Cheese Tortellini is tossed in a quick homemade tomato sauce for an easy weeknight meal!
The sauce is made from pantry staples plus a heavy dose of garlic and simmered with a cheese tortellini pasta. Serve with a fresh salad and crusty bread.
Why We Love This Recipe
Everyone loves a good hearty pasta. It’s hard to believe that the simple ingredients in this cheese tortellini recipe create so much flavor.
- It’s Quick Any meal that can be on the table in 30 minutes or less is a win in our books!
- Serve as a Side or Main Dish This makes a nice side with grilled chicken or double the recipe to main a meatless main dish.
- Fresh Flavor This uses canned tomatoes but has a delicious fresh tomato flavor. If you have fresh herbs, sprinkle them on just before serving.
- Simple Ingredients The easy sauce is made with items I always have on hand meaning this is a go-to any day of the week!
Ingredients
TORTELLINI Cheese tortellini can be replaced with meat filled tortellini or any filled pasta. Fresh or frozen ravioli works well too.
CANNED TOMATOES Canned diced tomatoes make this recipe quick and easy. Whole tomatoes are a good replacement, get messy and squish them up with your hands before adding to the pan.
ONION & GARLIC If you’ve run out of onion or garlic, you can still go ahead with this recipe! Cook up a bit of celery (or carrot) to start and add in either garlic or onion powder or even dried onion flakes if you have some.
How To Make Cheese Tortellini
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 to make this amazing tasting pasta skillet!
- Cook the tortellini per package directions, drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, saute onion and garlic with spices. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Let the sauce thicken then add tortellini.
Top with parmesan cheese and parsley and serve immediately.
Other Delicious Additions
A tortellini pasta skillet screams for veggies, doesn’t it? This pasta is a great way to use up all kinds of leftovers!
Here are some great add-ins that make this hearty dish even heartier!
- MEAT: Italian sausage, shredded chicken, meatballs or shrimp!
- VEGGIES: Cooked zucchini, mushrooms, chopped kale or spinach, roasted eggplant.
- BOLD FLAVOR: Marinated artichokes, chili flakes, chopped salami
- CHEESE: Parmesan or a hearty scoop of ricotta cheese!
What to Serve with Tomato Tortellini Pasta
Serve cheese tortellini like any hearty pasta skillet, it goes well with salad and bread.
Salad Ceasar salad or tossed salad with a simple vinaigrette.
Bread Fresh bread is the perfect way to sop up the juicy sauce in this recipe! Try french bread, dinner rolls or homemade garlic bread.
Leftover Tortellini?
Leftover tortellini pasta reheats well in the fridge. Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Tasty Pasta Skillets
- Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta – best one-pot meal!
- Chili Mac Skillet – cheesy, meaty meal!
- Cajun Chicken Pasta – simple & flavorful
- Garlic Shrimp Pasta – great weeknight meal
- Beef Taco Pasta Skillet – 30 min meal!
- Fusilli with Meat Sauce – made with pantry staples!
Did you enjoy this Easy Tortellini Dish? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Cheese Tortellini with Quick Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 9 ounces cheese tortellini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- ½ cup onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- parmesan cheese, basil and parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Cook onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until tender. Add garlic, basil, and oregano and stir until fragrant.
- Add tomatoes with juices, water, broth, and sugar and use a spoon to slightly smash the tomatoes.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Allow sauce to simmer and thicken while cooking the tortellini, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining olive oil and season to taste.
- Cook tortellini al dente according to package directions. Drain but do not rinse.
- Gently mix cooked tortellini with prepared tomato sauce. Top with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley or basil and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
What a fantastic sauce. Absolutely delicious I love the balance.
Had with store bought chicken, bacon and mozzarella tortellini, and added some crisped up bacon for a salty crunchy element.
So happy you enjoyed this recipe, Daniel!
This is really good and so easy. I added about 1/3 lb. Ground beef with onions. I used beef broth instead of chicken broth, and petite diced tomatoes. Everyone loved! Thank you for a great recipe.
Those sound like great additions, Erica! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed it.
I tried this but used peeled Italian plum tomatoes, the diced tomatoes are not peeled and I just hate peels in my sauce. Worked out just fine, in my mind, even better.
This was delicious, super easy and quick!! I added sliced fully cooked Italian chicken sausage, sliced zucchini, and stirred in some ricotta cheese I had leftover! Will definitely make again.
Those sound like delicious additions Carol! I am so glad you loved this recipe.
Super easy and delicious! Made this tonight for dinner (enjoying it now) Family approves! Thank you!
So glad everyone loved it!
This was so easy and my family loved it.
No salt in the sauce? Thank you.
It can be added to suit your taste preferences!
When do we add the broth?
Apologies for the confusion, it is added in step 2.