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This tortelloni pasta could not be tastier paired with tomato cream sauce! The rich, tangy sauce pairs perfectly with the pillowy filled pasta—made in just 30 minutes.
Got tortelloni? Turns out, this pasta shape is often mistaken for tortellini—it’s the larger of the two and delightfully tender, with a generous gooey filling. When in doubt, I always buy tortelloni!
Here’s my favorite way to serve this satisfying pasta—with a tangy, garlicky tomato sauce, with a touch of richness from a hint of cream. It’s a great way to make it into a tasty vegetarian dinner or easy side dish. This one is always a huge hit with all of my friends and family (especially my kids)!
What is tortelloni?
It’s easy to grab a package of tortelloni pasta and mistake it for the smaller pasta shape. What is tortelloni vs tortellini?
- Tortelloni is a pasta shape that is larger than tortellini with a filled center. Tortellini is smaller and ring shaped, with a hole in the middle. In traditional Italian cooking, tortelloni filling is vegetarian whereas tortellini often has meat. Tortellini is also often served in broth, whereas tortelloni is served with creamy sauces.
- Where to find it? Tortelloni is easy to find the refrigerated section at your local grocery. It’s usually not available dried or frozen (though you can find tortellini dried and frozen).
- How to tell the difference quickly? Tortellini has a hole in the middle, tortelloni has a solid center that encloses the filling.
Ways to serve tortelloni: sauces, soups and more
Tortelloni is my preference over tortellini because it’s larger and more substantial. It’s great for serving with creamy sauces, whereas the smaller pasta shape can get lost. Here are some of my favorite ways to eat tortelloni:
- Tomato sauce: Tortelloni works well with marinara sauce or tomato cream sauce.
- Cream sauce: Try garlic butter sauce, white wine sauce or parmesan cream sauce.
- Pesto sauce: Swirl the pasta in pesto cream sauce or make pesto tortellini.
- Soup: Add a basil-scented tomato broth for tortelloni soup.
- Pasta salad: Use tortelloni for a simple tortellini salad.
- Baked: Make this easy cheesy baked tortellini.
Tips for the tomato sauce
This tomato cream sauce is a simple, delicious way to serve tortelloni. It’s like a vodka sauce, but instead of slow cooking it for hours you can whip it up in just 30 minutes.
- Find best quality canned tomatoes. Pick fire roasted tomatoes if you can: the flavor is sweet and developed right out of the can. Or look for San Marzano, an Italian variety of tomato with a sweet flavor. If you can’t find either, just use the best quality canned tomatoes you can find.
- Use fennel seeds. It’s my secret flavor weapon, adding hearty, meaty flavor that can’t be replicated.
- Simmer until thickened. This should take between 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the brand of tomatoes. Longer is always better, if you have the time!
Make it a meal—side dishes for tortelloni
Whip up a pan of this tortelloni and you’re on your way to a delicious meal! You can serve it as a meatless main, or a side dish in part of a larger spread. Alex and I served it as a side dish for salmon in a meal al fresco, and all our guests raved! Here are a few more ideas for making it into a meal:
- Broccoli: Serve it with pan fried broccoli or roasted broccoli.
- Green beans: Try sauteed green beans or roasted green beans.
- Asparagus: Make broiled asparagus or roasted asparagus
- Greens: Mix up leafy greens like sauteed kale, sauteed rainbow chard or sauteed spinach.
- Salads: Pair it with goat cheese salad, arugula salad, spring mix salad, Italian salad or chopped salad.
Dietary notes
This tortelloni recipe is vegetarian. For gluten-free, use gluten free tortelloni.
Tortelloni in Creamy Marinara
This tortelloni pasta could not be tastier paired with tomato cream sauce! The rich, tangy sauce pairs perfectly with the pillowy filled pasta—made in just 30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian inspired
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 18 ounces refrigerated cheese tortelloni*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 28 ounce crushed tomatoes (fire roasted if possible)
- 1 ½ tablespoons (double concentrated) tomato paste or 3 tablespoons normal tomato paste
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 yellow onion, peeled
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Fresh ground black pepper
- To serve: Parmesan cheese, fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- Make the sauce: Mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant and the garlic is golden (do not allow to brown). Turn the heat to medium low. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, ¼ cup of the heavy cream, the half onion, and the salt. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes until the sauce is thickened. When thickened, remove the half onion and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons heavy cream.
- Cook the pasta: Start a large pot of well-salted water to boil. Boil the pasta until al dente according to the package instructions (usually around 2 minutes).
- Serve: When the sauce is done, add the pasta to the skillet. Top with Parmesan shavings and fresh basil, if desired.
Try it in these tortellini recipes
Can you use tortellini in this tortelloni recipe? Absolutely! These pasta types are easy to swap. You can also use tortelloni in these tasty tortellini recipes:
Making this for dinner tonight…
I am not “a cook” per se, but I LOVE to EAT your recipes, so I stretch myself.
Two questions on this particular recipe.
When should I add the oregano along with the salt and do I just place the entire half onion (all connected, not chopped or sliced or anything) in with the sauce while it thickens?
That’s what did…hoping it’s right, but would love clarification.
Thank you!!
Hi there, tortellini are to be served in brodo (soup), this is how it’s severed in Emilia (Italia). For tomato sauce etc. you use ravioli or Tortelloni.
Cheers Renato
Erm… “When thickened, remove the half onion”…? Ain’t nobody got time for that…
My kids could eat this every day! It was super easy, flavorful…perfect!