Cheesy Baked Tortellini is made with cream cheese, a jar of spaghetti sauce, cheese tortellini and mozzarella cheese. Only four ingredients in this easy pasta dish that is delicious!
Cheesy Baked Tortellini is so easy to put together and is a meal that my entire family loves – even the picky ones! Adding a little bit of cream cheese to a jar of marinara sauce is so simple, but it makes a huge difference in the taste and adds a delicious creaminess to the sauce. Of course you can use your favorite homemade spaghetti sauce recipe if you have the time!
How to make baked tortellini
Baked tortellini is made by mixing cooked tortellini with sauce, topping with cheese and then baking in the oven. In this recipe, the sauce is made with a jar of spaghetti sauce and cream cheese mixed together.
How to cook cheese tortellini
Cheese tortellini is cooked in boiling water, usually for about 7-8 minutes, depending on what type of tortellini you use. You can use either frozen tortellini, fresh tortellini from the refrigerated section, or even the tortellini from the shelf near all of the other dried pasta.
To make the tortellini, add a little bit of olive oil and a little bit of salt to a large pot of water. Make sure your pot is large enough! If the pot is too small, the pasta won’t have enough room to boil and will begin to stick together. Bring the water to a boil and cook according the time given on the package. Fresh tortellini cooks faster and the dried tortellini will take the longest to cook.
How do you soften cream cheese?
Cream cheese is easy to soften – you can set it out at room temperature or soften it more quickly in the microwave.
-To soften at room temperature more quickly, just set the cream cheese on a plate and cut into smaller pieces. The cream cheese should reach room temperature in about 15-20 minutes with this method.
-To soften the cream cheese in the microwave, remove the foil packaging and set the cream cheese in a small bowl or on a plate. Microwave for about 10-15 seconds. If the cream cheese is still cold and hard, continue to microwave for about 5 seconds at a time until the cream cheese is soft throughout. Just make sure not to microwave it too long or it will start to melt!
Ingredients in Cheesy Baked Tortellini
-1 24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce (I usually just use a marinara sauce but you can use any variety you like. You can also use homemade sauce if you prefer)
-4-6 oz cream cheese, softened (the original recipe calls for 4 oz. but I usually add a bit more because we like the creaminess and flavor of the cream cheese so much!)
1 bag (19 oz) cheese tortellini (you can use fresh, frozen or dried tortellini)
4 oz thinly sliced Mozzarella cheese (you can use shredded cheese if you prefer – I just like the way that the slices melt so evenly!)
How to make Cheesy Baked Tortellini
Cook the tortellini according to package instructions, making sure not to overcook the pasta. Once the pasta is strained and rinsed, set aside.
Whisk the pasta sauce and cream cheese together until well combined. The sauce might have some small lumps of cream cheese which is fine because it will melt when you bake it. If you want it to be perfectly smooth, you can put the sauce and cream cheese in a blender and blend for about 10-15 seconds. Either way works great!
Add the tortellini to the sauce mixture, stirring gently until the noodles are covered with the sauce.
Pour the tortellini and sauce mixture into a greased 8X8 pan (I used a 2 1/2 qt. casserole dish).
Place the slices of mozzarella cheese on top. You can use shredded mozzarella if you prefer, but I think fresh mozzarella is even better and it melts so evenly when you use slices.
Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. If you want the cheese lightly browned, broil on low for about 3-5 minutes after it is done baking.
Is baked tortellini vegetarian?
Baked tortellini is meatless if you use cheese tortellini and a meatless spaghetti sauce. You can choose a type of tortellini that has meat in it, and you can also use a meat sauce if you want to add some meat to your meal. Pasta is a wonderful dish when you are trying to put together a meatless meal!
What to serve with baked tortellini?
Baked tortellini pairs well with salad and a slice of warm garlic bread! Sometimes I like to serve steamed mixed veggies on the side or fresh green beans or asparagus. And of course, a slice of chocolate cake after your meal is always a good idea!
CREAMY BAKED TORTELLINI
Ingredients
- 1 bottle spaghetti sauce (24 oz)
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 bag frozen tortellini (about 19 oz)
- 4 oz thinly sliced Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook the tortellini according to package instructions, making sure not to overcook the pasta. Once the pasta is strained and rinsed, set aside.
- Whisk the pasta sauce and cream cheese together until well combined. Add the tortellini to the sauce mixture, stirring gently until the noodles are covered with the sauce and then pour into a greased 8X8 pan (I used a 2 1/2 qt. casserole dish).
- Place the slices of mozzarella cheese on top.
- Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. If you want the cheese lightly browned, broil on low for about 3-5 minutes after it is done baking.
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Cheesy Baked Tortellini is an easy pasta dish made with cream cheese, a jar of spaghetti sauce, cheese tortellini and mozzarella cheese. Only four ingredients for this meatless pasta recipe!
J says
what is the size of the frozen tortellini bag?
Nellie says
The bag is a 19 oz bag.
JC says
Delicious! Will try other tortellini flavors as well 🙂
Jessica says
Glad you liked it JC!
Judy says
Really love your recipes. My husband is on a low sodium diet and love that you always show the nutritional Use a lot of. Your recipes. THANK YOU!