Cappelletti Soup with Kale

This cappelletti soup with kale is a quick broth-based soup made with cheese-filled cappelletti, carrots, celery, onion, chicken broth, and black kale. Using frozen cappelletti and either fresh or frozen mirepoix keeps the preparation simple, and the whole pot is ready in about 20 minutes.

This quick cappelletti soup works well for lunch or dinner when the weather starts cooling down. It makes a large pot without requiring a long simmer, which is particularly useful for busy fall and winter weeknights.

Quick Answer

Cappelletti soup is a broth-based soup made with filled pasta. This 20-minute version combines cheese cappelletti with chicken broth, mirepoix, and black kale for a quick lunch or dinner that is more substantial than traditional cappelletti served simply in broth.

A Little About This Cappelletti Soup

When I met my current partner, he was big on traditional cappelletti soup. He insisted I try it and, believe it or not, I hadn’t. Well, let’s just say it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know I wasn’t always great at making soup. In fact, I was a pretty awful soup maker. Pre-internet was the dark age of the 21st century when it came to figuring out what you were doing wrong in the kitchen.

Once I started making more robust, flavorful soups for my family, I got used to those heartier bowls. So the cappelletti soup I was served fell a little short for me. It was literally broth with cappelletti. I shuddered, smiled, and ate it.

He’s still a fan of cappelletti soup, but he’s even more of a fan now that I’ve tweaked it with vegetables and kale. It also turned out to be a handy way to use some of the frozen vegetables I usually have tucked away in the freezer.

If you enjoy filled pasta in soup, my ravioli vegetable fall soup is a heartier option made with meat-filled ravioli and vegetables for cooler-weather dinners.

Why You Will Love This Cappelletti Soup

Quick To Make: This cappelletti soup is ready in about 20 minutes, making it useful for lunch or a busy weeknight dinner.

Uses Fresh Or Frozen Vegetables: You can use freshly chopped mirepoix or your own frozen carrot, celery, and onion mix without changing the basic recipe.

Hearty Without Being Heavy: The filled pasta, kale, and vegetables make the soup more substantial while still keeping the broth-based texture.

Makes A Large Pot: With about 10 servings, this recipe works well for feeding a family or keeping a few portions for lunch over the next couple of days.

Let’s Whip This Cappelletti Soup With Kale Up

Heat oil or butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. If you’re short on time, a frozen mirepoix mix (a blend of diced onions, carrots, and celery) is a fantastic shortcut—toss it straight into the pot! Sauté in your stock pot for about 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften slightly and become fragrant.

If you prefer fresh ingredients over frozen and have time to chop, chop the mirepoix instead. I’ve got a guide on making your own mirepoix mix, which you can prep for recipes like this!

Next, pour in eight cups of chicken broth. I used boxed stock for convenience, but homemade stock will add even more depth of flavor. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, allowing the mirepoix to infuse the broth.

Once the broth is boiling, add the black kale. Stir in the kale and let it wilt for 1–2 minutes until the leaves become tender but still vibrant.

Finally, add the fresh or frozen cappelletti and cook according to the package instructions—usually around 3–5 minutes or until they float to the surface and are tender. Give the soup a quick taste, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed, and serve piping hot!

Ingredients:

This cappelletti soup uses a simple mix of filled pasta, broth, mirepoix, and kale to make a hearty soup without a long ingredient list.

Carrots Add a natural sweetness and a pop of color, balancing the soup’s savory elements while providing a tender bite.

Celery: This contributes a mild, aromatic depth and slight crunch, enhancing the broth’s classic flavor foundation.

Onion: Brings subtle sweetness, creating a rich, well-rounded base for the soup’s flavor. 

Olive Oil: Helps sauté the mirepoix, releasing its natural flavors and adding a silky mouthfeel to the broth.

Chicken Stock: This is the backbone of the soup, providing warmth, depth, and a comforting richness that ties all the ingredients together. I used boxed because it’s low cost and easy to work with.

Black Kale (Lacinato kale): Offers a hearty texture and slight earthiness, standing up well to the broth without becoming too soft.

