Creamy tortellini with spinach and tomatoes is a saucy pasta dinner the whole family happily agrees on! A delicious garlic cream smothers cheese tortellini dotted with tomatoes and spinach for a quick and easy dinner that’s picky eater approved!
Move over Taco Tuesday! It’s time for something new.
Tortellini Tuesday!
After you try this dreamy creamy tortellini with spinach and tomatoes, you’ll definitely want to make it a weekly thing.
You can’t beat the cooking time- it’s even quicker than plain old pasta.
And it’s full of cheese.
Cheese.
When has anyone ever complained about eating cheese?
Not any of my kids, at least, and as a busy parent that’s a big deal- especially in a dish that has them also happily eating spinach and tomatoes.
Plus it’s versatile.
You can use fresh, frozen, or dried tortellini in this recipe and frozen tortellini is a freezer staple for us.
Ingredients
To make this creamy tortellini you’ll need:
- Tortellini– I use cheese tortellini but you could substitute spinach and cheese or even chicken tortellini. Also, it doesn’t matter if you use fresh or frozen.
- Garlic– Minced
- Spinach– Chopped fresh spinach.
- Tomatoes– A can of petite diced tomatoes. You could also dice up some fresh tomatoes if you prefer.
- Dried spices and seasonings– Salt, pepper, dried basil, onion flakes
- Flour– All purpose to thicken the sauce.
- Half and half– Don’t substitute a lighter milk product. You want the richness from the half and half.
- Parmesan cheese– Grated
How to Make
This tortellini with spinach and tomatoes is so easy!
Just cook the tortellini according to the directions on the package.
While the tortellini is boiling, roughly chop the spinach.
Then, briefly sauté the minced garlic in a large skillet over medium heat just until the garlic is fragrant.
At this point, add the petite diced tomatoes (undrained), spinach, salt, pepper, dried basil, and onion flakes to the skillet.
Cook and stir over medium high heat until the mixture begins to bubble.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour and half and half until it’s fairly smooth.
Stir the mixture into the the skillet along with the Parmesan cheese.
Heat through and reduce the heat to medium low and continue to stir and cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
Add the drained tortellini and mix together gently.
Serve and enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This reheats nicely in the microwave.
Should I rinse tortellini after cooking it?
Nope.
You don’t want to wash away the starch.
It will help the sauce stick to the tortellini and thicken it some.
Tips and Tricks
- You could cut up a chicken breast and sauté it in garlic butter and toss it with the tortellini for an extra hearty meal.
- There’s no such thing as too much cheese! Feel free to top with extra.
- Want to add more veggies to this? Sliced mushrooms work so well in this dish!
Other Tortellini Recipes
Creamy tortellini with spinach and tomatoes is a meal we all love because it’s so quick and delicious!
Make it and enjoy!
Looking for other tortellini recipes?
Try these:
- Creamy Alfredo Tortellini with Broccoli
- Cheesy Ground Beef Enchilada Tortellini
- Cold Tortellini Pasta Salad with Ranch Dressing
- Curried Tortellini Meatball Soup
- Creamed Spinach Tortellini with Seasoned Shrimp
If you’ve tried this CREAMY TORTELLINI WITH SPINACH & TOMATOES, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Creamy Tortellini with Spinach & Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 lb cheese tortellini
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
- 1 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon onion flakes
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Begin by boiling your tortellini noodles until they are al dente (aka ready). Follow the directions on the package for boiling time.
- While the tortellini is boiling, roughly chop the spinach.
- Heat a large skillet using medium heat and put the two minced garlic into it. Saute it briefly until fragrant, about thirty seconds or so.
- Add into the skillet the petite diced tomatoes (undrained), spinach, salt, pepper, dried basil, and onion flakes.
- Cook and stir over medium high heat until the mixture begins to bubble.
- In another bowl, combine the flour and half-and-half. Whisk until fairly smooth.
- Add the creamy mixture into the the skillet along with the Parmesan cheese.
- Heat through and reduce the heat to medium low and continue to stir and cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Add the drained tortellini and mix together gently.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- You could cut up a chicken breast and sauté it in garlic butter and toss it with the tortellini for an extra hearty meal.
- There's no such thing as too much cheese! Feel free to top with extra.
- Want to add more veggies to this? Sliced mushrooms work so well in this dish!
Nutrition
Rachel Soule says
I’ve made this 2 times now for my family. My 2 year old eats it all and asks for more! I double to triple the amount of spinach since spinach wilts down so much, I just didn’t think 1 cup would be enough. The second time i made this recipe, I didn’t have half and half so I used whole milk instead and I didn’t even notice the difference. Great dinner recipe!
Januce says
Made this for our family dinner last night and it was a hit.
Used heavy cream instead of Half/half and added a splash of Chardonnay. Thank you for sharing!
Kath says
This was delicious and very easy to put together. I added sautéed mushrooms and omitted the half and half, leaving a tomato broth.
Anna says
This was amazingly delicious and took less than half hour to put together. Will definitely make again.
Ana says
Would this recipe still be as delicious if I omit the diced tomatoes? There is a family member who has trouble eating tomatoes.
4sonsrus says
It will still be good, but it will be different. You may find you need to add some additional liquid.
Maria says
Anyone made this and added chicken ?
jae says
how much do all of this cost together
Trailer says
Under 20ish at target
Craig H says
We made this recipe exactly as written…almost. I had a little extra spinach so it went in. Otherwise, exactly and it was delicious. I served it as a side to oven baked fish and it was a perfect compliment. It would be great with chicken, pork chops, beef, shrimp, or sausage. I look forward to repeat performances.
Tanya Turner says
This turned out awesome! I used diced onions, extra spinach, extra tomatoes and added Italian sausage. I needed a bigger pot for it all!! Definitely going to use again and will make it for company!
Sara J says
Quick, easy, cheap, and absolutely delicious! This definitely just became a go-to recipe in our house. Thank you!
Catherine Meehan says
My family is crazy for this recipe! I make my own vegan tortellini and use almond milk as the liquid. Tried it with crushed tomatoes (its all I had) but we like it better with the diced tomatoes. Thank you for this recipe!!
Chris Kuhlman says
What would you do different if it was fresh tomatoes?
Daisy says
This is a versatile recipe with lots of room for creativity. I used evaporated milk and a splash of almond milk and never missed the cream. Seasoned to my liking. Going forward I might add more tomato and perhaps mushroom and/or artichoke hearts. Adding a protein would make it a complete one pot meal.
wilkinson says
this is sooo good! i love it!
Laura says
Simple and delicious! I used a cup of heavy cream and fresh basil yummy yummy
Wendi says
So easy quick and delicious!
Ashley H says
Made this last night. Added Italian Sausage and a few shakes of crushed red pepper, otherwise made it per recipe. We really enjoyed it! Will definitely be making it again. Might try chicken next time.
Carmen Henle says
Made this along with a salad and garlic knots. So easy and tastes great!
Krystal says
Love this meal so
Much
Patricia says
I felt like it needed a little more spice so, I added more pepper and Cayenne pepper. it was delicious 😋
Jennifer says
Amazingly delicious quick and easy meal. Definitely a keeper.
Geneva girl says
Very good, served it with garlic knots. It was even better the next day!
EdnaBurton says
Very good. Easy and fast to make. I also added some mushrooms in the early stage.
Meri says
This was sooo good! I didn’t have spinach so we used pickles instead, and the recipe came out super yummy if not a bit tangy!!! Will repeat again and highly recommend bread and butter pickles!