Finding a saucy pasta dinner the whole family agrees on can be hard to find in one dish, but this Creamy Tortellini with Spinach & Tomatoes really delivers. Cheese tortellini are smothered in a delicious garlic cream sauce that’s speckled with tomatoes & spinach. It’s a quick & easy dinner that’s picky eater approved, even with the obvious addition of veggies!
So in my head I had this pegged for a meatless Monday meal post, buuuuut Monday was Memorial Day, and you totally know how it is when all those cookout invites from family & friends get in the way of reason and productivity.
Tortellini Tuesday? Totally a thing (at least for today).
You can use fresh, frozen, or dried tortellini in this recipe. I am not even gonna lie though, frozen tortellini is one of my favorite things to keep stocked in the freezer. It’s so easy to grab the bag and go, digging into a recipe.
You can’t beat the cooking time- it’s even quicker than plain old pasta. You also can’t beat the possibilities. Seriously, a quick search on the site will show you just how many different recipes we’ve incorporated it into. And that’s just what we’ve done so far.
Also, 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.
Another thing my children (miraculously) don’t complain about eating? Spinach. Yep, you read that right. It’s a completely bizarre phenomenon to both me and my husband, but it’s true.
Now granted, I don’t serve it to them by itself and never, ever the stuff from the can. That’s just nasty, and don’t get my started on the borderline PTSD I suffer from a particularly long stand off/battle of the wills with my own mother over it when I was a little bitty thing.
Really though, instead of pureeing veggies and ‘hiding’ them in saucy dishes, I just throw them right on in. I do try to make sure they’re particularly yummy and flavorful though. It’s led to very few complaints over the years. Thankfully. I highly suggest trying it. You’d be surprised how well the strategy works.
This delicious, saucy Creamy Tortellini with Spinach & Tomatoes is a great way to get your family to willingly eat, and enjoy, several things they otherwise might not. Very few recipes entice my guys to do anything other than run away from tomatoes, yet they come runnin’ to the supper table for this one.
For such a loved meal, this one is equally easy. Cook your tortellini according to the package directions, Drain, and set aside for a bit. Then everything comes together in a single pot. Easy to fix, and even easier clean up.
Isn’t that everybody’s ideal recipe?
So, let’s dig in!
This Creamy Tortellini with Spinach & Tomatoes recipe has a medium sized ingredient list, but not too long. Also, it does use things we almost always have on hand which makes it a great go-to on busy nights.
From start to finish, in less than 20 minutes, you can have a healthy, hot meal on the table that the whole family will love. How often does that happen?!
If You Liked This Recipe, You Might Also Like These Similar Recipes:
- Spicy Italian Sausage Tortellini Alfredo
- Creamed Spinach Tortellini with Seasoned Shrimp
- Italian Alfredo Tortellini with Ham
- Mediterranean Tortellini Salad
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
Nutrition
Originally posted on May 27, 2014, this post was completely redone on August 20, 2018.
I made this last night; we LOVED it! It was so easy to make, too! Definitely will be adding this to our dinner rotation…there were NO leftovers so I might double the recipe next time. Thank you for sharing.
Very good: we don’t do a lot of dairy and figured we were already pushing it with the 4cheese tortellini (gf) I found, so I subbed the half and half with broth and used 3 tbsp gluten free flour as thickener. Use Asiago instead of Parmesan. Very delicious definitely satisfied that pregnancy craving.
Thank You sooooo much, I really Love your recipes. They are so easy to make
You are the best.
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!
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!
This was delicious and very easy to put together. I added sautéed mushrooms and omitted the half and half, leaving a tomato broth.
This was amazingly delicious and took less than half hour to put together. Will definitely make again.
Would this recipe still be as delicious if I omit the diced tomatoes? There is a family member who has trouble eating tomatoes.
It will still be good, but it will be different. You may find you need to add some additional liquid.
Anyone made this and added chicken ?
how much do all of this cost together
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.
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!
Quick, easy, cheap, and absolutely delicious! This definitely just became a go-to recipe in our house. Thank you!
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!!