Creamy Pesto Tortellini
Easy dinners don’t get better than this Creamy Pesto Tortellini! Cheese tortellini is smothered in homemade pesto sauce with mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and toasted walnuts for a meal the entire family will love!
By now all the kids are back in school and we’re all back to grind, right? That can only mean one thing…we need dinner, and we need it fast!
30-minute meals have become a quest of mine this past year, so I’m trying to share a lot more quick recipes with you here.
This requires me to get meals done hours early sometimes when the light is good, but the bright side is that having dinner done before the kids get out of school certainly makes for a kick-back evening. 🙂
The struggle is real, people. We need more quick and easy dinners in our lives!
One of the quickest meals that’s always a hit in my house is tortellini. Yet for whatever reason, I forget about it. I have no idea how since tortellini is one pasta that my kids always love.
They don’t like spaghetti, so I’m not sure how they’re related to my husband and I for this, but we’ll let that slide. They did love this pesto tortellini recipe, so I forgive them.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Pesto tortellini is a hearty dinner than the entire family will be on board with!
- The recipe may be customized with your favorite brand of tortellini and veggies to suit your family’s tastes.
- It’s a complete dinner that comes together in about 30 minutes, or it may be prepped entirely in advance.
Recipe ingredients
This pesto tortellini recipe is a hearty vegetarian meal that
Ingredient notes
- Tortellini. I used spinach ricotta tortellini, but you may use your favorite variety.
- Pesto sauce. Homemade pesto sauce is the best way to elevate this meal. Find out how to make pesto sauce with your favorite greens and herbs, or stick with the classics and prepare my basil pesto sauce. You can also use store-bought pesto to save time.
- Heavy cream. There is just enough heavy cream in this recipe to add a bit of richness to the pesto sauce. You can add as much or little as you prefer, or omit it altogether if you don’t have any hand.
- Veggies. I used a combination of sautéed mushrooms and some sun dried tomatoes in this recipe for added nutrition and texture, but use whatever you have on hand!
How to make this recipe
This pesto tortellini is a quick and easy dinner that’s on the table in about 30 minutes.
Pro tips: Make your pesto sauce to make this meal go even quicker, and get the water boiling for the tortellini while you prep the veggies to save time.
- Cook the tortellini according to package instructions and drain well.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper, to taste, and sauté until the moisture evaporates and the mushrooms have browned.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add 1/2 cup of pesto sauce and 2 tablespoons of cream, and stir to combine.
- Add the tortellini and sun dried tomatoes, and stir until the pasta is evenly coated, adding more pesto sauce if necessary.
- Serve warm topped with Parmesan and toasted walnuts.
FAQs
The pesto tortellini is best enjoyed right away, but you can prep individual components of the recipe ahead of time. The pesto can be made a few days in advance, and you can also chop the veggies ahead of time.
Store everything in separate containers in the fridge until ready to use.
Any kind you’d like! I made my favorite spinach walnut pesto, but any pesto variety will do.
I’m sure you can, but this simple tortellini dish won’t be creamy whatsoever without it.
What to serve with this recipe
The goal is to get dinner on the table quickly, so there’s no need to fuss with a complicated side dish. Here are some easy sides to pair with the pesto tortellini skillet:
Recipe notes
- Pro tips: Make your pesto sauce to make this meal go even quicker, and get the water boiling for the tortellini while you prep the veggies to save time.
- Customize this meal with your favorite brand of tortellini and veggies.
- Leftover pesto tortellini will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
More quick pasta dinners you’ll love:
- Chicken pesto pasta
- Red pepper pasta
- Pasta e fagioli
- Pasta primavera
- Skillet lasagna
- Tortellini Salad by Delish
If you make this recipe I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and rating below, or tag me @flavorthemoments on Instagram!
30-Minute Creamy Pesto Tortellini
Ingredients
For the pasta:
- 20 ounces spinach ricotta tortellini or your favorite variety
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. baby bella mushrooms stems removed and sliced
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces*
- grated parmesan for serving
- Spinach walnut pesto sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or more to taste
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and place it over high heat with the lid on. While the water comes to a boil, prep your ingredients. Once the water boils, add the tortellini and cook according to package instructions, and drain in a colander when it’s done.
