Brown Butter Bacon Tortellini

5 from 1 vote

Brown Butter Bacon Tortellini

This is a weeknight favorite around here. It’s quick and easy yet tastes luxurious, with cheesy tortellini, crisp bacon, tangy shallots, tender peas, and rich browned butter.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon tortellini, brown butter tortellini

Servings:

Calories: 473kcal

Author: Monica Lensink

Ingredients

16-20 ounces tortellini any flavor, see note
6 Tablespoons butter
4-5 strips of bacon
1 shallot finely chopped
2 cups frozen peas
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
dried parsley, salt, and red pepper flakes optional garnish

Instructions

Cook tortellini. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add tortellini and cook just to al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
16-20 ounces tortellini
Brown butter. While the tortellini cooks, set a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Let the butter melt, then bubble, then begin to turn brown, all while swirling the pan occasionally. When the butter is medium brown with darker flecks speckled throughout, and has a slightly nutty aroma, pour it out of the skillet and into a bowl. Set the butter aside and return pan to the heat.
6 Tablespoons butter
Cook bacon. Add bacon strips to the skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until nice and crisp, then remove bacon to a small plate and set aside. (You can also cook or finish the bacon in the microwave to save time.)
4-5 strips of bacon
Finish sauce. Add shallot to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, until beginning to soften. Stir in the peas and continue to cook until the pan starts to sizzle again. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
1 shallot, 2 cups frozen peas, 2-3 cloves garlic
Combine. Stir the browned butter and drained tortellini back into the skillet. Stir in Parmesan. Crumble the cooked bacon into small pieces and mix in or reserve to top individual portions. Season with salt to taste, and garnish with parsley, red pepper, and more Parmesan as desired. Enjoy!
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, dried parsley, salt, and red pepper flakes

Notes

Tortellini: My go-to are the type sold in the refrigerator or deli section, but for this recipe you can also use frozen or shelf-stable tortellini and simply cook according to the package directions. You can use cheese-filled, spinach-filled, sausage-filled, or any other type that you like.
Bacon: I like to cook the bacon in the skillet for 2-3 minutes on each side, then remove the strips to a paper towel-lined plate, fold the paper towel over top of the bacon, then microwave in 30 second bursts until it’s as crispy as we like it. This saves time and gets bacon really crisp while still giving you lots of bacon flavor in the pan sauce. You can also cut or chop the bacon into small pieces before adding it to the pan, but I find this makes it take a lot longer to cook and also makes it harder to soak up some of the excess rendered fat in the end, so my personal preference is to cook the strips whole, then crumble.
Garlic: Fresh minced is best, jarred minced is a good substitute (estimate 1/2 teaspoon jarred per clove, so 1 teaspoon or a little more total for this recipe), and garlic powder works if needed (estimate 1/8 teaspoon powdered per clove, so 1/4 teaspoon or a little more total).

Nutrition