I made this Baked Tortellini Casserole earlier this week, and it was so delicious, I just had to share! This dish is really easy to put together, and it is packed with flavor. I made this in the afternoon when I had some down time and reheated it in the evening for dinner. It was so good! This would definitely make a great freezer meal, or a meal to deliver to a friend or loved one.
For this baked tortellini casserole, I used one large skillet and one casserole pan. I made a quick basic meat sauce with onions, garlic, ground beef and canned tomatoes. But instead of simmering and reducing the sauce, I combined the cheese and fresh uncooked tortellini, and let the entire mixture bake in the oven. Just be sure to keep it tightly covered with foil so it stays moist. The foil keeps the moisture in and cooks the tortellini as it bakes.
If you really love cheese, you could definitely go up to 4 cups. Or if you are trying to cut back, just 2 cups of cheese would work as well! You can see even more of my dinner ideas here.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 pound of lean ground beef 97/3
- Small yellow onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes crushed by hand
- 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 24 oz package of fresh cheese tortellini
- 3 cups of freshly grated mozzarella cheese
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Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil, until soft.
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Add ground beef and season with salt and pepper.
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Once beef is cooked through, stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce.
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Stir in uncooked, fresh tortellini and 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese.
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Transfer to casserole dish and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
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Cover tightly with foil and baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
For this recipe, I used Seven Cheese Olivieri Tortellini. It is absolutely delicious and I picked it up in the refrigerated section at Costco.
I’d love for you to keep up on my new projects and recipes. You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter. You can also find me on Pinterest, that’s my favorite place to hang out and I’d love to see you there.
5 Easy Dinner Ideas for Busy Weeknights
My five FAVORITE recipes for busy families!
- Quick to make
- Light on your budget
- Easy to clean-up
- and...most important...absolutely DELICIOUS
Angie S
October 19, 2013 at 7:53 amWe LOVE Tortellini and often use it in our Meatless Monday meals. I use quality jarred spaghetti sauce, several sauteed fresh veggies, a splash of red wine and then mix in the uncooked tort’s. Bake for half an hour, covered, top with cheese, return to oven until melted and enjoy with salad and bread. If we’re in a time crunch, I will sometimes just add a bag of frozen 3 Pepper and Onion mix with the tort’s and sauce, cover and cook and it never disappoints!
Richelle B
October 20, 2013 at 6:53 pmHey Melissa,
Thanks for this quick, delicious meal idea. I took your advice and used Costco Tortellini, but I substituted chicken instead of ground beef and added hot peppers and Italian seasonings. Dinner turned out totally awesome!! We dipped Garlic and Herb Crostini’s in our casserole instead of using bread!
Melissa
October 20, 2013 at 7:25 pmThat sounds like a great variation! Thanks for sharing!!!
Deborah
October 27, 2013 at 12:09 amI’m totally drooling over this!
Suzanne
November 4, 2013 at 3:52 pmI tried this tonight and it was so great! I followed the recipe exactly, but I did need to cook it a bit longer than 30 minutes, but probably because I used Pampered Chef stoneware.
Joy
November 4, 2013 at 7:24 pmPlanning to try this with Italian sausage instead of ground beef and will add basil and dried oregano plus crushed red pepper flakes instead of black pepper.
Melissa
November 5, 2013 at 9:58 amSounds delicious!
Autumn Ruckman
November 13, 2013 at 4:00 pmMaking your Baked Tortellini Casserole tonight and it went together so easily and smells wonderful baking in the oven. Thanks so much for a wonderful new idea to do with hamburger and totellini 🙂
Melissa
November 14, 2013 at 10:02 amThank you, Autumn! I hope you guys loved it!
Autumn Ruckman
November 14, 2013 at 10:33 amIt was delicious!! Will be making it a lot in the future!! Thanks so much!!
Rita
November 17, 2013 at 4:40 pmThank you for a great meal idea!! My family of six loved it!! It was so delicious. It was great that each family member loved it!
Trish
November 23, 2013 at 2:03 pmWas just wondering if it was possible to use frozen tortellini for this reciple?
