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October 3, 2021Updated: October 3, 2021

One-Pan Baked Tortellini

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Easy one-pan baked tortellini

Need a quick and tasty dinner idea? Try this baked tortellini recipe. Refrigerated tortellini pasta baked in a hearty meat sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese is a quick 30-minute meal. This tortellini casserole is a great weeknight dinner when life gets busy.

overhead shot of a pan of baked tortellini.

Table of contents

  • Tortellini Bake
  • Some Ingredients You’ll Need
  • More Easy Pasta Dishes

Tortellini Bake

In my house, there is one convenience product that ranks first on my list of go-to ingredients to help get dinner on the table fast and that’s a packet of fresh pasta. You know, the ones in the refrigerator case near the produce section? It’s a guarantee that at least one or two packets end up in my order every time I grocery shop and for good reason – a refrigerated pasta is the answer for those busy weeknights when getting dinner on the table seems impossible.

I’ve made this baked tortellini many times and love it – it takes no time at all, but looks and tastes like it took much longer to make. I’ve switched this pasta recipe a little each time I’ve made it, but I like this version with ground turkey. It’s hearty and filling and easy to change up with other ingredients – more on that in the tips section.

It has a quick prep time since there’s nothing to dice – except for some roughly chopped spinach (emphasis on “roughly”), everything goes straight into the pan.

The total time for this recipe is 30 minutes so if you are looking for easy main dishes, add it to your dinnertime list.

Some Ingredients You’ll Need

  • Cheese tortellini – you don’t need to cook refrigerated tortellini for this dish, it goes right in the oven as is and comes out perfectly cooked.
  • I use ground turkey, but I’ve also made it with ground beef and Italian sausage – both are delicious. Or, if you’re really short on time, skip the meat and just cook tortellini with the spinach and sauce. No pre-cooking required.
  • Use your favorite jarred marinara sauce or make your own spaghetti sauce from scratch if you’re feeling adventurous.
  • Spinach adds some color and healthy good stuff, but it’s totally optional.
  • Parmesan cheese and mozzarella – it’s a cheesy baked tortellini recipe!

How to Make It

Preheat the oven to 365°F. While it heats, you can prep the pasta bake.

Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe pan over medium heat brown the ground turkey, breaking it up with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Add the seasonings and cook them with the meat until it’s no longer pink on the outside. Add the spinach and stir it into the beef. Once it starts to wilt, add the marinara. Bring the meat sauce to a simmer and add the cheese tortellini stirring to coat it evenly in the sauce.

Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the top, cover the pan loosely with tin foil and pop it in the oven. Bake it for 15 minutes, uncover it and add 5 to 10 minutes to the cook time and leave it in the oven until the pasta is cooked and the cheese is melted.

Tips and Variations

You can make this with lean ground beef or try Italian sausage in place of the ground turkey.

You can leave out the meat, too.

You can also add other veggies like mushrooms, peppers, or swap the spinach for kale. Just saute them with the meat before adding the sauce.

I haven’t tried this recipe with frozen tortellini, but it should work fine. You could also use refrigerated ravioli.

If you don’t have an oven-safe pan, you can transfer it all to a baking dish or casserole dish instead.

Add some garnishes like freshly ground black pepper or chopped herbs like parsley or basil before serving.

I love cozy dinner recipes and this baked tortellini recipe is always a favorite. It’s an easy dinner for a weeknight – I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Cooking,

April

P.S. Looking for more comfort food? Be sure to browse some favorite Comfort Food Recipes.

a serving of tortellini in a bowl with the baking dish with the rest.

More Easy Pasta Dishes

Love easy recipes? Here are a few more pasta dishes I love to make:

  • 30 Minute One Pan Beef Penne
  • Alfredo Sauce with Fettuccine
  • Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
  • White Spinach Lasagna
  • Sausage Pasta Bake
  • Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce
  • Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
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One-Pan Baked Tortellini

baked tortellini
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★★★★★

4.8 from 6 reviews

This baked tortellini makes good use of simple pantry ingredients and serves four with bread or a salad on the side.

  • Author: April Anderson
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American-Italian

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 pound ground turkey
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
  • 2 cups jarred marinara sauce (I love Rao’s Homemade)
  • 1 (9-ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add the ground turkey, breaking it up with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add the seasonings and cook the meat until it’s no longer pink on the outside. Add the spinach and stir it into the beef. Once it starts to wilt add the marinara. Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the tortellini stirring to coat it evenly in the sauce.
  3. Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan over the top, cover the pan loosely with tin foil (or oven-safe lid), and pop it in the oven. Bake it for 15 minutes, uncover it and let it bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Notes

This recipe calls for ground turkey, but you could easily substitute lean ground beef. To make it even easier, skip the meat and just combine the tortellini in the baking dish with sauce and the spinach and bake.

