Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

Tomato soup is just ridiculously good, yes? It’s definitely comfort food for me and absolutely perfect on a cold day. I think growing up we ate grilled cheese and tomato soup every week without fail. Of course, I grew up eating the classic Campbell’s soup and there is nothing wrong with Campbell’s persay, but all fall and winter I’ve been looking for the perfect from scratch tomato soup recipe.

 

I was looking for something healthy, with real ingredients and all the flavors that I love…garlic, basil, parmesan.  I’ve tweaked, researched, and taste tested. (Someone has to do the hard jobs! Nate and Layla helped, thank goodness. :)) I’ve looked at chunky tomato soups, tomato bisques and cream of tomato soups; I’ve explored recipes that use roux, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and everything in between.

Some were meh. Some were good. Some were great. And then there was this. Inspired by a friend’s facebook post I added tortellini to the hybrid creamy tomato soup recipe I was developing….the result? #Dreamy.

In The Tightwad Gazette (great read on frugal living if you’re interested) they have a recipe for tomato soup using a can of tomato paste and chicken stock; I loved the simplicity of that recipe and the thick, but not too thick texture of the soup, but the flavor was really lacking. So I added a few things, like real tomatoes, fresh garlic, whole milk…. and the rest, as they say, is history.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

15 ounces diced tomatoes (I used ones I canned, regular from-can is fine or if season, fresh diced and peeled tomatoes)

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

2 cups chicken stock

2 Tablespoons butter

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 teaspoons basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 package (8 ounces) cheese tortellini

12 ounces evaporated milk or whole milk

Directions:

Combine tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato paste, butter, garlic, basil, and oregano in saucepan. Stir over medium heat until simmering. Add tortellini and cook another 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Slowly add evaporated milk (or whole milk) to soup and cook until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

If you want to reduce or eliminate the dairy substitute unsweetened almond milk for the milk and trade the cheese tortellini for 3/4 cup uncooked ancini de pepe pasta. 

 

This soup is actually quite filling!  Of course, you can always go with the classic and add a grilled cheese sandwhich, but as hearty as this soup is, it can definitely stand alone as an easy one-pot supper. It also pairs nicely with a light romaine salad.

Enjoy! I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe!

What is your favorite type of soup?  What do you like to eat with tomato soup? 

You may also be interested in reading:

Healthy Potato Soup

Turkey and Black Bean Chili

Thanks for checking out my Creamy Tomato Tortellini soup recipe! I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram!

-Kate