Italian Sausage Cheese Tortellini

cheese tortellini and italian sausage

A meal that only takes one skillet to make?! Count me in! This creamy sausage and tortellini skillet meal is a family favorite and my two kids absolutely love it! This meal is so easy to make and has all the perfect flavors that I look for in a pasta dish. Tender cheese-filled tortellini paired with flavorful Italian sausage and a creamy tomato sauce is absolute heaven! A great thing about this meal is that we usually always have the ingredients on hand to make this in a pinch!

To make this creamy and delicious sausage and tortellini skillet, start by browning 1 lb of Italian sausage in a medium-sized skillet on medium heat until the sausage is nice and browned. Once the sausage is browned, remove it from the skillet and set it aside. Into the same pan, add 3 tablespoons of butter and melt, then add in 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach to the skillet. This is a great way to sneak in some greens for kids who tend to avoid them! Once the garlic becomes fragrant, add: 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 cans of tomato sauce and 3 tablespoons of tomato paste into the skillet. Next, add: ½ cup of shredded parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and then season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix everything together well and let it simmer. 

Once everything has simmered for a few minutes, the next step is to add a 19 oz package of frozen tortellini to the skillet and stir to coat all of the pasta. Add a lid on top of the skillet and cook the tortellini for about 5 minutes until it is nice and tender. Now that the tortellini are cooked through, I added that yummy browned sausage back into the mix and stirred everything together well. Now you’re ready to serve up this delicious meal!

This meal is perfect as is but right before serving I love to add some extra parmesan cheese and dried parsley on top to finish it off! It adds more yummy flavor to the dish and looks so good! With any pasta dish, I love to serve a fresh salad and some delicious garlic bread alongside it. This recipe is a family favorite and when I make it, I can count on not having any leftovers! Cleaning up is a breeze too since everything is made in the one skillet. Any recipe with minimal clean up after is right up my alley. Try this recipe out and let me know how you like it! 

Helpful Tips and Frequently Asked Questions

• I have found that frozen tortellini works the best for this recipe, but refrigerated fresh tortellini at the grocery store would work as well. 

• Feel free to add in some mushrooms as well to add in more veggies!

• Serve alongside a delicious salad and some garlic bread or breadsticks. 

• Fresh minced garlic or jarred garlic work great in this recipe. 

• If you would like to add in some spice to this dish, add some red pepper flakes or use spicy Italian sausage to kick up the heat!

• Shred your own block of parmesan cheese for a more fresh and richer flavor!