If you don’t have a large oven-safe pan, you can transfer the sauce, meat, and pasta to a baking dish to bake it.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
  • Calories: 445
  • Sugar: 7.5g
  • Sodium: 1059.8mg
  • Fat: 18.8g
  • Saturated Fat: 6.7g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 10g
  • Trans Fat: 0.2g
  • Carbohydrates: 42g
  • Fiber: 4g
  • Protein: 27.4g
  • Cholesterol: 81.2mg

Keywords: one pot pasta recipe, baked tortellini, pasta with meat sauce

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The nutrition information is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.

Post updated from the archives. First published in November 2014.


21 Comments

About April Anderson

I’m a passionate home cook, cookbook author, recipe developer, freelance writer, food photographer, and dog mom ❤ I garnish (almost) everything with parsley and believe you can make deliciously amazing dishes with everyday ingredients.

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Comments

  1. Jill Elliott says

    October 18, 2022 at 6:16 pm

    My family loved this!! I added a chopped onion, 2 cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of Calabrian chili and substituted kale for the spinach (it’s heartier and my family loves it). I doubled the recipe and it tastes just as good or better then next day. Have now made twice – great fall meal after sports practice, and simple/easy one pot meal. Will make again and again. I used Rao’s sauce and tried filled pasta (chicken prosciutto or sausage) for even more taste.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • April Anderson says

      October 19, 2022 at 9:42 am

      I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe!

      Reply
  2. Brenia says

    January 30, 2022 at 9:17 pm

    Thank you for sharing. It reminded us of a lasagna, just way easier. Very good and will make again.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • April Anderson says

      February 1, 2022 at 12:20 pm

      So glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
      • Sharif says

        June 2, 2022 at 1:36 pm

        Please season your tortilini, and do not overcook your ground turkey/ or beef.

        Reply
  3. Jeff says

    October 26, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    Super easy and so good.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Jodi says

    November 12, 2018 at 5:32 pm

    Do you have a recommendation for making it ahead of time? Add minutes to the baking from refrigeration or would you bake it first and then just heat it up after refrigeration?
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • April says

      November 13, 2018 at 8:28 am

      Hi Jodi! You can assemble the dish and then pop it in the fridge. I would add a few extra few minutes to the bake time – maybe five to ten minutes?

      Reply
  5. Katie says

    July 11, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    There are no dumb questions right!?! 🙂 do you cook the tortellini first?

    Reply
    • April says

      July 13, 2018 at 5:47 am

      Not a dumb question! You don’t cook the tortellini first – it goes right in the sauce 🙂

      Reply
  6. Rosemary says

    May 14, 2018 at 1:13 pm

    I just wanted to tell you that I have made this recipe on numerous occasions and everyone absolutely loves it, me included. Thanks for another great recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  7. Jenn says

    May 14, 2018 at 12:36 pm

    Such a fantastic recipe! Easy, cheesy, and delicious!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  8. wendy says

    April 13, 2018 at 9:40 am

    I subbed hot Italian chicken sausage and it was great! Love this recipe

    ★★★★

    Reply
  9. Pamela says

    February 16, 2018 at 7:41 am

    Made this last night, easy, simple to prepare and delicious, a big hit with hubby. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
    • April says

      March 2, 2018 at 9:43 am

      That’s great! So glad you guys liked it 🙂

      Reply
  10. Chris says

    December 22, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    This was amazing. Just made it tonight.

    Reply
    • April says

      December 22, 2016 at 7:36 pm

      Yay! So glad you enjoyed it, Chris 🙂

      Reply
  11. Rachel @ Bakerita says

    December 1, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    Mmm I could so go for a big bowl of this right now!! It looks like the perfect comfort food dinner 😀 yum!

    Reply
    • April says

      December 1, 2014 at 7:32 pm

      Thanks Rachel – it is a perfect comfort food, especially this time of year!

      Reply
  12. Thalia @ butter and brioche says

    November 30, 2014 at 10:59 pm

    Totally craving tortellini right now, this baked dish looks so delicious!

    Reply
    • April says

      December 1, 2014 at 7:30 pm

      Thanks for stopping by, Thalia!

      Reply

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