EASY Baked Tortellini (Beefy, Cheesy, AMAZING!)
Baked Tortellini is an easy, comforting recipe loaded with cheese tortellini, ground beef, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese for an effortless pasta dinner that the whole family will love!
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If you're a fan of easy Italian-inspired dinners, you'll also love Stuffed Shells with Meat, 20-Minute Tortellini Lasagna Soup, and Crockpot Meatball Subs!
Does anyone else ever get stuck in a dinner rut? Well, this beefy, cheesy Baked Tortellini is here to save you the next time that happens!
As a food blogger, you may think that's a problem I would never encounter. After all, I'm working on recipes every week. I have a whole archive of family favorites. And as part of my job, I spend an inordinate amount of time pinning recipes on Pinterest (incidentally, have I mentioned how much I love my job?). 😉
Nevertheless, despite being immersed in all of this great recipe inspiration, sometimes I flat-out don't know what to make for dinner. And on those occasions, I open the freezer, stare inside, and hope that something speaks to me.
This exact scenario played out a few weeks ago and, frantically flagging me down from the freezer shelf -- between a bag of peas and a box of chicken breasts -- was a package of cheese tortellini. And it was squawking, "Turn me into something good!"
Okay, so maybe it didn't exactly happen that way.
Maybe the frozen cheese tortellini was simply sitting there, as cheese tortellini typically does, and I randomly had the bright idea to substitute it for noodles in a spaghetti-esque tortellinii bake.
So that's exactly what I did. Say hello to my delicious version of Baked Tortellini, loaded with just a few simple ingredients for a comforting, hearty dinner!
Dinner doesn't get much more effortless than pasta + sauce, y'all.
But actually it does, because for this Baked Tortellini, I didn't even have to dirty another pot by boiling the tortellini separately. I simply ran it under some warm water in a colander before adding it to the meat sauce and then everything cooked up all together in the oven.
If that's not the definition of easy peasy, I'm not sure what is.
And as a bonus, the kids loved this tortellini bake. Pasta and cheese and a beefy tomato sauce (plus optional hidden veggies, to boot)...how can you go wrong?!
Ingredients
Simple ingredients combine for maximum deliciousness!
- Ground beef. Feel free to swap in ground turkey or Italian sausage for the ground beef.
- Garlic. I always add extra. 😉
- Seasonings. Specifically, garlic powder, dried basil, parsley, oregano, and thyme (or you can substitute Italian seasoning), crushed red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.
- Marinara sauce. Use your favorite jarred pasta sauce or even Homemade Marinara if you're lucky enough to have some on hand.
- Cheese tortellini. I always keep a bag of frozen tortellini in the freezer, but scroll down for instructions on how to incorporate fresh or dried tortellini instead.
- Grated cheese. Both mozzarella and Parmesan make this Baked Tortellini extra cheesy!
How to Make Baked Tortellini
- Preheat the oven and grease a baking dish.
- Pour frozen tortellini into a colander and run under warm water for a minute to slightly thaw it, then drain.
- In a large pot set over medium heat, cook the ground beef and garlic until nicely browned. Drain any grease.
- Season the cooked beef with dried herbs and spices, including crushed red pepper flakes, if desired, and salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Stir marinara into the ground beef and then add the drained cheese tortellini.
- Stir gently to combine.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in half of the grated mozzarella.
- Transfer the tortellini with meat sauce and cheese into the prepared baking dish.
- Top with the remaining grated mozzarella and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.
- Cover with foil and pop into the oven for 20 minutes. Then uncover and bake for about 20 minutes more until hot and bubbly!
Ta-daaa! Baked Tortellini fit for a king!
Or a ravenous and/or picky family...whichever fits your scenario. 🙂
Subbing Different Types of Cheese Tortellini
So you're ready to make Baked Tortellini. But what if the cheese tortellini that you have on hand isn't frozen? What if it's packaged (dry) or refrigerated instead?
- If your tortellini is in a package from the pasta aisle, boil it per the directions on the bag until al dente, and then proceed with this recipe as directed.
- If your tortellini is refrigerated, that's basically the same as frozen tortellini that's been thawed under warm running water (which is what this recipe calls for). So you shouldn't have to change anything at all!
Variations
This simple tortellini bake is easy to change up to your liking!
- Saute half an onion until translucent (before adding and browning the ground beef).
- To up the vitamin intake of your Baked Tortellini, you can even get sneaky and add some finely grated zucchini (or other veggies) to the meat sauce using my favorite method for hiding veggies in a recipe. But shhhh...just don't tip off my kids (or my hubby) that I do this! 😉
- Or, if you're feeling less sneaking, stir in some baby spinach (and let it wilt) before transferring the beef/sauce/tortellini mixture to the baking dish.
- Swap half of the marinara for alfredo for a creamier sauce.
- Incorporate fresh herbs instead of dried, keeping in mind that dried herbs are about three times more potent than fresh...so you'll need to use three times the amount of fresh herbs as compared to dried.
Just because I try to cook plenty o' things from scratch doesn't mean that I don't keep a few all-natural pantry and freezer staples on hand for quick dinners when I'm otherwise lacking inspiration. And as a result, this Baked Tortellini is one of those perfect meals for when you're short on time and ingredients but you still want to throw together something that everyone will enjoy!
