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An easy, delicious recipe for Cheese Tortellini in a simple Garlic Butter Sauce with basil. Keep it warm in a crockpot for a party appetizer, or serve up in a big bowl for a comforting weeknight meal in 15 minutes or less.
Out of all the tortellini recipes I’ve tried, this is my favorite way that I turn to again and again. It’s easy to make and everyone loves it, and it’s fun as either an appetizer or a main dish.
This cheesy tortellini recipe is absolutely delicious but you must season it properly. I love low-sodium chicken broth as much as the next person, but it doesn’t work well here. Use homemade chicken broth if you have it or mix up a batch from the “Better than Bouillon”. If you don’t, your sauce will have a bland flavor and you will be disappointed.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken broth: Do not use low-sodium chicken broth or the sauce may be bland. Homemade chicken broth is fine or you could mix up a batch with Better than Bouillon chicken base (Culinary Hill may earn money if you buy through this link). For a vegetarian version, substitute vegetable broth.
- Cornstarch: All-purpose flour can be substituted for cornstarch. However, you may have to cook the sauce an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Cheese tortellini: The cooking times in this recipe are based on frozen cheese tortellini. To substitute fresh or refrigerated tortellini, cook it for 2 to 3 minutes (it should be floating). To substitute dried tortellini, follow the instructions on the package (should be about 10 to 11 minutes).
- Butter: Do not substitute unsalted butter or your sauce may be bland.
Step-by-step instructions
- Set aside 1 ½ cups of broth in a small bowl and whisk the cornstarch into it. Heat the remaining broth in a saucepan until boiling. Add tortellini and cook until the tortellini floats to the top of the water and the internal temperature of a tortellini is 165 degrees (see package instructions). Gently drain and set aside.
- In a non-stick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat until it foams. Add the garlic and dried basil and stir for 2 minutes to sauté the garlic.
- Then add the broth and cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until the mixture thickens, only 1 or 2 minutes.
- Stir in the al dente tortellini and toss in the garlic butter mixture to coat every piece. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe will make 4 hearty main course servings. Or, feed 8 as an appetizer or first course. If serving as part of a buffet, keep warm in a slow cooker.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Mushrooms: To add fresh mushrooms to the dish, first cook them down in olive oil with a little salt to encouraging sweating. Then, proceed with stirring in the garlic in step 2.
- More mix-ins: To make the tortellini a fuller meal, stir in cooked shrimp, prosciutto, crispy bacon, or veggies like blanched broccoli, red bell pepper, olives, or artichokes. Consider choosing different textures (some soft, some crunchy).
- Tortellini skewers: Use toothpicks or small skewers to serve up appetizer portions of Cheesy Garlic Tortellini.
- Tortelloni vs tortellini: Both types of stuffed pasta have the same basic shape. However, tortellini are smaller (generally about 2 grams each) and tortelloni are larger (generally about 5 grams each).
- Tortellini cooking times: 2 to 3 minutes for refrigerated (soft) tortellini, 3 to 5 minutes for frozen tortellini, and 10 to 11 minutes for dried tortellini. Signs of doneness are when the pasta floats to the surface of the water, and has an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Tortellini with marinara: Try my quick marinara sauce with cooked cheese tortellini. For more richness, stir some cream cheese into the sauce, then top with mozzarella cheese, pop it under the broiler, and enjoy baked tortellini.
- Tortellini pasta salads: Cheese tortellini makes a fun, fantastic based for your next pasta salad. I love my Italian Pasta Salad made with cheese tortellini instead of the rotini. Or, try Easy Cold Pasta Salad and swap out the noodles to make a tortellini salad instead.
- Sausage Tortellini Soup: This quick, satisfying meal is made with cheese tortellini, Italian sausage, and fresh kale, and it’s ready in about 30 minutes. Add a splash of heavy cream for a creamy tortellini soup, or sub spinach for the kale to make a spinach tortellini soup.
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tortellini Soup: A delicious, tortellini-take on Chicken Noodle Soup. This one is always a crowd-pleaser and made right in your crock pot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What goes good on tortellini?
Cheese tortellini comes with my fillings: cheese, ground beef, Italian sausage, and more. Depending on the filling, tortellini are delicious with everything from cream-based sauces to red marinara-type sauces, browned butter, pesto, and even walnut sauce. They remind me of ravioli, so if you’d eat it with ravioli, you can eat with tortellini.
More easy weeknight dinners
30 Minute Meals
Easy Goulash Recipe
30 Minute Meals
The Best Turkey Tacos
30 Minute Meals
Pesto Cavatappi (Noodles & Company Copycat)
30 Minute Meals
Balsamic Glazed Chicken
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Cheese Tortellini in Garlic Butter Sauce
An easy, delicious recipe for Cheese Tortellini in a simple garlic butter sauce with basil. Keep it warm in a crockpot for a party appetizer, or serve up in a big bowl for a comforting weeknight meal in 15 minutes or less.
Equipment
- Dutch oven (I love my Le Creuset!)