Cappelletti is a type of stuffed pasta, much like tortellini and ravioli. If you enjoy filled pasta in other meals, my feta ravioli salad uses cheese-filled ravioli with pesto and fresh vegetables for a completely different warm-weather meal.

Substitutions And Add-Ins For This Easy Cappelletti Soup

This cappelletti soup is flexible enough for a few simple swaps, as long as the filled pasta, broth, and vegetable-based soup structure stay the same.

Carrots: Sweet potatoes or parsnips can be used in a pinch. I recommend cutting them into fine dice so they cook faster and adding them to the broth after you’ve sauteed the celery and onion.

Celery: Replace with fennel.

Onion: For this recipe, you can use any onion except green. Leeks will also work if you have them on hand.

Olive Oil: Can be replaced with another neutral oil.

Chicken Stock: A vegetable broth or even rich beef broth can be used. 

Black Kale (Lacinato kale, aka Tuscan kale): This kale can be replaced with regular kale, but curly kale is tougher, so chopped kale will be preferable to whole larger pieces. You can switch kale out altogether and use spinach, Swiss chard, or collard greens. You will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly for any green that requires less or more time to cook. 

Cappelletti: If you prefer, you can use a tortellini in this soup. They have similar fillings and still cook in much the same way as the cappelletti in the soup. They also tend to be easier to find in our local grocery store.

Fresh veggies you can add to make this soup even heartier include butternut squash, white beans, mushrooms, tomatoes (cherry), and red bell pepper. Remember, to keep the delicate broth in this soup, you must dice things smaller. 

Additional meat add-ins that you can use to make a hearty soup are crumbled, browned Italian sausage, rotisserie chicken shredded, leftover turkey from a holiday meal, or small meatballs could also be added. You would need to precook the meat to keep the soup easy to prepare for your weeknight dinner, which is why it’s a great way to use leftover meats.

Want to spice it up? Add a sprinkle of black pepper or red pepper flakes to the soup while it cooks to bring the heat!

Expert Tips, Serving, And Storing Suggestions For This Cappelletti Soup With Kale.

Tip #1: Sauté for Maximum Flavor – Don’t just toss the mirepoix into the broth! First, take a few extra minutes to sauté the onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil. This step enhances the natural sweetness and builds a richer flavor base for your soup.

Tip #2: Add the Kale at the Right Time – To keep the black kale (Lacinato kale) vibrant and slightly chewy, stir it in during the last few minutes of cooking. Adding it too early can make it mushy and dull in color.

Tip #3: Simmer, Don’t Boil, the Cappelletti – Once you add the cappelletti, keep the soup at a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil. Boiling can cause the delicate pasta to break apart and lose its filling.

Serve this cappelletti soup hot with grated Parmesan and my pizza dough garlic pull-apart bread on the side for soaking up the broth. Because the soup already has filled pasta, kale, and vegetables, it works well as a complete lunch or dinner without needing much else alongside it.

For a lighter meal, serve a smaller bowl with a simple salad. If you are reheating leftovers, warm the broth first and add the stored cappelletti just long enough to heat through so the pasta does not become too soft.

To store leftover soup, remove the pasta from the broth before refrigerating. Store the soup base and the cappelletti separately in airtight containers in the fridge for 3–4 days. When ready to enjoy, reheat the soup and add the cappelletti. I do not recommend freezing this soup because pasta degrades after being cooked in liquid and then frozen. It is the perfect soup when you want something fresh rather than frozen.

This cappelletti soup with kale keeps the simple broth-and-filled-pasta base but adds enough vegetables to make it feel like a complete meal. It is especially handy when you want something warm and filling without spending a long time at the stove. If you have more kale to use, my creamy chicken pasta is another quick pasta dinner that pairs kale with pasta, but uses a creamy tahini sauce instead of broth.

If you make it with a different green or add another vegetable to the pot, let me know what worked well for you.

Meet Amber

I’m the home cook and recipe creator behind A Cents For Cookery. I learned to cook growing up off-grid in Northern Ontario, where meals were made on a woodstove and preserving, baking, and making ingredients stretch were part of everyday life. Here I share practical family recipes, homemade baking, vintage-inspired cooking, and the kitchen knowledge I’ve picked up over the years to help you make the most of the food you have.

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