Creamy Tuscan Tortellini
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Creamy Tuscan tortellini are flavorful, quick, and super simple! One pan and 20 minutes transform store-bought tortellini into a gourmet-quality meal complete with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and cream. No separate boiling required!
Short on time and energy? Simple recipes like this chicken tortellini Alfredo, gnocchi alla vodka, white bean tortellini soup, or tortellini with mushrooms, butter, and Parmesan always help you get dinner on the table fast.
This recipe for creamy Tuscan tortellini is a delicious meatless riff on one of my first really popular posts, Tuscan chicken. You’ll find many of the same flavors: garlic, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan, for starters. Add tortellini and a luscious cream sauce to pull it all together and this is truly where dinner magic happens.
Why You’ll Love This Creamy Tuscan Tortellini
- Maximum flavor, minimum effort
- Tastes like a high-quality Italian classic
- Ready in about 20 minutes start to finish
- Everything cooks together in one pan—tortellini right in the sauce! No separate pasta pot, no strainer, no sad sink full of dishes
Ingredient Notes
Tuscan Tortellini in One Pan
This is truly a one pan wonder, as many of my favorite recipes are!
Quick, Important Equipment Tip!
For this recipe to work as written, it’s imperative to select a pan with a lid! I use and adore this Staub braiser; it seems to be the right size for everything, has a convenient glass lid, cooks very evenly, and is easy to clean. It’s an investment for sure, but if you’re ready to up your cooking game, quality equipment is worthwhile. This Lodge option is also outstanding and significantly more affordable.
- Start the sauce with a quick sauté of garlic and red pepper in olive oil and butter.
- Stir in broth together with sun-dried tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
- Add cream and tortellini, then cover and cook. Be sure the heat is on medium-low for this step, and cook just until the tortellini are tender; otherwise the cream sauce may separate.
- Finish and serve. Remove the lid and stir in spinach, cheese, and lemon juice. The spinach will wilt quickly while the other flavors meld and voila: dinner is served!
Perfect Pairings
This one pan pasta makes a terrific light main on its own or with rotisserie chicken on the side or mixed in for extra bulk. It also goes beautifully with Italian dressing chicken, baked lemon shrimp, or balsamic pork tenderloin medallions.
In the side dish department, roasted baby carrots or lemon pepper asparagus, salad greens with Italian dressing, or a more elevated butter lettuce salad with Castelvetrano olives will round things out with color and beauty!
More Quick One Pan Meals
- Tuscan White Bean Skillet
- Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi
- Italian Chickpea Soup
- Cheesy Tortellini Italian Pasta Salad
Creamy Tuscan Tortellini
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup oil-packed julienned sun-dried tomatoes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 18-20 ounces fresh cheese or spinach-filled tortellini
- 2 generous handfuls fresh baby spinach
- 1/4 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- fresh basil or parsley optional garnish
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and butter to a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 Tablespoon butter, 3-4 cloves garlic, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Add the broth, sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer.1/2 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, 1/2 cup oil-packed julienned sun-dried tomatoes, kosher salt and black pepper
- Stir in the cream, followed by the tortellini. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes, then check the tortellini. If they’re not tender, return the lid and cook for 30-60 seconds more, but take care not to cook too long, or the sauce will separate. If you’re on the fence, go ahead and proceed with the next step.1 cup heavy cream, 18-20 ounces fresh cheese or spinach-filled tortellini
- Remove the lid, reduce heat further to low, and stir in spinach, Parmesan, and lemon juice. Let spinach wilt for about 1 minute and season with extra salt and pepper to taste. Serve right away with additional Parmesan or fresh slivered basil.2 generous handfuls fresh baby spinach, 1/4 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese, juice of 1/2 lemon, fresh basil or parsley
Notes
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: You can use whole sun-dried tomatoes, just chop them into small pieces before adding to the skillet. If you only have the dry packaged sun-dried tomatoes (as opposed to oil-packed in a jar) try to rehydrate them for at least a few minutes in oil or water before adding to the pan.
- Sauce: Don’t worry if it does separate a little; just reduce the heat right away when you notice it and keep stirring. It still tastes wonderful, it just won’t appear quite so smooth.
- Storage: Place leftovers in any airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. (These are our favorite meal prep boxes for the fridge.)
- Warming: Reheat in the microwave or in a small pan over medium heat on the stovetop. If the cream sauce looks dry, add a splash of water or broth to thin it back out.
So yummy!!
Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it.
This is so delicious! I made it 4x over the past few months. I cook fresh mushroom ravioli separately though so I can monitor their cooking time better, I didn’t add the lemon juice each time but it is absolutely my favorite recipe and my boyfriend likes it too. The flavor is so perfect! I usually make chicken cutlets and marinated mozzarella balls to serve with it.
I’ve made this twice and love the flavor. I’m just not sure the liquid measurements are correct. I always get drier pasta. And recommendations?
It might depend on the brand/type of tortellini you are using! Are you using dried tortellini rather than fresh, by any chance? Those would absorb more liquid as they cook for sure.
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I always add in fresh sliced mushrooms and garnish with some green onion. I also love shrimp or chicken in it too. I wonder if frozen spinach could be substituted as sometimes I don’t have fresh on hand???
I’m so happy you like this! Frozen spinach can work but defrost and squeeze as much liquid as you possibly can out of it before adding it to the sauce, so it doesn’t make it too runny. Enjoy!
Can the leftovers be frozen?
I am not sure they would retain the right texture, to be honest.
This was wonderful! I completely forgot the spinach but I had broccoli so I added that. It gave a good crisp texture but I would have loved the spinach. Other than that, I didn’t need to alter anything in this recipe and my whole family devoured it (to the point that I had to make a second batch right away lol). This would also be great with lobster or crab meat! Thank you so much for sharing this!!
So good! I added mushrooms to this and some lemon pepper in place of pepper. Topped with some grilled chicken!
Seriously so good! I’m 7 months pregnant so I’m always trying to sneak greens in with easy recipes. This literally takes me about 15 minutes to make and it’s a favorite in our house. In my opinion, then lemon really takes it to the next level. This will definitely be one that we keep in the rotation!
So happy to hear you loved it! I agree – the lemon can seem so inconsequential but it really makes a difference. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and delivery, and congratulations!
This was delicious! The lemon really added to the flavor, and I used extra red pepper flakes to spice it up more. Yummmmm
This dish is SO tasty. It’s a repeat favorite in our house!
I pre-cooked dried mini tortellini and quartered fresh cherry tomatoes because those were all I had, but this was still delicious and easy!