Vegetarian Tortellini Soup

This vegetarian tortellini soup is packed with veggies and pasta in a savory tomato broth. It's super easy and quick to make.

Jump to:

• Where does tortellini soup come from?
• Ingredients
• How to make vegetarian tortellini soup
• Substitutions and variations
• FAQs
• Make ahead and storage tips
• What to eat with vegetarian tortellini soup
• Vegetarian Tortellini Soup

Tortellini soup is having its moment on social media. The viral recipe is heavy on the cream and usually has sausage or chicken. I already have a version of this creamy vegan tortellini soup recipe if that’s what you’re looking for!

But tortellini is a great addition to all kinds of soups, not just the creamy kind. This vegetarian tortellini soup recipe is heavy on the veggies and omits the sausage.  

My vegetable tortellini soup features a delicious tomato-based broth made with tomato paste and miso paste for a rich, umami flavor.

While I called this recipe vegetarian, it is in fact vegan. Since I don’t add Parmesan (which is not even vegetarian because of the rennet), the miso paste steps in for a slightly cheesy, salty element. 

But don’t worry, one tablespoon isn’t enough for it to make your soup taste like miso soup! You can’t taste it at all - you’ll just notice that this soup a nice savoriness. 

Where does tortellini soup come from?

When I posted my vegan tortellini soup on social media, I was told off by several Italians.

In Italy, tortellini is not served in soup. It’s served in a small amount of broth, typically chicken broth, but not enough of a broth to make it a soup, if that makes sense.

It’s a simple dish traditionally served at Christmas that can easily be made vegan by substituting a nice vegetable stock and vegan tortellini.

I tried googling but I don’t know where super brothy soups featuring vegetables, meat, cream, cheese, and tortellini originated. Maybe the Olive Garden? Lol!

(Speaking of Olive Garden, if you want to see how pasta e fagioli soup is actually made in Italy, check out my recipe.

So the origins of tortellini soup, both the creamy and non creamy versions, as we know it outside of Italy are unclear. 

That said, pasta in soup is not that weird and tortellini soup is delicious, hearty, easy to make and when it’s packed with veggies like this it’s super good for you!

Ingredients

These are the ingredients for this vegetarian tortellini soup but they can easily be swapped out for other veggies that you have on hand or whatever is in season right now.

Vegan tortellini: Kite Hill is probably the most common and easy-to-find North American brand of vegan cheese tortellini. The filling is made from almonds. I used this German brand with a filling of vegetables that I found in a local vegan grocery store.

Onion and garlic: These aromatics are the flavor base of every soup.

Vegetables: I used carrots, celery, green beans and spinach this time. You can use the same combo or swap any out for your favorite vegetables. Vegetable soups are always super adaptable and a great way to use up any leftover veggies in your fridge.

Tomato paste: Tomato paste helps to thicken the broth a bit. It also brings a touch of sweetness and umami to the soup.

Canned tomato: Since we’re using tomato paste to add additional tomato flavor to the broth, we only need one regular-sized can of diced tomatoes. If you only have whole tomatoes, just chop them up. If it’s summer and tomatoes are in season, use 3 or 4 fresh chopped tomatoes.

Chili flakes: I like a tiny bit of background heat in my soups. You can adjust this to your taste of leave it out if you don’t like any spice.

Oregano: Dried oregano adds a Mediterranean feel. You can use basil, parsley or an Italian herb mix if you prefer.  

Miso paste: I often use white miso paste in my soups because it has a slight cheesy flavor in addition to umami. It makes a great replacement for Parmesan.

Vegetable stock: A good quality vegetable broth will add a lot of flavor to your soup.

Olive oil: A touch of olive oil is needed for sautéing the veggies. If you are oil free you can sauté in a splash of vegetable stock.

How to make vegetarian tortellini soup

This vegetarian tortellini soup is super easy to make and takes less than 30 minutes for a great quick weeknight meal.

Prep: Gather your ingredients and prep the veggies. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic.

Dice the carrot and celery. I like a rather small dice for these vegetables instead of large chunks but you can chop them up however you prefer.

Top and tail the green beans and cut them into four pieces.

Cook the tortellini: Whenever I make a soup with pasta I prefer to cook the pasta separately from the soup.

The reason is that the pasta will continue to absorb the liquid as the soup cools resulting in mushy pasta and not much broth left in your soup.

For storage purposes, I prefer to keep the pasta separate from the soup.

That being said, if you don’t anticipate having any leftovers, you can cook the tortellini directly in the soup.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Drain and set aside until you’re ready to serve.

Cook the vegetables:  Heat the olive oil in a large pot and fry off the onion, carrots and celery until the are beginning to tenderize - about 10 minutes. Then add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.

This helps to flavor the oil and make your soup more delicious.

Add flavor: Push the veggies to the side of the pot to make space in the middle and add your tomato paste, oregano and red chili flakes.

Fry, stirring from time to time, until the tomato paste begins to darken in color - about 3 minutes.

Simmer: Now pour in your diced tomatoes and vegetable stock.

Raise the heat to bring the pot to a simmer and add your green beans.

Lower the heat again to maintain a simmer and cook until the green beans are tender - about 10 minutes.

Combine: Take the pot off the heat. 

Place the miso paste in a bowl and add a ladle of the hot soup stock. Stir it up to dissolve the miso paste then add it to the soup along with the spinach.

Taste the soup and add salt. Miso paste is already salty and vegetable stock depends on if you used regular or low sodium so add the salt to taste.

Divide your tortellini between your serving bowls and ladle over the vegetable soup. 

Substitutions and variations

Vegetables: As I’ve mentioned, this is a basic vegetable soup with tortellini and that means that you can substitute pretty much any vegetable that you like in your soup. Instead of spinach, use kale. Instead of carrots, use sweet potato. Add cauliflower, broccoli or zucchini if you like.

Meat: That creamy tortellini soup recipe you may have seen online sometimes has sausage. You can add some sliced vegan sausage to this recipe. If you don’t want to add “meat”, you can add everyone’s favorite plant-based protein: beans.

Pasta: Tortellini soup without the tortellini? Sure, if you can’t find vegan tortellini, you can substitute another small pasta shape or gnocchi. If you’re ambitious you can have a crack at making vegan tortellini from scratch.

Seasonings: I use oregano for this recipe but any other herb or an Italian mix will work. Use dried or fresh. Garnish with some fresh basil. I also season the soup with miso paste. If that’s too weird for you, or you don’t have any, just leave it out or substitute the umami with a splash of soy sauce or Maggi seasoning.

FAQs

Make ahead and storage tips

Because this recipe calls for cooking the pasta separately from the soup, it keeps well in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.

Just follow the recipe then store the pasta and soup in separate airtight containers.

The soup base can be frozen for up to 3 months but the pasta is not good for freezing. 

Simply thaw and reheat the soup in the microwave or stove while you boil some fresh tortellini. 

What to eat with vegetarian tortellini soup

You can garnish your soup with a grating of vegan Parmesan cheese and/or a sprinkling of fresh chopped basil or oregano. You can also stir in a spoonful of vegan pesto.

Any kind of vegan soup is always good with a fresh green salad and some crusty bread or vegan garlic bread.

Fun fact: Olive Garden breadsticks are accidentally vegan. You can make a copycat version at home with this vegan breadsticks recipe.