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to hop on Pinterest (or stare into the freezer) and try to figure out what I'm making for dinner tomorrow...and the next day...and the next...
More Pasta Favorites
- 30-Minute Skillet Lasagna
- One-Pot Spaghetti
- Cheeseburger Macaroni (Homemade Hamburger Helper)
- Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
- Easy Baked Gnocchi (One-Pan!)
- Five Cheese Ziti al Forno
Easy Baked Tortellini (Beefy, Cheesy, AMAZING!)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (24-ounce) jar marinara/pasta sauce
- 1 (22-ounce) package frozen cheese tortellini
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 3-quart baking dish and set aside.
- In a large pot set over medium heat, brown ground beef and garlic until meat is no longer pink, breaking it up and stirring frequently. Drain fat. Season meat with garlic powder, dried basil, dried parsley, dried oregano, dried thyme, crushed red pepper flakes (if desired), and salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Stir pasta sauce into cooked ground beef. Pour frozen tortellini into a colander and run under warm water for a minute to slightly thaw. Drain and stir tortellini into meat sauce.
- Remove pot from heat and stir in half of the grated mozzarella. Transfer tortellini/meat sauce into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining grated mozzarella and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly.
Equipment Needed
- 3-quart Baking Dish I love this beautiful baking dish!
Notes
- If you have fresh herbs, feel free to substitute them for the dried herbs (and you may use three times the amount of fresh herbs, since fresh herbs aren't as potent as dried).
- If desired, you can add some grated veggies to the meat sauce using this method.
- You may substitute refrigerated cheese tortellini for (thawed) frozen tortellini without otherwise changing the recipe.
- If you wish to use dried tortellini, you will need to boil and drain it (according to package directions) first before adding it to this Baked Tortellini recipe.
Nutrition
Post originally published on February 15, 2015, and updated on September 2, 2020, March 6, 2021, and October 16, 2023.
Family loved it. I did use italian mild sausage instead of beef, but the seasonings and everything were delish! Thank you for sharing♡
can this be made the day before and bake it the next day?
Yes! 🙂
This came out great! To make it a little saucier (my refrigerated tortellini was soaking it all up), I used a little water from rinsing out the sauce jar. I added a good amount of salt and made sure to taste the mix before putting it in the oven. Oh, I didn't have ground beef, but I had Italian sausage and that worked out perfectly. My whole crew loved it! Thanks so much for the tasty, easy recipe!
Made this dish 2xs now..what a treat for sure comfort food..added extra cheese to topping then low broiled at end of cook time till toasty. was and is delish..good stuff❣️
Your "nutrition" list says this is 578 calories and 1305 mg Sodium. That's more Sodium than my entire daily allowance! Or is that for the whole potful?
Hi Michael! The nutrition calculations are for one serving and they're just estimates based on the general ingredients used in the recipe. You should definitely take your personal nutrition allowances into account when making any recipe. For this one, you can try to buy low-sodium marinara, tortellini, etc. to have more control over the total sodium, but cheese generally isn't low in sodium and this recipe contains a good bit of cheese. 🙂
Has anyone tried making this delicioius sounding recipe with refrigerated 5 Cheese Totrellini - the kind sold by Costco? One reviewer mentioned it tasted similar to lasagne without all the fuss and that was the hook for me! LOL
I think that would work just fine, Susan! Maybe just reduce the baking time a bit. 🙂
Has anyone made this using veggie beef crumbles? Impossible or Beyond or Morningstar? I have a vegetarian friend, and I’d like to make one main dish to suit everyone. TY
As of right now, I’m making this for tonight‘s dinner🥰🥰🥰
I made this recipe a few years ago and it was a huge hit with my family. And I loved how easy it was. But the youtuber who posted it abruptly disappeared one day leaving no videos behind so I lost all the recipes that we loved. Until today when I spotted this video labeled beefy cheesy tortellini bake which was what she called it. Thank you so much for posting. I wrote it down this time!! Can't wait to try more of your recipes!
We were looking forward to this recipe but unfortunately, it was a disappointment because all we tasted was garlic meaning the tomato flavor from the sauce and two cheeses were lost. As it baked, that’s all we could smell, too. It just wasn’t enjoyable but we made our way through it. Worse, the next day when our kids came over, they told us we reeked of garlic as we exhaled. IF I make this again, I’ll be sticking with our favorite store bought marinara sauce — Rao’s Tomato Basil — and the garlic in that will be great without crowding out all other flavors. We also won’t be offensive around others the next day when we exhale.
So sorry to hear that, Kari! My family has never noticed this recipe being overly garlicky, but you can certainly cut back on or eliminate the garlic altogether if that's your preference.
Kari, you're a trip girl. nobody asked you to make this. If you don't like garlic, leave it out, likewise, if you don't like beef then leave it out.
I added garlic, and still didn't notice it. I added olive oil and broth. I took the foundation that this lovely lady provided us adults in her recipe, and altered it for our family.
Thank you, Samantha, for posting a delicious recipe.
My husband said this baked tortellini was better than lasagna but it was so much easier to make. It will be going on our regular dinner rotation. Thank you!
This was so yummy. I already had all of the ingredients to make it. A new family favorite!
This was so good and very easy to make. My kids loved it. Everyone went back for seconds and we didn't have any leftovers, which is a rarity at our house!