Melissa
November 25, 2013 at 2:34 pmSure is!
Paige
December 3, 2013 at 3:04 pmIf using frozen , do we boil it before adding it to the casserole dish or do just like the recipe??
Melissa
December 23, 2013 at 7:25 amJust follow the recipe and add a few minutes to the cooking time.
Rene
December 9, 2013 at 7:52 amI plan to make this as a freezer meal to take to my friend who is pregnant and on bed rest. Do I cook it exactly as the recipe states? How long would she need to bake it from frozen? (I’m new to freezer meals)
Melissa
December 23, 2013 at 7:28 amJust cook and freeze prior to baking. I would just instruct her to bake until hot and bubbly. Times will vary depending on how frozen the dish is.
Beth
December 9, 2013 at 1:22 pmThis is probably a dumb question (sorry!) but if using frozen tortellini, should I cook it first or put it in frozen and bake it longer?
Melissa
December 23, 2013 at 7:23 amI think just an extra 5 minutes or so would work! Frozen tortellini thaw very quickly. It’s not a dumb question at all:0)
Corinne
December 13, 2013 at 7:21 pmMade this tonight when I had my mother-in-law and sister-in-law over. They both likes it a lot as did my husband and I! I added the Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper. I will definitely make it again and perhaps try the Italian sausage instead of hamburger! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Melissa
December 14, 2013 at 8:33 amI’m so glad you guys liked it! Thanks for letting me know:0)
GAIL JOHNSON
December 16, 2013 at 10:18 amHow would you convert this to a freezer meal? Prepare as directions then instead of putting in the oven, put in the freezer? When you were ready to cook it..would you thaw it first? Or bake from frozen? How long do you think it would take to bake from the frozen state? Thanks 🙂
Melissa
December 23, 2013 at 7:20 amTo prepare as a freezer meal, freeze prior to baking. You can either thaw and bake in the oven, or bake from frozen. Cooking times will vary depending on how cold the dish is starting out.
Hollow Morris
January 16, 2014 at 8:59 amMade thus for dinner a couple nights ago and it was delicious! I used a mixture of Italian sausage and loan ground beef. The sauce was perfect and overall a big hit in my house! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Laura R.
January 18, 2014 at 10:16 amThis was so quick & easy to put together. Thank you for a great go to recipe.
wanda h
January 25, 2014 at 7:13 amI tried this and it was great. I didnt have the fresh tortellni.so I used the frozen thawed out. It worked as well. Thanks!
Emily R
January 27, 2014 at 5:50 amMy husband and I made this dish last week for dinner. Directions were easy to follow and it was delicious. We decided instead of putting in the ground beef we would do Italian sausage and did multi colored tortellini to add a little color. We decided that we would totally make this in the future. Thanks for the quick and easy dinner idea.
morgan
March 11, 2014 at 5:08 pmI dont have fresh or frozen tortellini. I have a bag of barilla cheese tortellini from the pasta aisle so it’s uncooked and hard. Should I cook it a little before mixing it all together and finish it off in the oven? I dont want it coming out uncooked when everything else is hot and finished :\
Melissa
March 23, 2014 at 4:06 pmI haven’t tried the dried tortellini in this dish, so I would probably cook it beforehand as well. Let me know how it turns out!
Megan
April 8, 2014 at 8:07 pmHello Melissa,
I’m going to try this recipe tomorrow! How long did you leave the uncooked tortellini in the sauce for? Thanks!
Melissa
April 9, 2014 at 10:13 amJust mix it together and transfer it to your baking dish. The tortellini will cook as it bakes! Let me know how it turns out!
Meghan
May 5, 2014 at 8:54 amDid you use a 13×9 casserole dish?
Melissa
May 6, 2014 at 11:58 amYes, a 9×13 pan.
Anne
May 5, 2014 at 10:28 amMaking this for a luncheon. Can I put it all together the night before and then bake in the morning? Or should I put it all together in the morning?
Melissa
May 6, 2014 at 11:56 amHi Anne!
You could put it together the night before and bake it the next day to save time for sure!
