Creamy Tortellini with Spinach & Tomatoes
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
This is so yummy! We love to add Italian or pork sausage to it every time!