Baked Tortellini – this easy cheesy baked casserole is made with fresh tortellini and a quick homemade meat sauce.
Baked Tortellini
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. 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.
Baked Tortellini Tips
- Look for fresh refrigerated tortellini in the deli section of the supermarket.
- You can use your favorite jarred sauce in this recipe. Just substitute the jarred sauce for the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning. Adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- This reheats very well, so it’s perfect for making ahead.
- You can reduce or add extra cheese to taste depending on what you have on hand.
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.
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Originally Published October 18, 2013
Updated March 31st, 2020
Baked Tortellini - this quick and cheesy baked casserole is made with fresh tortellini and a quick homemade meat sauce.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 pound of lean ground beef 97/3
- 1 Small onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes crushed by hand
- 8 oz can of tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 24 oz package of fresh cheese tortellini
- 3 cups of freshly grated mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, sautee onions in olive oil until soft. Add garlic and cook for addtional minute.
Add ground beef and brown.
Once beef is cooked through, stir in crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Season with salt, pepper and italian seasoning.
- Stir in uncooked, fresh tortellini and 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese.
- Transfer to casserole dish and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
Cover tightly with foil and baked at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
The original recipe did not call for Italian Seasoning.Â
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We 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!
Hey 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!
That sounds like a great variation! Thanks for sharing!!!
I’m totally drooling over this!
I 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.
Planning 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.
Sounds delicious!
Can I use Vodka sauce?
That sounds great!
Making 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 🙂
Thank you, Autumn! I hope you guys loved it!
It was delicious!! Will be making it a lot in the future!! Thanks so much!!
Thank 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!
Was just wondering if it was possible to use frozen tortellini for this reciple?
Sure is!
If using frozen , do we boil it before adding it to the casserole dish or do just like the recipe??
Just follow the recipe and add a few minutes to the cooking time.
I 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)
Just 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.
This 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?
I think just an extra 5 minutes or so would work! Frozen tortellini thaw very quickly. It’s not a dumb question at all:0)
Made 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! 🙂
I’m so glad you guys liked it! Thanks for letting me know:0)
How 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 🙂
To 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.
Made 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 🙂
This was so quick & easy to put together. Thank you for a great go to recipe.
I tried this and it was great. I didnt have the fresh tortellni.so I used the frozen thawed out. It worked as well. Thanks!
My 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.
I 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 :\
I 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!
Hello Melissa,
I’m going to try this recipe tomorrow! How long did you leave the uncooked tortellini in the sauce for? Thanks!
Just mix it together and transfer it to your baking dish. The tortellini will cook as it bakes! Let me know how it turns out!
Did you use a 13×9 casserole dish?
Yes, a 9×13 pan.
Making 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?
Hi Anne!
You could put it together the night before and bake it the next day to save time for sure!
Do you drain the hamburger meat?
If 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.
Lynne, that was my question too (drain meat) so thanks for asking!
Hi, great recipe! I made from frozen tortellini, the time came for 50 minutes. Have a nice day!
Can I omit the salt? I don’t cook with salt
I’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! 🙂
Could 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.
I haven’t tried with this recipe with jarred sauce, but let me know if you do. Thanks!
Football Sunday is here…I making this for today’s game!!! Looks yummy
I 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!
Excellent~*~ Wonderful, easy peasy meal to throw together. I mixed it up a bit, and included Italian sausage 🙂 Good Stuff Maynard 🙂
The servings says yields 8-10, what about 8 college boys? I am thinking I should double the recipe..
Oh yes, always double for college boys:0)
Yum, Can’t wait to try this!
I 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!
That’s correct. Right into the freezer!
How does the cheese fair when the casserole is frozen and then thawed?
Cheese freezes well!
This 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.
Sounds yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Delicious and so fast & easy to prepare! Thanks for sharing.
I 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.
This is my go-to meal when taking dinner to friends who have had surgery, a new baby, etc. And I always double it to keep one for my family! Thank you for a great and easy recipe.
This 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!
This was the perfect dinner recipe, my family enjoyed it.
This looks so cheesy and amazing. I just love a good red sauce, noodles and cheese. My kids love it too. The best part is that I know the leftovers will be even better!
This was so easy to make and everyone loved it. It really took all the stress out of supper time!