That bag of cheese tortellini hiding in the back of the freezer? It’s there for those too-busy-to-think nights when dinner needs to be easy and uncomplicated. Pull it out — it has a very good home in this creamy, cheesy tortellini skillet.
This is the kind of weeknight dinner that fills you up in the coziest way and has you sneaking bites straight from the skillet after the dishes (only 2 pans!) are done.
And you can zhush it up even more with some of my juicy, forever foolproof chicken method and some quick sauteed spinach.
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Patience, my friend
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While this recipe comes together in under an hour, it does call for caramelizing a good amount of onions. It’s the step that makes the sauce, so don’t skip it. I usually queue up a favorite podcast and let the onions take on all their French flavor.
Other than cooking the tortellini in a separate pot, the rest of the dish is cooked all in one skillet.
Ingredient callouts
The heart of any pasta casserole isn’t so much the pasta as it is the sauce. And the sauce in this tortellini bake takes on a French onion flavor thanks to the slow caramelization of onions, a smattering of fresh thyme and splash of rich beef stock.
A few other things worth mentioning:
Bulk Italian sausage. If your store doesn’t carry it, use a sharp knife to remove the casing from Italian sausage links and squeeze out the ground sausage. I do love spicy sausage but a mild to medium heat level is great too.
Light cream (aka table cream). I talk about light cream a lot, especially in several of my pasta sauce recipes. It has a richness that falls between half-and-half and heavy cream, making it perfect in cream sauces for pasta dishes.
Fontina cheese. The Italian one, not the Dutch one. Soft, melty and adds a good cheese pull.
Sharp cheese for topping. Something to balance out the parmesan but with a little bite. Asiago, sharp provolone or sharp fontinella (dryer than provolone but really sharp) all work beautifully. If you really want to go more French, add some gruyere.
How to make sausage tortellini bake
Recipe notes
Undercook the tortellini just a bit because the dish is only being broiled for about 5 minutes or so.
I didn’t add it in the recipe card but a splash of sherry or Marsala wine would be so good in the cream sauce.
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Italian Sausage Tortellini Skillet
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Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 3 T butter
- 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 T fresh thyme, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lb cheese tortellini
- 2 cups light cream
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 cup fontina cheese
- ½ cup sharp provolone or Asiago
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bring 3 quarts of water to boil. Season generously with kosher salt and cook the tortellini for about 2-3 minutes. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the tortellini in a colander and set aside.1 lb cheese tortellini
- Heat a large wide, ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Crumble in the ground Italian sausage and brown until no pink, about 8 minutes. Break up the sausage with a paddle. Remove from skillet to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.1 lb Italian sausage
- Add 2 T of butter to the pan and saute 2 thinly sliced yellow onions and fresh thyme (1 TB) until caramelized about 30 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Add in some minced garlic right at the end.3 T butter, 2 yellow onions, 2 T fresh thyme, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 2 cloves garlic
- To the onions, pour in the light cream, beef stock and remaining tablespoon of butter. Slightly thicken the sauce over low heat, stirring every so often for a total of about 5 minutes. If the sauce thickens too quickly or much, add in 1/4 cup of pasta water at a time and stir to your desired consistency. Remember the tortellini will soak up the sauce so you might use all the water.2 cups light cream, 1 cup beef stock
- Heat the oven broiler. Add the cooked tortellini and sausage to the skillet and toss until the pasta is coated. Top with all the cheeses (ending with the Parmesan) and broil until golden. Garnish with parmesan and more fresh thyme/parsley. Serve with toasted garlic bread and sauteed spinach.1 cup fontina cheese, 1/2 cup sharp provolone or Asiago, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, fresh parsley
This was amazing. I couldn’t find light cream so I used 1/2 and 1/2. The sauce was a little thin but thickened up as it cooled. Maybe less beef broth?
Ooo Betsy I think you are on to something. In the absence of light cream (which admittedly is hard to find), use half and half and then start with 1/2 of the beef broth. I am going to add that to the bottom of the recipe card. 😊 Thank you so much for trying it and taking time to let me know!