Le Creuset 3.5q dutch oven pot (available in gray and gold at Crate & Barrel)
A home-cooked meal, to me, is one of the best expressions of love. I was lucky to have Mom’s cooking almost every night growing up (although I didn’t appreciate it enough back then!), and it’s a tradition I hope to carry on. Nick and I both love to cook, but when life gets busy, it’s one of the first things to fall to the wayside and get replaced with poor food decisions. One of our goals this year is to make home-cooked meals the norm instead of the occasional treat. And I’m always looking for ways to modify recipes to be a little healthier!
I’ve been getting recipe requests whenever I post cooking snaps, so would love to share more of our favorite dishes on here! Today’s one-pot recipe is super easy (even for beginners), using ingredients most of us already have at home. And it’s oh-so-satisfying to warm up with on a cold day. I was never a big fan of tomato soup growing up, but Nick and I can’t get enough of this one. The addition of tortellini makes it hearty enough for a full meal, and the usual fattier heavy cream was not missed. We make a little extra to freeze for quick weeknight dinners!
EXTRA (AP)PETITE: EASY CREAMY TOMATO TORTELLINI SOUP
Ingredients
- 1 28 oz can crushed good tomatoes or ~ 3.5 cups peeled, diced fresh tomatoes when they’re in season. Can’t wait to try this with tomatoes from our garden in the summer!
- 1 small yellow or white onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 and 1/4 cups milk*
- 2 cups 1 small can low-sodium or homemade chicken broth (sub veggie if you’d like)
- 1 package mini tortellini fresh or frozen
- 1 teaspoon sugar more as needed
- generous handful of fresh basil chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil for sautéing
Instructions
- Sauté the garlic and onions in a little olive oil over low-medium heat until the onions begin to soften.
- Stir in tomatoes (crushing them as you go), broth, milk and lower to a simmer – don’t let the milk boil heavily! Add sugar and continue simmering on low for at least 15 minutes. I had added some basil here, but prefer to add it all towards the end since fresh basil loses its flavor as it cooks.
- For a very smooth soup, use an immersion blender at this point.**
- Add salt and pepper to taste – it doesn’t need much at all! If your soup is too acidic, try adding a little more sugar and/or milk. Stir in basil and ravioli, and cook per the time indicated on the tortellini package until they’re just about done. Do not overcook otherwise you’ll have mushy tortellini! Al dente is fine, as everything tends to cook a bit more after you turn off the heat.
- And that’s it! Serve garnished with any remaining basil.
Notes
Like with my past cooking posts, I don’t follow recipes too strictly and use them mostly as a guideline. The milk to broth to tomato ratio is something you can play around with depending on how brothy or creamy you like your soup – I usually like adding a little more! The amount of sugar here can also depend on how naturally sweet or acidic your batch of tomatoes are.
I hope you guys enjoy this soup as much as we do! Let us know if you give it a try!
I love your blog! This recipe looks delicious and simple; something even I could make.
This might seem like a strange question, but what brand is your stove? I love it!
It looks delicious! Thank you again!
Greetings from France
https://nadiemelodijoblog.wordpress.com/
Love the recipe – can't wait to try it! 🙂 I just made an avocado toast recipe you might like too.
Hi Jean! Thanks so much for the info on the linens, appreciate your reply. I will check those places out. Really enjoy your site and visit it often.
Hi Jean,
So excited to give this recipe a try! I always love looking at all your food snaps cause they make me excited to maybe one day live in Boston again…miss all the seafood!
Quick question – Are your lashes natural? If you wear adhesive ones, which brand do you recommend?
Thanks, xoxo!
Steph
http://www.themixedpalette.com
I made this soup for dinner tonight – delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
This looks so delicious! I can't wait to try it! And you are adorable as always!
http://www.giltedgeblog.com
Hi Erin – aww, congrats! That's a great tip, and indeed carrots are often used to balance out tomatoes in soup, too. It's also a great way to sneak more veggies in that would barely be noticed! Wishing you the best in the rest of your pregnancy!!
Oops! Thank you for pointing that out! I just updated it to all say tortellini, but you're right, the two types of pastas are interchangeable so I really don't have a preference. One note I do have after making this soup several times is that I prefer a pasta that is even smaller than what's shown here (I think my pictures feature average sized tortellini instead of true mini) so that you can more easily enjoy some pasta with each bite.
It's a slide-in electric range by Frigidaire and I really love it. We always had our heart set on a gas range, and were so bummed when we found out that wouldn't be possible in our current home! It took a while to find a good electric one that looks sleeker and doesn't have the traditional piece sticking up in the back.
