Cheese Tortellini Soup with Kielbasa, Kale, and Cannellini

This cheese tortellini soup with kielbasa, kale, and cannellini is so crazy good. It's also incredibly easy to make.


This soup contains one of the major super foods, kale, as well as cannellini beans, which are supposed to help lower blood pressure.

Then there's the Polish smoked kielbasa. It was all I could do not to just pick out all of the kielbasa out of the pan and eat it.

I hate to admit it, but I had never tried Polish smoked kielbasa before, but now I am in love with it. Where have you been all of my life?

I found this recipe while exploring my Secret Recipe Club assigned blog, Fearless Homemaker, written by Amy. If you're not familiar with Secret Recipe Club, it's a group of bloggers who secretly make each other's recipes every month and then reveal to whom we were assigned.

In fact, Amy recently had me as her assigned blog, and posted this gorgeous version of my slow cooker chicken chili.

Amy is Boston raised, but now lives in Tennessee after attending Vanderbilt for college. Her blog is about chronicling her adventures in learning how to bake, cook, craft, and host dinner parties. Her profile photo with an oversized martini glass says it all.

I had a hard time narrowing down the recipe I would make for this month's Secret Recipe Club. Among my other choices were her Italian Wedding Soup, and this Chicken Tortilla Soup, both bookmarked to be made very soon.

This soup is so delicious!! It is served with a topping of about 2 tablespoons of grated or shaved Parmesan or an Italian blend, which melts right into the soup, adding the perfect amount of umami.

If you prep the vegetables in advance, you can get this soup on the table in 30 minutes, making it the perfect weeknight dinner. You can also prep the soup in advance, leaving out the tortellini. Reheat the soup, add the tortellini, cook for about 5 minutes, and serve.

I loved this soup with thin baguette slices toasted with garlic and cheese.

After the recipe, check out all of the Secret Recipe Club deliciousness.

Cheese Tortellini Soup with Kielbasa, Kale, and Cannellini 

Source: Fearless Homemaker, adapted from Bon Appetit, Nov. 2002

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

12 ounces fully cooked smoked kielbasa sausage, thinly sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup chopped fresh fennel bulb

4 large cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 T chopped fresh thyme

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

10 cups low sodium chicken broth

4 cups chopped kale

1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 nine ounce package cheese tortellini

1 cup freshly grated or shaved Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the kielbasa, onion, fennel, garlic, thyme, and crushed red pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 12 minutes, stirring regularly, until the vegetables are soft and the kielbasa is lightly browned. 
2. Add the broth and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the kale and cannellini. Simmer about 4 minutes. 
3. Add the tortellini and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the pasta is cooked through but al dente. 
4. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with about two tablespoons of the Parmesan. 

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