Cheese-filled pasta you simply add to your already simple slow-cooker meal? Yes please! This meal is definitely one for the books. Often times we try to veer away from pasta in slow cooker meals because (let’s be honest) the pasta gets soggy and nobody wants this. So what is the secret to making a pasta-based slow cooker meal? You don’t add the pasta until the very end! So simple. make this on a crisp fall day and fall in love with slow-cooker meals all over again.
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 package of hot Italian sausages 17.6 oz
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots sliced or chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped finely
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can crushed tomatoes 28 fluid oz
- 1 can diced tomatoes 14 fluid oz with juices
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 packages refrigerated cheese tortellini 9 oz each
- 3/4 cups heavy/whipping cream optional
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach packed
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Take your sausages out of their casings and crumble them into a skillet. Add chopped onions. Sauté for about 7 minutes. Add the garlic in towards the end so it doesn't burn. Spoon out most of the fat (you don't need to be precise... fat gives the soup more flavor). Add the sausage mixture to your crockpot.
- Meanwhile, chop your carrots and celery. Add all ingredients except for the tortellini, spinach, cream, and salt & pepper to the crockpot. Keep in mind that if you want the soup to cook in 3-4 hours, the carrots will have to be chopped pretty finely. If you're cooking it for 7-8 on low or 4-5 hours on high, you can chop them larger.
- About 30 minutes prior to serving, add in your cheese tortellini, cream, and spinach (I set the heat to "high"). Give it a stir occasionally. Season with salt & pepper as needed prior to serving.