Cheesy Tortellini Casserole

Featuring tender tortellini pasta mixed with a creamy sauce, this Cheesy Tortellini Casserole is the ultimate comfort food recipe!

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Quick. What is your favorite type of pasta? I’ll confess that this question gets me every time. I don’t have a favorite type of pasta. It depends on what I’m doing with that pasta. A pasta bake? Probably ziti or penne. Homemade marinara sauce? Probably spaghetti. Carbonara? Any kind of pasta you want. I’ll eat carbonara however you want to serve it!

I will say that tortellini has always been a favorite type of pasta though. Tortellini is a type of small stuffed pasta, and it’s typically filled with a mixture of meat and Parmesan cheese. It can be found refrigerated or frozen, but more commonly dried (at least here in the US). This Cheesy Tortellini Casserole recipe calls for frozen cheese tortellini – this should be easy to find in the freezer section at your local grocery store.

Fun story: in Italy, a nickname for tortellini is “ombelico di Venere” (i.e. Venus’ navel). According to legend, the goddess Venus visited the small town of Castelfranco Emilia in northern Italy. Venus was the goddess of love and beauty. The local innkeeper, stunned by her beauty, spied on Venus through a keyhole. All he could see was her navel. He was so inspired that he created a pasta shape based on Venus’ navel. No one has ever created a pasta shape based on my navel – just sayin’.

Cheesy Tortellini Casserole

All jokes aside, let’s dig into this delicious baked pasta casserole. I love creamy pasta sauces, so I opted for a creamy white sauce for this recipe. Peppers, onion and garlic get sauteed until soft, and then flour, milk and chicken stock get added to the skillet. The whole thing simmers for a few minutes until a nice thick sauce forms. Mix that with cooked tortellini, broccoli and cauliflower, and you’ve got a delicious meal ready to go. Oh, and bacon. This Cheesy Tortellini Casserole gets topped with crispy bacon!

Unlike alfredo sauce, the sauce used for this casserole relies on whole milk and a bit of flour. (Alfredo sauce uses heavy cream and no flour.) Either way, the result is a thick creamy sauce that is packed with flavor. We’ve made this sauce and tossed frozen veggies directly into the skillet – in fact, that was the inspiration for this recipe. In addition to the veggies, I added some tortellini pasta and sent the whole thing off to the oven to bake until nice and bubbly. Oh, and bacon. I added bacon.

If you’re looking for a comforting meal that’s packed with flavor, then this Cheesy Tortellini Casserole is it! The tender tortellini combined with the creamy sauce and melty mozzarella cheese becomes a hearty casserole that the whole family will love.

Substitutions

When it comes to casserole recipes like this, there are plenty of easy substitutions:

• Ground Italian Sausage or Ground Beef would be an excellent substitution for the bacon here. Just mix the cooked sausage into the casserole mixture before it goes into the oven. Or leave out the meat entirely. Your choice!
• Other veggies like sauteed mushrooms, chopped spinach or frozen peas would all work well.
• If possible, using fresh tortellini will taste better than frozen tortellini.
• For a spicy kick, add ½-1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
• You could use jarred alfredo sauce to speed the process up, but I highly recommend making the sauce as written in the recipe!

How to Store Leftovers

Leftover cheesy baked tortellini casserole should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, place in a dry skillet over medium-low heat with a tiny bit of water. (If you think about it, save some of the water you used to boil the tortellini.) This tortellini bake also freezes well. Just let the leftovers cool completely before transferring them into an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the leftovers in the fridge overnight before reheating.

This recipe is certainly customizable to your tastes. No matter what, you’ll be looking at a bubbling, cheesy tortellini bake. That sounds like a winning recipe to me! I hope you enjoy this easy dinner recipe as much as we do around here. Cheers!

Did you make this Cheesy Tortellini Casserole recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Cheesy Tortellini Casserole

Featuring tender tortellini pasta mixed with a creamy sauce, this Cheesy Tortellini Casserole is the ultimate comfort food recipe!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 664kcal

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Ingredients

• 1 19-oz. package frozen cheese tortellini pasta
• 8 oz. thick-cut bacon chopped
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• ½ cup diced yellow onions
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 1½ tsp kosher salt
• 1½ tsp dried Italian seasonings
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1½ cups grated Parmesan cheese divided
• 1 12-oz. bag frozen broccoli florets, thawed
• 1 12-oz. bag frozen cauliflower florets, thawed
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella pearls

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Spray a 9”x13” casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray; set pan aside.
• Using a large pot, cook frozen tortellini according to package instructions; drain and set cooked tortellini aside.
• Place a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chopped bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon and pat dry with paper towels; set cooked bacon aside.
• Drain excess grease from pan, but leave ~2 Tbsp in pan.
• Add butter to skillet and place over medium heat. Once butter has melted, add diced bell pepper and onions. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes.
• Add minced garlic; stir until well combined. Continue sauteing for 1-2 more minutes.
• Add flour; stir until well combined. Continue sauteing, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
• Slowly pour milk and chicken stock into skillet; stir until well combined. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes, or until sauce thickens noticeably.
• Add salt, Italian seasonings, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and 1¼ cups grated Parmesan cheese; stir until well combined.
• Remove skillet from heat and add broccoli, cauliflower, mozzarella pearls and cooked tortellini (from above); stir until well combined.
• Transfer mixture into prepared baking dish.
• Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
• Uncover dish and sprinkle remaining grated Parmesan and cooked bacon (from above) on top.
• Bake uncovered for 5-6 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
• Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

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