Take-out Tuesday, 3 Way Tortellini, Soup, Stew or Pasta

With the onset of cooler weather I have been drawn to hearty soup recipes, such as this

Slow Cooker Lasagna Tortellini Soup from Olla-Podrida

Because I am lazy always looking for short cuts, I decided to really make it easy and use bottled marinara sauce

With sauteed onion,

Ground pork, Italian sausage,

Italian seasoning and some time in the slow cooker,

Mama Mia herself would never guess this sauce was not made from scratch

Promise!

And here’s the really cool part

Depending on how much tortellini you add, it can be a soup, a thick stew, or so thick it’s just like baked tortellini!

If you want it to be a soup, just add a little tortellini and some water, or more wine or broth

If you want it to be thick like chili or stew, add a little more tortellini

If you want it to be like a baked pasta dish add a lot of tortellini

As the tortellini cooks it soaks up moisture and the marinara sauce and becomes thick and flavorful

The slow cooking fills the pasta with flavor, better than any baked pasta dish

You can even stir in a spoonful of ricotta for creaminess like lasagna

Print

3 Way Tortellini, Soup-Stew-Pasta

Course Main Course, slow cooker, Soup

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Italian stew, Slow Cooker pasta, slow cooker soup, tomato tortellini soup, tortellini, tortellini casserole

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 hours hours

Servings 6

Equipment

• slow cooker

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound Italian sausage
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 1/2 T butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 jars 25 oz. each, Marinara or Tomato Sauce or 6 cups homemade sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Pinch of sugar
• 6-10 ounces dry packaged cheese filled tortellini*
• dash red wine, optional
• ricotta cheese optional
• Sprig of basil for garnish
• Parmesan cheese for garnish
• additional red wine, broth or water depending on desired result

Instructions

• In a 12” skillet over medium heat, melt butter with olive oil and saute the onion until transparent and starting to brown. Add sausage and brown, stirring and breaking apart with wooden spoon. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
• While the meat is cooking, pour the marinara sauce into the slow cooker. Add sugar and seasonings. Stir in the cooked sausage with onions and garlic. Add a dash of red wine. Set the slow cooker on high, and cook for 3-4 hours or low for 5-7 hours.
• About 30-45 minutes before you are ready to serve, pour the dry packaged tortellini into the soup. Use 4-6 oz. for soup, 6-8 oz. for a thicker stew, and 8-10 oz. for a pasta dish more like baked pasta than soup.
• Turn the slow cooker up to high (or leave it if it was already on high) and let the tortellini cook for 15-20 minutes. Add additional liquid as desired. Turn slow cooker back down and serve within 30 minutes. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.

Notes

*if you use refrigerated tortellini, add it almost at the very end since it requires very little cooking time. It also won’t expand as much or absorb quite as much flavor do to the shorter time in the slow cooker.

Enjoy!

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