- In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper, to taste, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the moisture evaporates and the mushrooms have browned.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add 1/2 cup of pesto sauce and 2 tablespoons of cream, and stir to combine. If you prefer your sauce creamier, add the remaining 2 tablespoons and adjust the seasoning. Add the tortellini and sun dried tomatoes, and stir until the pasta is evenly coated, adding more pesto sauce if necessary.
- Serve warm topped with parmesan and toasted walnuts. Enjoy!
Notes
- *You can use pre-toasted walnuts in a pinch, or make them ahead by toasting them in 350 degree oven on a rimmed baking sheet for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant.
- Pro tips: Make your pesto sauce to make this meal go even quicker, and get the water boiling for the tortellini while you prep the veggies to save time.
- Â Customize this meal with your favorite brand of tortellini and veggies.
- Leftover pesto tortellini will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
79 Comments on “Creamy Pesto Tortellini”
what a great idea!! I don’t have school aged kids but still need 30-minute meals to survive the week. Love this easy pasta to start 🙂
30-minute meals are a must with newborn babies too! Every time I went to cook dinner the baby would wake up right in the middle! Haha
I’m such a fan of anything with pesto, so this tortellini is perfect for me! Love that it comes together quick for busy weeknights, Marcie! Sounds delicious!
Thanks, Gayle! I could eat pesto every day!
Oh, gosh. SUCH a genius idea to throw pesto into tortellini AND in one skillet no less! This pasta is just screaming comfort food to me and I’m definitely putting this winner on the menu for next week. 😀
Thanks, Sarah! This was a major hit here — you just can’t go wrong with pesto and tortellini!
Isn’t pesto just the best?! Love the sundried tomatoes and walnuts 🙂 Pinning!
It is the best, and it was so great with the sundries tomatoes and walnuts!
I love pesto and tortellini, such a great combination! Unfortunately my kids don’t like tortellini – although they will eat spaghetti! Oh well, I’ll just have to keep making it until they like it I suppose! 🙂 This pasta looks incredible! Pinned!
Our kids are complete opposites! Haha. Pesto spaghetti certainly works too. . Thanks, Stacey!
I LOVE tortellini! This dish looks fantastic Marcie! Especially that creamy pesto!
Thank you, Mariah! I don’t know why I don’t think of tortellini more often — everyone was excited about this!
Oh how I love tortellini! This skillet looks amazing! haha oh gosh my struggle is real with 30 minute meals! I need to be better about making faster ones for during the week!
I’m trying to get creative with the 30 minute meal thing — Mexican and pasta always comes to mind first! It’s a challenge for sure, but it’s necessary!
Hope your kids are enjoying school so far! My son starts for the first time next week (eeks) so I can use all the 30 minute meals I can get. This tortellini skillet looks sensational, Marcie! Love the pesto and sun-dried tomatoes! This is perfect for busy weeknights!
My kids are back in the school routine, thanks, and I hope your son does great in his first year! Thanks, Kelly!
You are reminding me how much I love tortellini! I haven’t had it in so long, but I think there is a gluten free one at the store that is usually on sale! The creamy pesto sauce sounds like the perfect topping 🙂
This was such a nice change and I have to think of it more often! Hope you find your GF version, Izzy!
You can never go wrong with a 30 minute meal. Love that you used tortellini, I could eat it all day every day!
Thanks, Danielle — me too!
The struggle is SO REAL. You’ve heard me confess my terrible dinners. And I only have me to worry about – no kids. All you working moms are total super heroes to me! This tortellini looks so awesome, Marci!
I love your dinner confessions, because mine are that way sometimes too! Dinners are not always glamorous. haha Thanks so much, Liz, and hope you had a great holiday weekend! 🙂
I always forget about tortellini, too! This looks delicious, and I love the sounds of that spinach pesto…need to try it!
Tortellini is a huge hit with my kids, so I truly need to remember it more often! Thanks, Denise! 🙂
I’m always looking for 30 minute meals and the flavors in this are fantastic! Pinned and shared! Will try it soon!
