Tortellini in Tomato Cream Sauce is an easy and flavorful homemade dinner ready in less than 20 minutes! Made with simple ingredients, little preparation and quick cooking time, this creamy tortellini dish is an excellent choice for busy weeknights.
Tortellini in tomato cream sauce is a simple dinner that's great for busy or lazy nights. It's made with a few fresh and wholesome ingredients plus a couple fridge and pantry staples. It can be served as a main vegetarian pasta dinner or a flavorful and filling side dish to accompany fish, chicken, steak, and more.
This creamy tortellini sauce is just as delicious as my 10-minute white pasta cream sauce, except it's given a boost with fresh spinach leaves and diced tomatoes. They are both must trys if you love pasta in rich and flavorful creamy sauces! A few great meals similar to this is one pan creamy chicken and gnocchi and penne rosa.
Why You'll Love It
- This recipe is super fast- ready in less than 20 minutes!
- There is virtually no prep, aside from grating cheese and mincing garlic.
- Tortellini in cream sauce tastes amazing and looks like a totally fancy dinner that you can serve to impress guests (don't let them in on the secret!)
- It can easily be made vegan, too!
Ingredients
To make this tasty tortellini with tomato spinach cream sauce, you need:
- Tortellini: any type, fresh or frozen. Mixed cheese tortellini are my favorite!
- Tomatoes: canned diced tomatoes are what I use, but you can use stewed canned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes also. The juices from the can are also used.
- Spinach: fresh spinach is best, baby spinach or traditional.
- Basil: fresh or dried. Use 3 times more fresh basil than dried basil.
- Parmesan cheese: freshly grated parmesan cheese is ideal. Parmesan and Romano cheese works too!
- Milk: you can use low fat, reduced fat or whole milk (the higher the fat content, the richer the sauce). Heavy cream can be used in place of milk.
How To Make It
This recipe is made in 4 simple steps:
STEP 1: While preparing the tomato cream sauce, cook the tortellini according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
STEP 2: To a large pan add the diced tomato can and it's juices, spinach, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat until the juices begin to boil, about 3 minutes. If you're using fresh tomatoes, simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the tomatoes to break down.
STEP 3: Slowly pour in the milk and stir. Add the butter and flour and stir continuously until the flour disintegrates into the liquid. Add the cheese and stir well. Simmer uncovered for 3-5 minutes to thicken the sauce.
STEP 4: Toss the cooked tortellini with the cream sauce. Serve topped with additional fresh basil leaves and shredded parmesan cheese if desired.
How To Serve Creamy Tortellini
This recipe makes a satisfying vegetarian dinner on it's own. As a side, it's excellent when paired with a simple meat or fish like:
How To Store
Tortellini in cream sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days for optimal quality. Pasta is typically not freezer friendly, so I don't recommend storing this recipe in the freezer.
Pro Tips
- Shred a block of cheese. Freshly shredded parmesan cheese will melt smoother into the sauce than a bag of pre-shredded cheese or a can of grated parmesan cheese will.
- Use fresh basil. I actually prefer fresh basil, especially during the summer season when it's in full bloom. For this recipe you'll need 6 teaspoons of fresh basil.
- Use heavy cream instead of milk for a thicker sauce. Heavy cream can be used instead of milk in a 1:1 ratio. Don't use butter or flour if using heavy cream.
- Chop the spinach into small pieces for picky eaters. Otherwise, you can leave the spinach whole or roughly tear it into pieces.
- Make it vegan. Use oat milk instead of dairy milk, plant-based butter and vegan parmesan cheese. Also make sure to use a vegan tortellini brand.
Recipe Facts
Yes, you can most definitely use fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones. Use ripe, juicy tomatoes such as beefsteak, garden tomatoes or roma tomatoes.
You can use frozen spinach for this recipe, but squeeze out as much liquid as possible before adding it to the pan. If the sauce is too thin at the end, add more cheese a few tablespoons at a time.
Sure! Any pasta works great with this tomato cream sauce. Other stuffed pasta like ravioli would work really well. Gnocchi and short pasta cuts like rigatoni and ziti are my other favorites.
Enjoy!
Recipe
Tortellini in Tomato Cream Sauce
Equipment
- large skillet
- Large pot
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 16 oz tortellini fresh or frozen
- 1 can diced tomatoes 28 oz, with juices
- 1 cup spinach fresh
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoon dried basil or 6 teaspoon fresh basil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups milk or heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon flour
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to package instructions, drain and set aside. While tortellini cook, prepare the sauce as instructed below.
- To a large pan add the diced tomato can and it's juices, spinach, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat until the juices begin to boil, about 3 minutes. If you're using fresh tomatoes, simmer for 10 minutes to allow the tomatoes to break down.
- Slowly pour in the milk and stir. Add the butter and flour and stir continuously until the flour disintegrates into the liquid. Add the parmesan cheese and stir well. Simmer uncovered for 3-5 minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Toss the cooked tortellini with the cream sauce. Serve topped with additional fresh basil leaves and shredded parmesan cheese if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Janet says
Mine turned out quite soupy and I had already reduced the amount of liquid. Any idea why?
Kristina says
It could be that the flour didn't incorporate into the liquid as it should have. You could try melting the butter in the microwave, then mixing the flour into the butter until it forms a paste. Then add this to the milk while it heats in the pot. And always make sure it comes to a boil and simmers for the full amount of time.
UI says
Nice recipe but please be aware that this recipe is not vegetarian as Parmesan is not vegetarian (it uses rennet, an enzyme from the lining of calf stomachs). Luckily any vegetarian hard cheese can be substituted in - I use vegetarian manchego.
Kristina says
Not all brands of parmesan contain animal rennet, so as long as you find one that doesn't recipes with parmesan can be vegetarian. Check the labels carefully....some are even labeled "vegetarian". 🙂
Brady says
What size of can of diced tomatoes do you use? Thanks! Creative recipe!
Kristina says
Hello! Sorry about that, I've updated the recipe. It is a large can, typically 28 oz.
Rozalyn says
Made it for my family tonight and everyone loved it.. will be in regular rotation in my house