Pasta is a weeknight staple for a reason. Actually, make that four: It’s easy to prepare, quick-cooking (once the water finally boils, that is), kid-friendly and oh so comforting. What’s even more appetizing, though, is tortellini, a stuffed pasta that originated in the Italian region of Emilia that’s typically filled with meat or cheese. Whether you make them yourself (kudos) or start with a store-bought package, these 31 tortellini recipes will become your weeknight usuals in no time.
31 Tortellini Recipes That Are Eager to Join Your Weekly Rotation
•
Published Feb 8, 2023
1. Easy Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, high protein
Think of this as a way more intriguing spin on chicken noodle soup. Cheese tortellini takes over for standard pasta, while miso paste boosts the umami-laced flavor of the broth tenfold.
2. Cheater’s Tortellini in Brodo
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, high protein
Go ahead, use store-bought chicken stock. Tossing a Parmesan cheese rind in while it simmers will impart all the rich, savory flavor you could want, so it’ll taste homemade anyway.
3. Balsamic Brown Butter Tortellini with Spinach and Hazelnuts
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
It doesn’t take much to transform store-bought tortellini when you have nutty, luxurious brown butter on your side, which we lovingly call liquid gold. (It’s easier to prepare than you think, promise.)
4. Tortellini Soup with Italian Sausage
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Want to save even more time when preparing this foolproof recipe? Cook the tortellini right in the soup as it simmers, instead of boiling a separate pot of water.
5. Cheese Tortellini with Peas and Pancetta
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
Pancetta, Pecorino, fontina, garlic, butter—what’s not to like? Fresh lemon cuts through the fattiness and saltiness of the sauce, so it won’t be overwhelmingly indulgent.
6. Tortellini Pomodoro with Burrata
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, vegetarian
You know that marinara-and-mozz dish you always put together on the fly? This is just as simple to make and very similar, except a handful of special ingredients take it up a few dozen notches.
7. Antipasto Tortellini Skewers with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly, vegetarian
Bookmark these now for your next big barbecue. If you have meat eaters at the party, add salami, capicola or prosciutto to the skewers as well.
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, make ahead
It turns out ricotta and feta cheeses pair gorgeously together. Usual suspects like tomatoes, cucumbers and kalamata olives keep the salad refreshing.
9. Cheese Tortellini in Garlic Butter Sauce
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
Even picky eaters will have no complaints about this soul-soothing dish. Did we mention the recipe only calls for eight simple ingredients?
10. Extra Cheesy Tortellini Bake
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, make ahead
Eat your heart out, lasagna. This crowd-pleaser can be prepped up to two days in advance, and the leftovers freeze like a charm (although we’re betting there won’t be any).
11. Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, one pot, beginner-friendly
Any soup that starts with bacon grease is one we want on our table. Bold ingredients like spicy Italian sausage, basil pesto and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes make this dish beyond flavorful.
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
Have you ever had fried ravioli? These are similar, only smaller. (Making them even more snackable.) Serve with plenty of marinara for dipping.
13. Creamy Spinach-Tomato Tortellini
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, one pan, kid-friendly
If there was ever a good chance at getting your kids to eat their greens, this is it. They may not mind when they’re drenched in creamy, beefy tomato sauce and cheese.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Behold: the definition of comfort food. We’re talking Italian sausage, butter, garlic and heavy cream. Spring for fresh thyme, basil and oregano instead of using ground, if you feel so inclined.
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, vegetarian
And we thought cauliflower was our favorite cruciferous vegetable. Here, broccoli is roasted in garlic and oil and kept separate from the pasta until the very end, so it stays crisp.
16. Lunchtime Chickpea Tortellini Salad
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, make ahead, beginner-friendly
You’re about to become the envy of the breakroom. This salad tastes delicious both hot or cold, so feel free to prepare it ahead to nosh on all week long.
17. Tomato Basil Tortellini Soup
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
File this one under Ridiculously Easy Ways to Upgrade Store-Bought Soup. In case you need more convincing, the recipe calls for pearl-sized balls of mozzarella cheese…
19. Tortellini with Sausage and Mascarpone
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein, <10 ingredients
Tiramisu is only one delicious use for mascarpone cheese. In this recipe, it’s added to the zesty tomato sauce to impart a silky texture and a hint of sweetness.
20. Tortellini Soup with Artichokes
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
The chickpeas are canned, the tortellini is store-bought and the artichoke hearts are frozen, so this recipe is really as low-lift as can be—but no one will be able to tell from the taste.
21. Easy Garlic Alfredo Tortellini
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
Cream cheese, while not traditional, offers pleasant tang to the cheesy sauce. We’ll take extra crushed red pepper flakes on ours, please.
22. Garden Fresh Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, make ahead, vegetarian
This simple salad will become an alfresco favorite at first bite. The lemony, Italian-inspired dressing is totally foolproof and endlessly versatile.
23. Summer Tortellini Carbonara
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
Consider this our new favorite way to use summer corn. If you want to make this cozy dish in the off-season, use canned or frozen kernels instead.
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
One part greens, one part pasta—now *that’s* our kind of salad. The dressing is equal parts old-school and modern, since it calls for anchovies and Greek yogurt.
25. Brown Butter Pumpkin Tortellini alla Vodka
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, kid-friendly, <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser
How long would this appetizer last at Thanksgiving dinner? We’re thinking 30 seconds tops. (Fresh sage and brown butter are a consistently revelatory combo, after all.)
26. Baked Tortellini
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients, vegetarian
As tasty as lasagna, but way faster (and easier) to prepare. It bakes to gooey perfection in a single casserole dish. We’ll bring the garlic bread.
28. Warm Balsamic Chicken Tortellini Salad
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein
Asparagus! Grape tomatoes! Carrots! The gang is all here, and you can add basically any less-than-stellar produce that’s lingering in your fridge too.
29. One-Skillet Tuscan Tortellini
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, one pan
This hearty meal boasts 30 grams of protein per serving, courtesy of tender chicken breast. But you can substitute ground beef, turkey meatballs or even flaked salmon if you’d prefer.
30. Za’atar Roasted Cauliflower and Tortellini Salad
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, make ahead,
You can serve this vegetarian masterpiece warm or chilled. Just be sure to get the pine nuts nice and toasty before adding them for maximum crunch and flavor.
31. Instant Pot Hearty Tortellini Soup
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: Instant Pot recipe, high protein, beginner-friendly
We love a throw-together meal that requires minimal heavy lifting on your part. Once you chop all the produce, all you'll need to do is add everything to the pressure cooker and let it do its thing.
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s associate food editor. A former bartender and barista, she’s been writing about all things delicious since 2016, developing recipes, reviewing restaurants and investigating food trends at Food52, New Jersey Family Magazine and Taste Talks. When she isn’t testing TikTok’s latest viral recipe, she’s having popcorn for dinner and posting about it on Instagram @cookingwithpire.
