First – this is vegetarian if you’re a lacto-ovo vegetarian – but you could use no-cheese pasta to make it full vegetarian, or add chicken or italian sausage if you wanted to make it meaty.. That’s up to you. It’s a pretty flexible recipe and any vegetables would be great additions – I have a few options added to the recipe for you to try as well. The original called for 3+ hours of cooking and dried beans – I was not pleased with the outcome – i felt that the broth lost flavor and the beans were tough – so I’ve tweaked and revamped this into a quick soup for weeknights. I think this version is faster and tastes GREAT!
Italian Bean and Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can of Cannellini beans drained & rinsed - You can use great northern or kidney beans here - very flexible
- 1 14.5 oz can Italian diced tomatoes or regular tomatoes with some Italian seasoning added - about 2 tsp
- 1/2 Cup Onion minced, optional
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 Cups Vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 Vegetable Boullion Cube or chicken
- 2 Large cloves garlic crushed
- 10 oz Frozen or Fresh Cheese Tortellini
- 1 cup fresh spinach optional
Instructions
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In a large dutch oven saute the onion(optional,) olive oil, and the beans for a few minutes until warm through.
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Add in the tomatoes, stock, water, boullion cube, and garlic and bring to a simmer.
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Let simmer for about 20 minutes to combine flavor - taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
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Turn up heat and bring to a rolling boil, then add tortellini and cook for approx. 10 minutes until pasta is done.
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Serve with crusty bread, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and enjoy!
