Tomato and Basil Tortellini Soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
1-tbsp. EVOO
1/2-yellow onion, diced
1-medium carrot (I had baby carrots on hand, so used those instead), peeled and diced fine
1/4-cup fresh basil, chopped
1-jar of Ragu pasta sauce, Traditional style
1/2-cup skim milk
5-cups fat-free chicken stock
3/4-cup of fat-free or regular half-and-half
1-14.5oz can no-salt added petite diced tomatoes
1/2-tsp. pepper
1-tsp. sea salt
1-tsp. garlic powder
16-oz package three-cheese tortellini, refrigerated
Fresh basil, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)
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Directions:
1) In a cast-iron dutch oven or stock pot, add EVOO, carrot and onion and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
2) Add the chicken stock, skim milk, half-and-half, jar of pasta sauce, and can of diced tomatoes. Stir thoroughly to combine.
3) Add the spices (sea salt, pepper and garlic powder) and stir to combine again. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
4) Add the tortellini, stir in, and simmer another 10-15 minutes, until tortellini is cooked thoroughly.
5) Serve immediately in individual bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese and/or fresh chopped basil, if desired
I am a HUGE lover of tomato soup, and am always looking for new, fresh, homemade recipes to try. With fall in the air, and still being in the process of trying to kick a cold, I've been craving hearty soups and seeing this one hit the spot. After making some modifications here and there, I gave it a whirl last night and it was DELICIOUS! And even better, the crew loved it, too, despite it having veggies in it!! As listed in the ingredients, I used petite diced tomatoes to make it more "family/picker-eater" friendly because I'm the only tomato lover in the house. I also diced up my baby carrots extra fine to make them less noticeable (and sure enough, they were eaten by all and not mentioned!). The recipe called for a 16oz package of tortellini, however the store only had 14oz and 20oz, so I went with the 20oz thinking the family would love the extra, but think next time I will go with the 14oz. Something I didn't think of is that the noodles absorb some of the liquid, and having more of the noodles absorbed a lot of the liquid so that it wasn't as "soupy" by the time I went to put leftovers away. A terrific recipe, definitely a must-try and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!