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Tortellini Bake is the four ingredient dinner miracle, cheese stuffed pasta tossed in basil pesto with juicy grape tomatoes and rounds of melty fresh mozzarella, and the first time I pulled this bubbling pan out on a chaotic Tuesday the table went silent in the good way. It is the oven baked cousin of our tortellini pasta salad.
One oven safe pot handles the boiling, the mixing, and the baking, so dinner is done in 30 minutes with almost nothing to wash.
Tortellini Bake Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 30 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 35 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 6 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 437kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Basil pesto and sweet tomatoes under blankets of melted mozzarella
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, faster than our baked ziti
Quick Answer
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and cook a 12 ounce package of cheese tortellini for 10 minutes in an oven safe pot, then drain and return it to the pot. Stir in three quarters of a cup of pesto until every piece is coated, then mix in halved grape tomatoes and cubed fresh mozzarella. Top with sliced fresh mozzarella and bake uncovered for 20 minutes until melted and bubbly.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Store bought tortellini is the shortcut. The cheese filling is already seasoned and rich, so the bake gets homemade flavor from a package that cooks in 10 minutes.
- Pesto replaces a whole simmered sauce. Three quarters of a cup coats every fold of pasta with basil, garlic, and parmesan, no saucepan, no simmering, no extra pot.
- Mozzarella goes in two ways. Cubes stirred through melt into gooey pockets while slices on top brown into that bubbly pizza style lid.
- Tomatoes roast right in the bake. Twenty minutes at 425 blisters the halved grape tomatoes so they burst sweet and juicy against the rich cheese.
- One oven safe pot does everything. Boiling, mixing, and baking in the same vessel means the starchy pasta water residue helps the pesto cling and the dishes stay at one.
- High heat keeps it fast. 425 degrees melts and browns the cheese in 20 minutes flat, before the tortellini below can overcook and soften.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Four ingredients, one pot, thirty minutes, that is the entire commitment for a bubbling baked pasta.
- It tastes like a caprese salad and a cheesy casserole had the best possible dinner baby.
- It is faster than delivery and cozier than our chili mac and cheese on a busy weeknight.
Key Ingredients
Four ingredients, and two of them are cheese.
- Cheese tortellini: One 12 ounce package of refrigerated or dried three cheese tortellini, the flavor packed base of the whole bake.
- Basil pesto: Three quarters of a cup coats the pasta in herby, garlicky richness with zero sauce making.
- Fresh mozzarella: Two cups split two ways, half cubed and stirred in for gooey pockets, half sliced on top for the golden lid.
- Grape tomatoes: A pint halved lengthwise, they roast into sweet juicy bursts that cut through the cheese.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
The one pot formula loves a remix.
- Stir in shredded rotisserie chicken or crispy bacon with the tomatoes for a heartier bake.
- Add a big handful of fresh spinach when you mix in the pesto, it wilts perfectly in the oven.
- Swap the pesto for a cup of marinara and it becomes a red sauce tortellini bake for the classic crowd.
- Use sun dried tomato pesto and add artichoke hearts for a Mediterranean spin.
- Finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze after baking for the full caprese experience, like our margherita pizza in pasta form.
How to Make Tortellini Bake
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cook the tortellini per the package directions for 10 minutes in an oven safe pot, a 3 quart pan that works on the stove and in the oven is perfect.
- Drain the pasta and add it back to the pan, add the pesto, and mix thoroughly so every piece is coated.
- Add in the halved tomatoes and the cubed mozzarella, and mix thoroughly so they are evenly distributed through the pasta.
- Lay the sliced mozzarella over the top of the pasta.
- Place the pot in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use an oven safe pot from the start. A 3 quart stainless or enameled pan that boils and bakes is the whole one pot magic.
- Do not overcook the tortellini. Ten minutes on the stove leaves it slightly firm, the oven finishes the job without mush.
- Drain the fresh mozzarella well. Pat the slices dry so the top browns instead of steaming in its own water.
- Halve the tomatoes lengthwise. They hold their shape better and roast sweeter than crosswise coins.
- Broil the last 2 minutes for spots. A quick broil gives the mozzarella lid those golden pizza parlor blisters.
- Rest it 5 minutes before serving. The molten cheese settles just enough to serve in neat cheesy scoops.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Serve it straight from the pan at the table with a crisp green salad and garlic bread, the same treatment our spaghetti and meatballs night gets.
For company, start with a bright appetizer and let this bubbling pan be the centerpiece, it holds heat beautifully next to a ladle of our marinara sauce for the red sauce lovers.
Summer version: pair it with grilled chicken and eat outside, the caprese flavors match the season the way our pasta amatriciana owns the winter.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave with a teaspoon of water, or re bake the pan covered at 350 for 15 minutes. The pesto flavor actually deepens overnight.
Tortellini Bake FAQs
A tortellini bake is baked pasta night made easy, cooked cheese tortellini tossed with sauce and cheese, then baked until bubbly. This caprese version uses basil pesto, grape tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, and the whole thing happens in one oven safe pot in 30 minutes.
Yes for this recipe, a quick 10 minute boil cooks the pasta most of the way so the bake only needs 20 minutes to melt the cheese. Skipping the boil requires a liquid heavy sauce and much longer in the oven, which overcooks delicate tortellini.
Absolutely, boil frozen tortellini straight from the bag, just add 2 to 3 minutes to the cooking time until they float and are tender. Drain well and the rest of the recipe is identical, no thawing needed.
A good refrigerated basil pesto has the brightest flavor, though jarred shelf stable pesto absolutely works for pantry cooking. Feeling ambitious? Homemade pesto takes this from weeknight dinner to company worthy in the same 30 minutes.
Yes, assemble everything in the pot up to a day ahead, cover, and refrigerate without baking. Add about 10 extra minutes to the bake time since it starts cold. Leftovers also reheat beautifully for 3 days, making it a sneaky good meal prep dinner.
A crisp green salad with balsamic vinaigrette and warm garlic bread are the classic table mates, the salad cuts the richness and the bread mops the pesto. For a bigger spread, grilled chicken or Italian sausage on the side stretches it to feed a crowd.
Made this Tortellini Bake? Leave a comment and a star rating below, and tell me if your table went quiet too!
My ranch chicken pasta brings the same weeknight energy with a creamy ranch twist.
For another cheesy one pan bake, my broccoli gnocchi is ready in about 20 minutes.
Tortellini Bake
Ingredients
- 1 12 Oz package Barilla Collezione Tortellini
- 3/4 Cup Barilla Traditional Pesto Sauce
- 2 Cups fresh mozzarella divided half cubed, half sliced
- 1 Pint grape tomatoes cut in half length wise
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook pasta per the directions on the back of the bag for 10 minutes in an oven safe pot. I used a 3 quart pan that is safe to use on the stove and in the oven. Drain and add back to the pan, add the pesto and mix thoroughly. Add in the tomatoes and cubed mozzarella and mix thoroughly so they are evenly distributed with the pasta.
- Last, add on the sliced mozzarella, place in oven uncovered for 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
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