Tomato tortellini soup
Cheese tortellini and spinach in a creamy, garlicky tomato soup, a cozy dinner that comes together in 30 minutes with barely any chopping.
- 30 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $2.16 a serving
- 470 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 1 lb 4 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 4 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes
- 3 cups baby spinach
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, torn (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tsp Italian seasoning
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp sugar
Each serving has about 470 calories, 18 g protein, 55 g carbs and 20 g fat, and costs about $2.16 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion and the garlic.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
the butter in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning for 30 seconds.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Add the crushed tomatoes, water, bouillon cubes and sugar and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Add the tortellini, turn the heat to medium and for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring gently, until tender.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Turn the heat to low and stir in the cream cheese until it melts into the soup.
Low heat
Dolly’s tip: Stir patiently. The small cubes melt in about a minute and turn the soup pink and creamy.Stir in the spinach and parmesan until the spinach , taste for salt, and serve with basil.
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Low heat
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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