Easy Italian Sausage Tortellini (2024)

This Italian Sausage Tortellini Skillet recipe is packed with tender tortellini, luscious tomato sauce, flavor-filled Italian Sausage and lots of wholesome veggies. It is the perfect crowd pleasing recipe that kids love as much as adults! But the best part is how quick and easy it is to make!

Easy One Skillet Italian Sausage Tortellini

My oldest son is starting to really enjoy food, and his two favorites are tortellini and this homemade alfredo sauce.

I have made tortellini many ways, but this recipe is definitely one of the best. It is packed with sausage and rich tomato sauce which he loves, but it packs in tons (and tons) of veggies which I love!

Plus, if you don’t prefer one of the veggies, or have other veggies in your fridge you need to use, this recipe is adaptable for that too!

How to Serve Italian Sausage Tortellini

This is a classic pasta dish so it goes well with your Italian favorites, but with it having pasta, cheese, meat, and all the veggies, this can be a one and done, kind of dinner as well since it is plenty filling on it’s own.

Sides to Serve with Tortellini

• Salad with Creamy Italian dressing
• Garlic Bread
• Roasted veggies
• Spinach and Artichoke dip

Hopefully this get’s you on your way to a filling meal! If you have another dish you love to serve this with, let me know in the comments. I would love to give it a try!

Tips for Making Italian Sausage Tortellini

This dish is quick, easy, and packed with flavor. The best part though is that it is all made in just one skillet, which means easy prep and even easier clean up!

I am going to walk through some tips below to make this recipe even better, but make sure to hop down to the FULL recipe card at the bottom of this post as well.

1. In a large skillet, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat, stirring and breaking up as you cook.
   • Make sure you are using the biggest skillet you have. This dinner will all end up in this skillet by the time we finish, so bigger is better!
   • You can find Italian Sausage near the breakfast sausage in most grocery stores. I usually buy the Johnsonville brand, which is sold in 1 lb packages. This is not sausage links, but on a meat tray.
2. Remove the sausage from the skillet and cook the onions and carrots in the grease from the sausage until the onions are translucent and the carrots are soft. Stir in the pressed garlic.
   • You will want to make sure the carrots are chopped finely. Since carrots are so dense, they need to be cut small to cook quickly.
3. Add the marinara sauce, broth, Italian sausage, and salt and stir to combine.
   • You can use chicken or vegetable broth in lieu of beef broth if you don’t have it on hand.
4. Stir in the tortellini and continue to cook over medium heat. Once the sauce starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low, place the lid on the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes.
   • Do not pre-cook the tortellini! You will want to dump it in frozen from the bag. It will soak the extra liquid from the broth up as it cooks.
   • This will also work with fresh tortellini from the refrigerated section, but may not need to cook as long.
5. After 5 minutes remove the lid, turn the heat back to medium and stir in the spinach. Continue to cook for 3-5 more minutes until the spinach has wilted, the tortellini is soft and the sauce is thick.
   • This step just allows the spinach to wilt and sauce to finish thickening. Continue to stir the spinach in and it should wilt pretty quickly.
6. Remove from heat and top with parmesan cheese. Serve hot. Enjoy!
   • You can use grated or shredded parmesan for this dish, but I prefer the grated. It helps the sauce to thicken and adds to the flavor without being stringy or overly cheesy.
   • If you love cheese though, I recommend sprinkling some additional mozzarella over the top to melt at the end. It is something my kids really love!

Italian Sausage Tortellini – FAQ’s

Can I use other types of tortellini to make this?

Yes! I make this dish with frozen cheese tortellini, but if you prefer beef, spinach or other varieties, they will all work well.

You can also use fresh tortellini from the refrigerated section of the grocery store, this may not need to cook quite as long as the frozen tortellini, so keep an eye on it.

I don’t like…. Can I substitute the vegetables?

This recipe is very adaptable and can be changed to use whatever veggies you prefer or have on hand. We make it with the veggies listed, but if you don’t like onions, or your kids won’t eat spinach, feel free to just leave them out.

Also, if you have extra veggies in the fridge, you can add them to this recipe as well. This goes well with squash, zucchini, sweet peas, bell peppers etc.

How do I save the leftovers?

Italian Sausage Tortellini is a great dish because not only does it taste great when you make it, but leftovers also save and reheat well.

To save leftovers, package them in an airtight container and store it in the:

• Refrigerator for 3-4 days
• Freezer for up to 1 month

Reheat leftovers in a microwave safe dish by heating in 30 second increments, stirring in between until heated through.

Do you have more EASY weeknight dinners?

I have many! If you enjoyed this Italian Sausage Tortellini Skillet, I would love for you to try more of my recipes! Here are a few of our favorites:

• Cajun Chicken Pasta
• Cheesy Taco Skillet
• Spinach and Artichoke Baked Chicken
• Garlic Steak Skillet
• Cheeseburger Pasta
• or see all of our EASY Skillet Dinners here!

Leave a Reply

1. Lacy Berry

   June 27, 2024

   
   So easy and all 4 kids loved it!! Will make again and again. Thank you!

   Reply

2. Krystle

   April 4, 2023

   
   So good so simple but with good depth of flavor. Only change I make is that I slice up my spinach finely so that it’s easier for my kids to eat.

   Reply

3. Brenna Thoma

   April 22, 2022

   
   Made this today. Was a big hit. Will be making again, at her request, for my mom for Mother’s Day. Thank you so much for a fantastic recipe!!

   Reply

4. Lesley Forte

   February 9, 2022

   
   I love, love, LOVE this recipe and so does my family, including my 5 year old who “doesn’t like warm carrots.” Little does she know. 🙂

   Reply

5. Lindsay Humphreys

   August 2, 2021

   
   This is maybe the 4th or 5th time I’ve made this recipe – my whole family LOVES it! Easy, healthy & DELICIOUS. Thank you!!

   Reply