One Pot Baked Tortellini with Italian Sausage

5 from 4 votes

One Pot Baked Tortellini with Italian Sausage

One Pot Baked Tortellini with Italian Sausage is the perfect weeknight family dinner! It's full of flavor, lots of veggies, and a creamy tomato sauce that everyone will love. The best part, it's all cooked in one pot, no need to pre-boil the tortellini! It takes just 15 minutes to prep and throw in the oven!

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 742kcal

Author: Meryl Downing

Ingredients

½ to 1 pound mild or sweet ground Italian sausage
1 small onion chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
15 oz can crushed tomatoes (not the big can!)
20 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini uncooked
1 handful fresh spinach chopped or left whole
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup water
½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
8 oz ball fresh mozzarella cheese sliced (or sub 1-2 cups of shredded mozzarella, provolone or white cheddar)
fresh basil or parsley for serving chopped (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.
In a large oven-safe pot, over medium heat, brown the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. As it's browning, push the sausage to one side of the pan and saute the onion and peppers on the other side at the same time. The sausage may release enough fat to cook the onions and peppers in, if not, at a bit of olive oil. Stir each half occasionally, don't worry if they mix together a bit (about 10 to 15 minutes).
When the sausage is fully cooked and nicely browned (drain the fat if you like) and the veggies softened, mix together, turn off the heat, and add all other ingredients except the fresh mozzarella.
Mix everything together very well. Press the tortellini down into the sauce as best you can to ensure even cooking. Top with the slices of fresh mozzarella (you may not use all of it, depending on how cheesy you like it!).
COVER (either with the pot lid or tin foil), and transfer to the oven. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover and pull out a tortellini with a spoon to taste if it is done. Careful, it's hot! If it isn't, cover and cook 5 more minutes, then retest.
When the pasta is cooked through, turn oven to high broil and return the pot uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes until the mozzarella is starting to brown and bubble (keep an eye on it!).
Garnish with fresh chopped basil or parsley and serve.

Notes

Make Ahead Instructions - You can make this dish 2 days in advance, follow the instructions up until you are ready to bake. Then cover it tightly and store in the fridge, deliver to a friend, or freeze (you can transfer to a casserole dish if that is easier to freeze). To bake, just thaw overnight in the fridge. You can leave it on the counter an hour before baking to take the chill of the fridge off, or just plan to add 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time. Definitely taste a noodle to make sure it's done!

How to hide the veggies for kids! - If your kids are really good at picking every visible vegetable out of their food, try pulsing the veggies in a food processor before adding them in with the sausage. That way the veggies become part of the sauce, undetectable to those picky eaters!

Nutrition