Hi Judy! The black & white ones were a gift from friends (I have seen very similar at Marshalls or TJ Maxx) and the gingham ones are from Target : )
I love easy recipes like this! I'm 7 months pregnant now and on the hunt for easy meals to cook and freeze to eat post-baby. One tip I picked up from Mario Batali years ago is to add shredded carrots to tomato sauce instead of sugar. I'm assuming it would also work in soup!
Love this! Looks like a great meal for a cold day in NYC!
xoxo
Samantha
http://www.thenewyorkblonde.com
Your recipe title, ingredient list, and photos say Tortellini but in Step 4 you write ravioli. Assuming these two kinds of stuffed pastas are interchangeable with your recipe but do you prefer one over the other?
Tell us about your electric oven range. What brand it is and do you like it or not?
Great to see you creating a hearty meal in the kitchen. Love your lace-up jumper.
http://www.busyandfab.com
This looks delicious!
https://staphacharleme.blogspot.com
By the way, I am also going to try this soup recipe. It looks delicious.
This looks delicious!
xx
http://www.mybeautrip.com
I love the linens in your post. Could you tell me where you found the red gingham napkins/towels and your black & white dishtowels?
Thanks so much!
I love this!!!! And second everything Anonymous said. The tagline is funny too 🙂
This is so great. Love your blog.
http://societyfix.blogspot.com.eg/
I love the clever title of this post- Extra Appetite!
Julia・Little Miss Haute Couture
the soup looks so good and easy to make! i'm also looking to cooking more this year. i look forward to more recipes on your blog!
btw, the sweater looks so cute on you! i got one in cream, but it looked too big on me so i had to return it.
Going to try this with the puréed white bean as a thickening agent!
Yum! Need to try this recipe❤
http://www.missmayax.com
You're totally right – it's like buying watermelon in the winter, which I'm always tempted by and give into and then immediately regret once I taste it…
San Marzano are my favorite brand of canned tomatoes too, and work perfectly for this soup!
Hi Gwen – Great tip for getting in more veggies! I'll have to try it soon. Good luck in the rest of your studying!
Thank you for a great tip! I do that to thicken up my bean soups and never thought of it for traditionally non-bean soups!
Hi there – that honestly means so much to me. Thank you so much for being a part of this all these years and for your kind words of encouragement. I can't take credit for the branding … Nick came up with it a while back along with a terrible tagline ("small clothes, big meals") that shall remain unused : )
Aw thank you! I always appreciate your comments!
Such a cute sweater! I've seen some lace ups are a bit too bulky but this one is so streamlined, great find girl!
xo, jess
alljessedup.com
That is an excellent tip!
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! I'm going to make this soup sometime this weekend – my husband loves tomato soup and pasta, so it should be a big hit. If I may make one suggestion, based on my experience – you say the tomatoes can be either fresh or canned. At this time of year, all the tomatoes you'll find in the supermarket tend to be tasteless, so canned is the way to go (come summer, fresh tomatoes from your garden or a farmer's market will have lots of flavour). The best canned tomatoes are San Marzano, either from Italy or grown in California.
This sounds amazing!
Katie | Willow and White
Nom:P
Shall We Sasa
Yaay! Thanks for sharing this before the weekend! I make a similar soup and love it. The only change I make is to add a half bag of pre-washed organic spinach a minute or so before taking it off the heat, then I grate some aged asiago on top and presto dinner… or lunch! (Studying for my CFP so these one-pot recipes are key…. and throwing spinach in lets me get in some extra green goodness!!) 🙂 – Gwen K.
This looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend!
xoxo
Rachel
http://thetrendytomboy.com/
I'm liking this new recipe feature–great name, btw–and this soup looks delicious! Would love to see more!
Style by Joules
Love this! Another great option for thickening soups sans-dairy is to puree some white beans- extra protein and fiber bonus!
This looks delicious! X
http://www.thoughtsinstyle.com/
Oh my gosh, that looks delicious!! Need to try it out, I will give you a shoutout thihi!
X
http://herrendezvous.com/
Jean, I've been following you for 6 years and this is my first time commenting: I LOVE the "Extra APPetite" branding you've snuck into this! It made me chuckle in real life. I don't know how you do everything in your life with so much grace, kindness, and thoroughness, but I'm so glad it's paid off for you in order to keep pursuing the things you love.
Yummy! 😉
http://www.evdaily.blogspot.com
I really enjoyed this post! Beautiful pics and great recipe! I always love your clothing posts, and it is nice when you surprise us with cooking or home-related posts as they are always spot on!
The soup looks yummy and you super cute!
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
Nothing beats a hearty homemade soup in the colder months ♥
Amy // Snippets of Amy
Hi Jean, thank you so much for sharing this recipe! And I love your last photo with "Extra Ap-Petite" so clever! I also grew up with my mom cooking nearly every night and do enjoy cooking as an adult but life can get a little busy! I'll definitely try making this soup soon 🙂
~Jessica
This looks perfect for a cold winter's night!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com