Hearty Beef Tortellini Soup (Printable Copy)

A savory blend of beef, cheese tortellini, and tomatoes in a rich, basil-scented broth for comforting meals.

# What You Need:

→ Meats

01 - 1 lb lean ground beef

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
03 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
05 - 2 cups baby spinach (optional)

→ Broth & Dairy

06 - 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
07 - 1 cup heavy cream
08 - 2 tbsp tomato paste

→ Pasta

09 - 10 oz fresh or refrigerated cheese tortellini

→ Herbs & Seasonings

10 - 1 tsp dried basil
11 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano
12 - 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
13 - 1/4 tsp black pepper
14 - 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

→ Garnish

15 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 - Fresh basil leaves, for serving

# How to Make:

01 - Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up until no longer pink. Drain excess fat if needed.
02 - Add diced onion to the pot and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes with their juices, dried basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
04 - Pour in beef broth and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to develop flavors.
05 - Stir in heavy cream and bring the mixture back to a gentle simmer.
06 - Add cheese tortellini and cook according to package directions, about 4 to 6 minutes, until tender and floating.
07 - If desired, stir in baby spinach and cook just until wilted, approximately 1 minute.
08 - Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
09 - Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan and fresh basil leaves.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like you fussed all afternoon, but it's genuinely on the table in under an hour.
  • The cream mellows the tomatoes into something almost buttery, and the cheese tortellini does half the heavy lifting for you.
  • Ground beef means no trimming, no stress, just dinner that actually nourishes you.
02 -
  • If you add the tortellini too early or leave them in too long, they'll split open and leak their filling into the broth, which isn't a disaster but changes the texture; add them when you're really ready to finish cooking.
  • The cream can break if the heat is too high after it goes in, so keep things at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, once it's in the pot.
  • Don't skip the 10-minute simmer of the broth and tomatoes together; it's the moment that pulls everything into one cohesive flavor instead of a jumble of ingredients.
03 -
  • Brown the beef in batches if your pot is small; crowding the pan means it steams instead of browning, and browning is where the deep flavor lives.
  • Taste the broth before you add the cream and adjust salt and pepper then, because cream softens and mellows the flavors, and you want to start from a well-seasoned base.
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