Name: Spinach Tortellini Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Soup
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 small yellow onion, small diced; 1 fennel bulb, small diced; 1 medium carrot, peeled and small diced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 28-ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes*; 4 cups vegetable broth; 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 9 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini or tortelloni; 4 cups (4 ounces) baby spinach (or chopped standard spinach); Fresh ground black pepper; To garnish: grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

This spinach tortellini soup is easy and bursting with flavor! Veggies, herbs and Parmesan cheese make a deliciously savory broth.

Here’s a tasty, simple soup that impresses every time: Spinach Tortellini Soup! This one is for the books. Doughy pillows of tortellini float in a tangy, tomato broth seasoned with Italian herbs and Parmesan cheese. It’s loaded up with nutrient-dense spinach and tender vegetables like carrot and fennel, which add nuance and crunch. Sprinkle with Pecorino Romano cheese and it’s a total triumph. Our friends and family couldn’t get enough: when it’s “wow!” from the first bite, we know it’s a keeper!

Ingredients in spinach tortellini soup

This spinach tortellini soup has an herby tomato-based broth, thickened slightly with Parmesan cheese. The flavor of the broth is dependent on the quality of tomatoes, so don’t skimp here! It’s similar to our Creamy Tortellini Soup but simpler, without the cream and with more spinach. Here are a few notes on the ingredients you’ll need:

Olive oil
Onion
Fennel
Carrot
Garlic
Crushed fire roasted tomatoes
Vegetable broth
Parmesan cheese
Oregano, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper
Refrigerated cheese tortellini or tortelloni
Spinach
Fresh ground black pepper

Use refrigerated tortelloni

Turns out, the best pasta to use for a tortellini soup is actually tortelloni, a larger shape of tortellini! We prefer this shape because it’s bigger and more satisfying flavor-wise. Make sure it’s refrigerated, because this means it’s fresh pasta (and will cook during the short simmering time). Don’t use dried tortellini! Here’s the difference between tortellini vs tortelloni:

Tortelloni is a pasta shape that is larger than tortellini with a filled center. Tortellini is smaller and ring shaped, with a hole in the middle.
Where to find it? Tortelloni is easy to find the refrigerated section at your local grocery. It’s usually not available dried or frozen (though you can find tortellini dried and frozen).
How to tell the difference quickly? Tortellini has a hole in the middle, whereas tortelloni has a solid center that encloses the filling.
Either way: don’t use dried pasta! It has a different cook time and the package weights are different.

Use fire roasted tomatoes if possible

The other key to this spinach tortellini soup? Fire roasted tomatoes! We use this type of tomato often in our recipes to bring big flavor in a short cook time.

Fire roasted tomatoes are a type of canned tomato that’s cooked over an open flame before canning. It makes the flavor beautifully sweet out of the can, instead of acidic like many canned tomato varieties.
Where to get them? This type of tomatoes are becoming pretty easy to find in grocery stores in the US; they’re sold by several brands (Muir Glen is a favorite of ours). Look in the canned tomatoes section.
What if you can’t find them? Substitute the best quality canned tomatoes you can find and increase the simmer time by 10 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar if the flavor still seems bitter.