Lynne
May 10, 2014 at 2:47 pmDo you drain the hamburger meat?
Melissa
May 14, 2014 at 9:05 amIf there is excess fat from the ground beef, I would go ahead and drain it. I usually use lean ground beef in this recipe, so the fat left behind is very minimal.
Natalie
August 17, 2014 at 8:55 pmHi, great recipe! I made from frozen tortellini, the time came for 50 minutes. Have a nice day!
Bina
August 20, 2014 at 8:09 amCan I omit the salt? I don’t cook with salt
Traci Ann
August 26, 2014 at 5:45 pmI’m making this right now… I didn’t have “fresh” tortellini, only frozen so I brought it to a boil “only” then drained; I hope it works out fine. Mine were the larger cheese tortellini “squares” I added some red bell pepper to my GB since we have it growing in the garden… There’s a wonderful smell coming from the oven.. Mmmm I can’t wait to eat it! 🙂
Fay
September 10, 2014 at 10:17 amCould you use a jar of Pasta Sauce instead of tomatoes and sauce? If so, would it be about one and a half jars? Thanks. This looks very good.
Melissa
September 14, 2014 at 7:50 amI haven’t tried with this recipe with jarred sauce, but let me know if you do. Thanks!
brenda
September 14, 2014 at 5:56 amFootball Sunday is here…I making this for today’s game!!! Looks yummy
Kate
January 24, 2015 at 6:30 amI am a college student and made this for my roommate and our boyfriends. I used ground turkey and a combination of both tortellini and ravioli. Since they were frozen, I cooked it for 35 minutes. I also used more sauce than you said, because I tend to like things a little more saucy. It turned out wonderfully! Everyone loved it and I can’t wait to eat the leftovers another night! Thank you!
Joan V. Sanborn
April 15, 2015 at 4:25 pmExcellent~*~ Wonderful, easy peasy meal to throw together. I mixed it up a bit, and included Italian sausage 🙂 Good Stuff Maynard 🙂
Bailey
September 8, 2015 at 9:25 pmThe servings says yields 8-10, what about 8 college boys? I am thinking I should double the recipe..
Melissa
September 11, 2015 at 9:26 amOh yes, always double for college boys:0)
Krystal
November 6, 2015 at 7:45 pmYum, Can’t wait to try this!
Kelli Hagedorn
January 13, 2016 at 6:21 amI am new to freezer meals….do I follow all of the directions and instead of putting it into the oven to cook, just put it into the freezer? Thanks!
Melissa
February 15, 2016 at 8:24 pmThat’s correct. Right into the freezer!
Shawna
February 7, 2016 at 10:01 amHow does the cheese fair when the casserole is frozen and then thawed?
Melissa
February 15, 2016 at 8:20 pmCheese freezes well!
Melanie
February 11, 2016 at 8:47 amThis recipe was amazing. I make it regularly now with a fee modifications. I add 1lbs of Italian sausage usually spicy but mild works. I also add mushrooms and another cup of cheese. It usually will only fit in a lasagna pan at that point. I also cook the meat with my fresh made sofrito and add some adobo for seasoning. But that’s just personal taste.
Melissa
February 12, 2016 at 3:42 pmSounds yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Jody Russell
November 6, 2016 at 4:43 pmDelicious and so fast & easy to prepare! Thanks for sharing.
Jim Sabatell
November 10, 2016 at 7:28 amI am going to make this tonight. But instead of using Lean Ground beef I am using Lean Ground Turkey ( a bit more healthy) . I am also going to add mushrooms and a small can of fire roasted tomatoes.
Ann
January 28, 2019 at 6:50 pmThis recipe is DELICIOUS!! I made it using a hybrid of frozen and dry packaged tortellini. My boys kept going back for more! I admit that I “sampled” a lot before bringing it to the dinner table! It is perfect comfort food and perfect for a cold or rainy night. I also have to add that your crockpot chicken burrito bowl is also one of our family’s favorites. It is AMAZING! Thank you Melissa for these fantastic recipes and making me look like a rock star when my boys are hungry! XOXO!