Can you please just look at this deep red broth and appreciate how beautiful it is? When I first saw this recipe by Kristin over at Yellow bliss road, I was drawn in by the bright, beautiful colors and the idea of yet another meal I could put tortellini into. I was NOT disappointed. This soup tastes even better than it looks! I did change a few things from the original recipe, so Here’s a link to the original recipe if you’d like to take a look!
I usually use dried tortellini to save some cash (and time looking for the fresh pasta at the store 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️). But fresh tortellini will also work well. Kristin recommends a 9 oz package of fresh pasta.
Ground Italian Sausage comes in many forms, and honestly I don’t think it matters too much which kind you go with as long as all of those zesty Italian flavors are included. I personally use turkey sausage to try to cut down on leftover grease. You can also find sausage as cased links or in standard ground form. Again, it doesn’t matter which one you use, as long as you remove the casing first if you’re using the links.
For the freezer meal instructions, you’ll notice I left out the tortellini, spinach, and water. Tortellini and spinach don’t freeze well in soups. Both get over saturated with water and you’re left with some pretty unappealing textures. For this reason, I suggest you make the rest of the soup (without the water to save on space), freeze that, then add the last three ingredients when it’s time to make and serve the soup. Unfortunately the textural issues also apply to leftovers that are more than a day old, so I would half the recipe if you’re only feeding a couple people.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
real people
|
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped $0.19
- 1 tbsp minced garlic $0.06
- 1 lb ground Italian turkey sausage $3.28
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes $1.07
- 5 cups water (or chicken broth if you don't use bouillon) free(ish)
- 5 tsp chicken bouillon $0.06
- 1 tbsp dried basil $0.19
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper $0.02
- 12 oz dried tortellini (or 9 oz pack fresh tortellini) $2.40
- 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped, lightly packed $0.38
Ingredients
|
|
- Warm a wide bottomed, high walled pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, remove the turkey sausages from their casings (if they are in a casing, I've seen this type of sausage sold both cased and sans-casing) and chop the onion.
- Add the turkey sausage, chopped onion, and minced garlic to the pan. No need for additional oil, the sausage should have enough fat to keep the ingredients from sticking to the pan. Cook the meat until it's no longer pink, making sure to separate large chunks as your would with ground beef/turkey.
- Once the sausage is cooked through, add the crushed tomatoes, water, bouillon, basil and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the temperature to medium low, cover, and allow it to simmer for 15-30 minutes. The longer it simmers the more flavorful your soup will be.
- Add the tortellini and spinach and bring your soup to a soft boil again. Boil for 12-14 minutes, or until the tortellini is cooked through and tender. Serve.
- Warm a wide bottomed, high walled pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, remove the turkey sausages from their casings and chop the onion.
- Add the turkey sausage, chopped onion, and minced garlic to the pan. No need for additional oil, the sausage should have enough fat to keep the ingredients from sticking to the pan. Cook the meat until it's no longer pink, making sure to separate large chunks as your would with ground beef/turkey.
- Once the sausage is cooked through, add the crushed tomatoes, bouillon, basil and pepper. DON'T ADD THE WATER. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then remove it from the heat and let it cool.
- Tortellini and spinach don't freeze well in the soup, so I've left them out of the freezer bag to be added in later during preparation. (The pasta gets oversaturated with water and the spinach gets an awful slimy texture.) If you wish, you can chop the spinach and freeze it in a small baggie and store it next to the soup in the freezer, or you can just use fresh spinach when you're ready to make the soup. Stowe a bag of dry tortellini away in your pantry for when you're ready to make the soup.
- Label a gallon sized freezer bag with the name of the soup, the date that's 3 months away, and with these instructions: 1. Thaw contents and add to stock pot 2. add 5 cups of water, bring to boil 3. add tortelini and spinach, simmer 12-14 min 4. Serve
- Put the cooled mixture into the gallon freezer bag and lay it flat on a cookie sheet. Let it freeze over night, remove it from the cookie sheet and store it in your freezer for up to three months.
Serving size: 1 cup
Servings: 12
Price for dish: $7.65
Price per serving: $0.63
Nutrition per serving:
Calories: 137
Carbs: 12.3 g
Protein: 10.3 g
Fats: 4.8 g
Sodium: 1,017 mg
Fiber: 2.2 g
Sugar: 2.7 g