Ingredients
- 32 ounces chicken broth or vegetable broth, divided (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (see note 2)
- 1 (16 ounce) package frozen cheese tortellini (see note 3)
- 4 tablespoons butter (see note 4)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Fresh basil chiffonade, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring 2 ½ cups broth to a boil. Add cheese tortellini. Return to a boil and cook until the tortellini float to the top of the water, about 3 minutes. The internal temperature of a tortellini should be 165 degrees. Drain completely.
- Meanwhile, whisk together remaining 1 ½ cups broth with corn starch. In a large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Stir in garlic and basil and cook 2 minutes.
- Add broth-cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil; simmer until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes longer. Add the cooked tortellini to the skillet and toss to coat.
- Pour into a serving dish and garnish with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Chicken broth: Do not use low-sodium chicken broth or the sauce may be bland. Homemade chicken broth is fine or you could mix up a batch with Better than Bouillon chicken base (Culinary Hill may earn money if you buy through this link). For a vegetarian version, substitute vegetable broth.
- Cornstarch: All-purpose flour can be substituted for cornstarch. However, you may have to cook the sauce an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Cheese tortellini: The cooking times in this recipe are based on frozen cheese tortellini. To substitute fresh or refrigerated tortellini, cook it for 2 to 3 minutes (it should be floating). To substitute dried tortellini, follow the instructions on the package (should be about 10 to 11 minutes).
- Butter: Do not substitute unsalted butter or your sauce may be bland.
- Yield: This recipe will make 4 hearty main course servings. Or, feed 8 as an appetizer or first course. If serving as part of a buffet, keep warm in a slow cooker.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 508kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 21gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 1523mgPotassium: 195mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 399IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 265mgIron: 4mg
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Great recipe! We added a 10 oz bag of spinach…yum! We will definitely make this again!
Made this tonight. Wonderful!!
I added sliced mushrooms. Will make again.
Easy light sauce. You are correct salt needed to be added. I used salted water instead of the broth as I didn’t have enough on hand at the time. Also, held back salted water to thin the sauce a little. Very good flavor!
Bonnie
Recipe came out amazing!
Could we use tortelloni in this recipe?
Hi Jade, I have never tested it with tortelloni, but I don’t see why not! Measurements should all be the same. -Meggan 😀
Your kidding right…the recipe is Cheese TORTELLINI in Garlic Butter Sauce
Hey William Collins Currie,
You sound dumb. Tortellini and tortelloni are two DIFFERENT things. That’s why this person asked The question. The tortelloni noodles are bigger. Dummy
Jade, I use RANA Tortrllonu all the time when making this recipe, it works beautifully.
Delicious recipe. I used fresh tortellini. Butter, garlic and basil… what a perfect sauce for them. I am a big fan of Italian cuisine but my husband prefers the French. This is the perfect compromise, replacing the olive oil with butter. 🙂 Thank you for the recipe.
I’ve missed this in the past, but will definitely be making this for my tortellini obsessed kids. I think tortellini was their first word.
I made this tonight and it was a big hit. At step 2 I added 1/2 cup of chopped onion with fresh basil and garlic which I think gave it a lot of flavor. Super easy and would make it again.
I was wondering if using flour instead of cornstarch would work? I’m out of cornstarch and debating on going to the store to get some.
I can’t think of a reason why flour wouldn’t work. However, if you are the sort of person who gets super upset about recipes gone wrong and/or food waste, please don’t let me accidentally ruin your day!!! LOL! But butter + flour works for sauces everywhere. I will test it at some point so I can definitively answer your question.
Thanks for the fast reply! No I don’t get upset lol it happens often. I may also try powdered garlic. 🤞🏻Thanks again!
I wish I could post the photos of how it turned out! It was perfect. Perfect color and consistency. I chose to change up the steps and make the sauce like I would gravy since I was using flour. I’ just added the flour to the simmering butter mix and then whisked thebroth in. I think for those who say the broth isn’t enough to boil the tortellini need to boil it with a lid on so the broth doesn’t evaporate and boil at a lower temp. I used 19 oz instead of 16 oz of tortellini and I added shrimp so I needed to make sure I had a little more sauce. I had more than enough broth left over plus the cup and a half I set aside. I just removed the tortellini and put it in a covered bowl to keep warm. Then I combined the remaining broth with the broth I set aside. Next time I won’t sit any broth aside and just Strain the broth into a bowl after I use it to boil the tortellini. Anyways I added the shrimp and some cherry tomatoes I cut in half a little after I added the broth. I whisked it slightly until it started to lightly simmer. It started to thicken pretty fast. When I thought the sauce was thick enough I added the tortellini to the pot and mixed it up. Then I dumped it all into a bowl to let stand. I used a cast Iron pot. Before I started cooking I unthawed precooked shrimp. I put the shrimp in a bowl and added melted butter, a splash of lemon juice, garlic powder, parsley, pepper and a little salt. I mixed that all up and set it aside to marinate a bit. When I added the shrimp I drained the marinade I made away. I think I marinated the shrimp for about an hour. I was moving pretty slow. Lol I went to the winery yesterday so it took me about an hour total to get everything out and actually start cooking. I made red lobster cheddar bay biscuits from a box kit to go with it. Thanks for this recipe. Everyone loved it!
Simply awesome!