Twelve ingredients and thirty minutes, in one soup pot.
This soup has no meat in it at all. Its body comes from cheese tortellini, cream and Parmesan, and its colour from spinach and a little carrot.
Why This Recipe Works
- Softening the onion and carrot first builds a sweet base for a meatless broth.
- Blooming the dried herbs with the garlic wakes up their flavour.
- Cooking the tortellini right in the broth lets it thicken the soup slightly.
- Adding the spinach last keeps it bright green and just wilted.
- Parmesan stirred in off the boil melts into the broth smoothly.
Ingredient Notes
- Cheese tortellini
- Eighteen ounces, cooked right in the broth. Cheese-filled, and the heart of the soup.
- Heavy cream and Parmesan
- A cup and half a cup. Together they turn the broth creamy and ivory.
- Baby spinach
- Four cups, stirred in at the end. The title doesn't name it, but it is part of the bowl.
- Low-sodium vegetable broth
- Five cups. Vegetable rather than chicken, which is what keeps the soup meatless.
How to Make It
Onion and carrot softened, garlic and herbs added
Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium. Cook onion and carrot 5 minutes; add garlic and Italian herbs for 30 seconds.
Broth brought to a gentle boil, tortellini cooked in it
Add broth and bring to a gentle boil. Add cheese tortellini and cook according to package timing until tender.
Cream, spinach and Parmesan stirred in until wilted and creamy
Lower heat and stir in cream, spinach and Parmesan. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes until spinach wilts and the broth is creamy.
Seasoned with salt and heavy cracked pepper
Season with salt and heavy cracked black pepper and serve.
Kept meatless, with no sausage, chicken or sun-dried tomato
Keep the soup meatless with no sausage, chicken or sun-dried tomato.
What Goes In, and What Is Left Out
This creamy tortellini soup with spinach and Parmesan has no meat in it, and that is intentional. Every addition below is meatless, and the recipe's own last step says so.
First - 5 minutes
1 tbsp OLIVE OIL, 1 small YELLOW ONION and 1 medium CARROT, finely diced
Softened over medium. Without meat, the base has to come from vegetables - the carrot adds sweetness and the small orange flecks visible in the bowl.
30 seconds
3 MINCED GARLIC CLOVES and 1 tsp DRIED ITALIAN HERB BLEND
Bloomed in the oil. Garlic and herbs, with spinach and Parmesan, are what support the TUSCAN of the title - a style descriptor only.
Package timing
5 cups LOW-SODIUM VEGETABLE BROTH, then 18 oz CHEESE TORTELLINI
Broth BROUGHT TO A GENTLE BOIL and the tortellini COOKED IN IT UNTIL TENDER. Vegetable broth keeps it meatless; gentle keeps the tortellini from splitting. Use CHEESE-FILLED tortellini.
The last 2 to 3 minutes
1 cup HEAVY CREAM, 4 cups BABY SPINACH and 1/2 cup FINELY GRATED PARMESAN
STIRRED IN over lowered heat and SIMMERED UNTIL SPINACH WILTS AND THE BROTH IS CREAMY. Late, so the spinach stays green.
To finish
1/2 tsp FINE SALT and 1/2 tsp HEAVY CRACKED BLACK PEPPER
And the final step: KEEP THE SOUP MEATLESS WITH NO SAUSAGE, CHICKEN OR SUN-DRIED TOMATO. Leftovers are REFRIGERATED PROMPTLY because of the cream and cheese.
Success Tips
- Cook the tortellini at a gentle boil so it doesn't split open.
- Add the spinach at the very end; two or three minutes is all it needs.
- Be generous with the cracked pepper — it's part of the finish.
Serving Ideas
Six bowls of creamy ivory soup with cheese tortellini, wilted spinach, flecks of carrot and grated Parmesan, finished with heavy cracked black pepper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add sausage or chicken?
Not for this recipe. It is meatless by design, with no sausage, chicken or sun-dried tomato.
What makes it Tuscan?
It's Tuscan-style in its flavours — garlic, Italian herbs, spinach and Parmesan. The name describes those flavours rather than a particular regional recipe.
Does it keep?
Refrigerate leftovers promptly, since the soup contains cream and cheese. The tortellini will soak up broth, so add a splash when reheating.
