Simple, buttery, cheese Tortellini is an easy weeknight dinner. Ready in 5 minutes with ingredients you have at home. Try it tonight!
Easy Pasta Dishes like Pesto Pasta, Lemon Ricotta Pasta and these buttery Tortellini prove that dinner doesn’t need to be complicated to be delicious. These Tortellini can be served with dozens of main courses or as a main itself. The cook time is very fast, which is perfect for nights when you don’t have a ton of time.
Table of Contents
Sabrina’s Tortellini Recipe
Here is a meal that you can try with a dozen different toppings. Tortellini is a delicious, stuffed pasta that can be eaten with classic savory or heavy cream sauces or served cold with salad dressing for a summer picnic. There are so many different ways to serve Tortellini that the whole family will find something they like. Try mixing in Italian sausage, mushrooms or parmesan cheese for added flavor.
Chef’s Note: Tortellini vs. Ravioli
Ravioli is a very popular stuffed pasta, just like Tortellini, and both are really tasty. Raviolis are usually round or square, where Tortellini look like little hats. The dough is very similar and so is the stuffing, so the main differences are in the shape.
Ingredients
- 16 Ounces Cheese Tortellini: You’ll find refrigerated Tortellini in the grocery store, probably near the cheese and chilled meats. There will be a variety of fillings to choose from. For this recipe I used Cheese-filled Tortellini.
- 3 Cloves Garlic: Minced garlic brings so much flavor to this dish. The garlic really gets to be the star, which is great news for garlic-lovers. Be sure to mince it well so it mixes well when you toss in the pasta.
- 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter: Butter will coat the Tortellini, prevent it from sticking together, help the seasonings stick to the pasta, and provide so much flavor for this dish. You definitely want to use unsalted butter, that way you get to control the amount of salt in the dish.
- Salt and Black Pepper: Finish off the simple, classic flavors with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and adjust it to your taste.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Large Pot: Grab your favorite pot for pasta to boil the Tortellini. Make sure it is large enough for the stuffed pasta to expand a bit while it cooks.
- Large Skillet: Use a large skillet to melt the butter with the seasonings, and toss the Tortellini after its cooked.
How to Make
Time needed: 10 minutes.
- Cooking Time
Add Tortellini to boiling water in a large pot and cook for one minute shorter than the package instructions.
- Butter Mixture
In a large skillet, combine garlic, butter and, cooked Tortellini. Leave the pasta on medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serve
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve for a meal or a side dish.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cheese tortellini
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add Tortellini to boiling water in a large pot and cook for one minute shorter than the package directions.
- In a large skillet, combine garlic, butter, and cooked tortellini and leave on medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper.
Nutrition
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Can this be made ahead of time?
If you want to reheat the Tortellini pasta from last night, here’s an easy way to bring it back up to temperature. Keep in mind that if you’ve already put sauce on your tortellini, this won’t work. Bring some water to a boil and sink a metal colander in it and put your cold pasta inside. Keep submerged for 30 seconds, or until the pasta is warmed through.
Nutrition Facts
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Peel Garlic with Ease
- If you’re using fresh garlic, you can peel it with ease using a little trick. Take out a cutting board, pop out the garlic cloves for peeling, take a chef’s knife and lay it on its side right on top of each clove, then hit it with the palm of your hand to smash the garlic. The peel will pop right off.
- Don’t Overcook the Pasta
- My instructions say to cook the Tortellini 1 minute less than the instructions say. This is an important step because the pasta will cook a little more when you toss it in the butter over the heated skillet. Overcooked Tortellini pasta can split open, spilling out the delicious filling.
What to Pair with Tortellini
There are lots of great choices you can make for a wonderful meal pairing. Here are some some delicious sides to consider:
- Garlic Bread: A classic side for any pasta and Tortellini is no exception, garlic bread will always be a crowd-pleaser!
- Roasted Green Beans: This is a great choice for a vegetable side, as the flavors go together so well and you’ll get some great nutrition from the green beans.
- Crispy Cauliflower: The texture of a cauliflower side makes it a great choice to go alongside soft, melt-in-your-mouth stuffed pasta.
- Salad: The richness of this dish makes a side salad a very easy choice, but which one should you choose? Try a classic Wedge Salad, a Chopped Salad, or a green salad of your choice of lettuce and vegetables that you have on hand.
How to Store
- Store: You can leave cooked Tortellini in the fridge for up to 3 days if it has meat in it. If there’s no meat, you can leave it for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Frozen Tortellini can be in the freezer for up to 3 months before the quality starts to go down.
Ideas to Serve Tortellini
You can top this cheesy tortellini recipe with any seasonings and sauces you enjoy, but I recommend trying some of these:
- Easy Marinara Sauce: There is a reason that marinara sauce is the go-to for most pastas. It’s quick and easy, so many people love it, and it adds a ton of flavor.
- Easy Alfredo Sauce: The creamy sauce makes a wonderful and rich Tortellini dish. This crowd-pleasing choice will make a classic meal for dinner.
- Italian Dressing: For the salad version of tortellini, Italian dressing is light and delicious. Chill the cooked Tortellini, toss it in the dressing, add any toppings or mix-ins and you’re good to go.
Frequent Questions
Tortellinis and tortellonies are the same shape, but Tortellini are smaller and usually have fairly standard stuffing. Tortellonies almost always have vegetables in their stuffing, but they can sometimes have crushed walnuts, pumpkin, and mushrooms. Also, Tortelloni means “big little pie” in Italian.
Tortellini literally translates to “little cake,” due to its shape. Its shape has also earned it the nickname “bellybutton” or “navel” pasta.
Variations
- Spice: Try a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes in the butter mixture or over the top of your Tortellini. It will add a little bit of spice and you can control how spicy it will be by adding more or less to the skillet.
- Extra Cheesy Tortellini: Add another element of cheesy flavor by grating some fresh Parmesan cheese and sprinkling it over the top of your Tortellini. You can add the grated Parm over the whole skillet, or over each dish as it is served.
- Fresh Basil: An easy way to add fresh herb flavor to pasta is to serve it with fresh basil. Cut your Basil leaves buy stacking a few leaves, rolling them up tightly, and then slicing as thin strips to sprinkle on your Tortellini. Fresh spinach would also make a nice addition if you don’t like basil.
- Add Protein: Add some protein to the pasta dish by serving it tossed with thinly sliced Italian Sausage, chunks of cooked chicken, piece of crispy bacon or pancetta, crumbled ground beef or another ground meat like ground chicken or ground turkey. You can also choose a Tortellini with a meat filling for some added protein.
- Olive Oil: If you prefer, you can toss the Tortellini in olive oil rather than butter. It is a healthier fat, and a lighter flavor, but still delicious with the garlic, salt, and pepper.
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