Instant Pot Tortellini Soup

Name: Instant Pot Tortellini Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces ground Italian sausage (* see Notes for substitutions); 1 yellow onion (diced); 4 cloves garlic (minced); 29 ounces canned diced tomatoes; 2 cups chicken stock or broth (or beef broth/stock); 2 cups hot water ((hot water speeds up pressurizing time)); 12 ounces cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen *see Notes for using frozen); 2 bay leaves; 1 ½ tablespoons Italian seasoning; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese; fresh basil leaves

This Instant Pot Tortellini Soup is a flavorful, hearty meal of Italian sausage soup with pasta and veggies. The recipe is a snap to make in your pressure cooker using fresh tortellini! It’s delicious, and the perfect comfort food meal for winter!

a bowl of Instant Pot Tortellini Soup with a little bowl of shredded cheese at the side.

When winter weather sends chills through your body, nothing will warm you up quicker than a hearty meal.

If you own a pressure cooker, the perfect solution is to cook up your favorite Instant Pot soup, chili mac, or stew.

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Why We Love Instant Pot Tortellini Soup

Quick, easy, and convenient!

We prefer pressure cooker recipes instead of one-skillet recipes for making quick and easy dinners. Why? Because generally, meals made in an Instapot are less hands-on, and usually require less cooking time.

So really, they’re the best versions of one-pot meals!

Best flavor in the shortest amount of time.

Just like Instant Pot ravioli lasagna and lasagna soup, this quick Italian soup tastes like it had to simmer all day. But, it only takes around 30 minutes to prepare.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Ground Meat – Your choice of ground pork or chicken sausage. Or, use ground beef, or any other ground protein.
Yellow onion – peeled and diced, for a sweet but still pungent flavor.
Chicken Broth – You can substitute the broth for chicken stock, beef broth/stock, or even vegetable broth.
HOT Water – using hot water helps the Instant Pot come to pressure more quickly.
Tortellini – You can use fresh or frozen. If using frozen tortellini, add 1 minute to the pressure cooking time shown in our recipe card, at the bottom of this post.
Seasonings – bay leaves, Italian seasoning, and salt. You can also use garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and freshly ground black pepper.

Tortellini soup recipe ingredients on counter top.

Recipe variations

Spicy tortellini soup – Swap the mild Italian sausage for hot.
Vegetarian Instant Pot tortellini soup – skip the sausage, use vegetable broth, and bulk the dish up with veggies. Instead of Italian sausage, use a cup of chopped zucchini. At the end, stir in some frozen chopped spinach. The heat from the pot will warm it up quickly.
Creamy Italian sausage soup with pasta – for a creamy soup, stir in 4 ounces of cream cheese after pressure cooking.

45 minute timer set on the pressure cooker Instant Pot.

New to Instant Pot cooking? Read How to Use the Instant Pot 101 first! And, then Tips & Hacks for the Instant Pot is terrific for new owners and seasoned IP-ers alike!

Tips for Perfect Instant Pot Tortellini Soup

Get the pressure cooker nice and hot.
Set the pressure cooker to “sauté” and prepare your ingredients while it heats up.

chopped onions, garlic and basil leaf on top of a black chopping board with a knife.

Add the sausage and onion, breaking up the ground sausage. Stir often until sausage is cooked through and onion is soft for about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute.

Browning meat in pot of ground Italian sausage soup with pasta

Mix in the Ingredients. Stir in tomatoes, broth, water, seasonings, and fresh tortellini pasta. Gently stir everything together. Do not fill the instant pot past the “maximum” line.

Italian sausage soup with pasta in a pressure cooker.

Pressure cook. Secure the lid of the Instant pot and seal the pressure valve. Then set the pressure cooker to “high pressure” and set the timer for 1 minute.

When the pressure cooking is done, twist or press the steam valve to let the pressure out.

cooked Tortellini Soup inside the pressure cooker.

Ready to serve. After the pressure pin has dropped, carefully open the Instant Pot.

Remove the bay leaves. Dish out soup, and feel free to top it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.

What to Serve with Rustic Tortellini Soup

Must-have sides for this Italian sausage soup with pasta are a salad and bread.

My favorite breads for dipping into the broth are garlic sourdough bread or rosemary garlic rolls. Those flavors pair well with the Italian flavors of this soup.

How to Store

Italian sausage soup with pasta is a great dish to make ahead of time, and you can store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheating the meal is easiest in the microwave. Just ladle into microwave safe bowls and reheat on medium power for a couple of minutes. You can also reheat the dish on the stovetop if you want, but be sure to do so over low heat.

Tortellini soup cooked in an Instant Pot does not freeze well. Unfortunately, the pasta tends to fall apart as it thaws out.

Tortellini Sausage Soup Recipe FAQ

Does tortellini get soggy in soup?

If you cook the pasta correctly, it should not be soggy. It’s important to follow the recipe instructions closely to ensure that you don’t overcook it.

Can you make tortellini soup healthier?

Sausage and Tortellini Soup is already pretty healthy, but you could use chicken sausage and vegetable and cheese-filled tortellini if you wish to make it healthier.

Do you cook soup in the instant pot on high or low pressure?

Soup cooks best in the instant pot on high pressure. Just be sure to let the steam release before trying to open the pot.