Tortellini Primavera is a light and creamy pasta dish that is made with tons of vegetables and cheese tortellini. Delicious pasta recipe that is perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!

What is Tortellini Primavera?

Primavera actually means ‘spring’ and usually refers to a pasta dish that is light and full of fresh vegetables with a creamy sauce. Many times this dish is made with penne or angel hair, but I love this version with the tortellini. It adds a little more cheese and flavor to the dish. A lot of primavera recipes call for heavy cream, and I love that this recipe uses cream cheese to provide a rich creaminess to the pasta.

What vegetables are in Pasta Primavera recipes?

The best part about making pasta primavera style is that it is very easy to use any vegetables that you have on hand. This recipe calls for mushrooms, onion, garlic, spinach and tomato, but you could easily use broccoli, green beans, carrots, peppers or zucchini as well.

Ingredients in Tortellini Primavera

Mushrooms – Any type of mushroom works great! I like to slice them up, but you can dice them into smaller pieces if you prefer.

Onion – Yellow onions work best. I usually have chopped onions stored up in my freezer to save time when making dishes like this one.

Garlic – You will need 1 clove of garlic minced. If you like to buy minced garlic like I do, you’ll need about a teaspoon, but I usually add a little bit more since I love garlic!

Butter – You will need a little bit of butter to saute the vegetables. You can use olive oil instead if you’d like.

Spinach – I usually use frozen spinach for this recipe, but you can use fresh as well. If you do use frozen spinach, make sure that it is thawed and that you squeeze out the extra moisture.

Cream cheese – The recipe calls for one brick of cream cheese (8 ounces). You can use regular cream cheese or a low-fat or non-fat variety if you prefer.

Tomato – Use one medium sized tomato and dice it up to add to the pasta.

Milk – Any type of milk will work!

Parmesan – You just need 1/4 cup of parmesan. You can use the kind in the can, or you can use freshly grated Parmesan.

Italian seasoning – Just one teaspoon of Italian seasoning adds a lot of flavor to the pasta.

Salt & pepper – You only need 1/4 teaspoon of each to enhance the flavors in the recipe.

Cheese filled tortellini – You can use fresh or frozen tortellini. You can even use tortellini that has chicken in it if you’d like to add a little bit of protein. Make sure to cook and drain the tortellini before adding to the primavera sauce.

How to make Tortellini Primavera

In a large,pot, saute mushrooms, onions and garlic in butter for about 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Add all remaining ingredients except tortellini and mix well. Cook until mixture just begins to boil. Stir in tortellini and cook until thoroughly heated.