Thanks so much, Mira! 🙂
The struggle IS real! 🙂 I’ve been trying to make more 30 minute meals lately too, and this one is so creative! This pasta looks right up my alley. I love that you added mushrooms and toasted walnuts!
Thanks, Kristine! We will all get through this struggle together! 🙂
Yum!! When I was younger I went through a phase where I was anti-sandwich and just wanted tortellini salad in my lunchbox. I would have been so crazy about this then, and really I still am. This is perfect Marcie!
That’s funny — I wish I would’ve had tortellini in my lunch box when I was a kid! Thanks, Alyssa! 🙂
I didn’t like spaghetti either when I was younger, but rest assure that there is still hope 😉
Tortellini are my weakness, I love how you dressed them up here! For me it’s usually just a case of tomato sauce, but I definitely need to try your recipe!
There’s always hope, isn’t there? 🙂 Thank you so much, Nora, and hope you had a wonderful weekend! 🙂
That’s a great idea, my daughters really love anything pasta, so this recipe will be a winner for dinner.
Thank you, Ella! 🙂
I am so in love with this 30 minutes CREAMY PESTO TORTELLINI SKILLET. So delicious, flavorful and yummy!
Thank you so much, Anu! 🙂
Love the 30 minute meal idea Marcie! I’m finding myself needing that more and more these days as the days seem to get shorter and the work day longer! Thanks for a great recipe!
I need more all the time — they are life savers! Thanks, Kristi, and hope you had a great Labor Day weekend! 🙂
Love that you added sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and walnuts! So much flavor!
It really does have a lot of flavor, and I love the chewiness the sundried tomatoes add. Thanks, Christin, and hope you had a great Labor Day! 🙂
Tortellini has always been my favorite pasta. I love all of the flavors you got in here!
Thanks, Ashley! 🙂
Tortellini was my LIFE back in the day! CHEESE TORTELLINI! Mmmm SO DANG GOOD!
I know, RIGHT?? haha Thanks, Gigi! 🙂
I absolutely love the combo of sun-dried tomatoes and pesto! It’s just too good. Totally making this next week. Also, I love this whole 30 minute Thursday! (I would love to join you if you’ll have me!) Quick and easy dinners are so important in my life right now.
Thanks so much, Melissa! Quick, delicious dinners are lifesavers for sure! If we need anybody else added to the group, I will let you know! 🙂
30 minute Thursdays?! brilliant!!! and I love this creamy pesto tortellini! Pasts is definitely my go-to during the week!
Thanks, Alice! Hope you had a great Labor Day! 🙂
We all need 30 minute meals, this looks amazing!
Thank you, Cheri! 🙂
I love tortellini for a quick and easy meal!! You can definitely keep it vegetarian. I love all the flavors you used here. Pesto is one of my favorites. 🙂
Thanks, Jess! Hope you had a great weekend! 🙂
Hi Marci! 30-minute Thursday is a great idea! I love that you’ve combined a bit of pre-prepared food (the tortellini) with homemade everything else. I do that quite often and find it works really well.
🙂
Hi, Helen! 🙂 Sometimes we need a shortcut, right? It’s not every day I make tortellini from scratch…actually I never do! haha Hope you had a good weekend!
Sounds perfectly amazing, not just for a family dinner, but to serve up to guests, too! I would love it if you would stop by and share this over at my link party, Celebrate it Sunday! I will be pinning this and sharing at FB and Twitter!
I can always use more quick, flavorful dishes! I am a huge pesto fan – got to try this!
I hope you get to try it — thanks, Jamie!
The prettiest one pot meal EVER! I love the addition of sun dried tomatoes…yum!
Thanks so much, Cathy!
I definitely need 30 minutes meals in my life – this one looks fantastic!
I never have enough! Thanks, Deb!
Back to the grind is right. I had forgotten how taxing the homework, reading, and staying on them to get it done can be. Quick dinners are always appreciated. This one looks amazing.
It is taxing! Most of the time it’s our homework, isn’t it? 🙂 Thanks, Rachael!
I do need this in my life! My family would go nuts for it!
It’s so nice to find a dish that everybody likes! 🙂