soup into serving bowls and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley if desired. Serve immediately while hot.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The pumpkin creates a naturally creamy base without needing to cook it down for hours, so you're actually done in under an hour.
  • Sausage does the heavy lifting flavor-wise, so you don't have to fuss with building layers of umami.
  • Kale gets impossibly tender when it meets warm broth, and nobody ever complains about vegetables in a soup like this.
02 -
  • Don't add the cream until the very end because if it simmers too long it can separate and look grainy instead of silky.
  • The pumpkin and nutmeg combination is stronger than you might expect, so taste before you season more rather than guessing.
03 -
  • If your heavy cream looks like it might split, whisk a little bit of the hot broth into it first before stirring it into the pot, which prevents shock and keeps it silky.
  • Freeze this soup without the cream and add it fresh when you reheat, which keeps the texture perfect and prevents any separation.
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