10 Easy Tortellini Recipes To Jazz Up Any Old Ready-Made Pasta
They’re good for more than you think.
Tortellini are kind of a superior pasta — they come packing their own cheese, for goodness sake. But when you buy a bag of refrigerated, ready-to-boil tortellini from the grocery store, it can be hard to know how to use them in new, tempting ways. (At our house, this often means just dumping some jarred marinara or pesto on top and calling it good.) But there are so many easy tortellini recipes out there that you never need to settle for mediocre pasta nights again. Whether you’re in the mood for soup, salad, or a hearty, cheesy dish, the perfect recipe awaits, and many of them are fast enough to make on busy weeknights.
Spaghetti, lasagna, and baked ziti are generally approved foods for even the pickiest kids, and hearty enough to keep growing tweens and teens full. That said, they can take a long time to make. Tortellini are super quick and can be just as satisfying, and with the right recipe on deck, they might even be tastier. From dense pasta salads in tangy dressings to hearty soups, these are some of the easiest and cheesiest tortellini recipes out there. Be warned: You’ll be asked to make them again and again.
01Spinach Tortellini Skillet
If you want the classic flavors of a tortellini dish but, you know, better than dumping a jar of marinara sauce on top, you need Budget Bytes’ spinach tortellini skillet recipe. It takes 30 minutes from start to finish, so it’s a perfect weeknight dinner that’ll leave everyone at the table full and happy.
02Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup
Yes, you can make a flavorful soup in just 40 minutes (if you use ready-made tortellini and a rotisserie chicken to help you out). Damn Delicious’ chicken tortellini soup is like an elevated version of ye olde chicken noodle. It’s a great way to get lots of veggies into a meal while also enjoying some cheesy, delicious pasta.
03Green Goddess Tortellini Salad
Tortellini recipes don’t have to be heavy — Cookie + Kate’s green goddess salad recipe is proof. It layers spinach tortellini with arugula, squash, zucchini, and a creamy homemade dressing. It’s the perfect filling salad recipe heading into spring and summer.
04Parmesan Tortellini Bites
If you’re looking to make a yummy, shareable snack before friends arrive, these fried tortellini bites from Damn Delicious are perfect. Just cook your pasta, dredge, toss them in Panko bread crumbs and extra parm, and fry them in a little oil. Serve with marinara and pesto for dipping.
05Tortellini Pasta Salad
All The Healthy Things’ tortellini pasta salad looks like the ultimate lunch or summer barbecue side, TBH. The cheese tortellini base is loaded with fresh veggies and salami, then topped with a tangy homemade vinaigrette.
06Cheesy Baked Tortellini
Need a recipe that’ll feed the whole fam and leave you with some leftovers? Princess Pinky Girl’s cheesy tortellini bake combines the pasta pockets with a hearty meat sauce and lots of ooey, gooey cheese. Bonus: This guaranteed crowd-pleaser is ready in just half an hour.
07Creamy Tortellini Soup
This creamy tortellini soup from Dude That Cookz is hearty and so flavorful, thanks to a ton of fresh ingredients — think fire-roasted tomatoes, basil and thyme, and Italian turkey sausage. The shopping list is a little long, but the recipe itself only takes about 30 minutes to make.
08Tortellini Caprese Pasta Salad
In the mood for a filling pasta salad? How about one that takes legit, like, 20 minutes to make? This recipe from Averie Cooks tosses together cheese tortellini, cherry tomatoes, fresh spinach, and mozzarella pearls and finishes it all off with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
09Tortellini Pomodoro With Burrata
If you want a little less cheese and sauce without subtracting any flavor, try Foodie Crush’s tortellini pomodoro. The burrata makes it feel like a lighter take, as do the fresh spinach and tomatoes in the dish.
10Philly Cheesesteak Tortellini
If you have a bag of tortellini to use up but don’t really feel like Italian, try Princess Pinky Girl’s Philly cheesesteak tortellini dish. Easy and cheesy, it delivers a pasta dish with all the flavors you love about a really good Philly in just 30 minutes.
However you use up your latest bag of tortellini, at least now you know you don’t have to settle.
