Creamy Tortellini With Spinach tosses tortellini in a creamy tomato sauce with spinach, Parmesan cheese, garlic and tender cherry tomatoes.

From the recipe collection of Tara Ippolito

Creamy tortellini with spinach is one of those easy dinners that tastes like you put way more effort into it than you actually did. The cheesy tortellini and creamy tomato sauce make this feel like pure comfort food.

I also love that the spinach gets tossed right into the sauce at the end. It adds some color and freshness while still keeping this recipe rich, creamy and absolutely delicious.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Easy To Make – Everything comes together quickly with simple ingredients.
Incredibly Creamy – Heavy cream and Parmesan make the tomato sauce rich and velvety.
Family Friendly – Cheesy tortellini and creamy tomato sauce are always a great combination.
A Complete meal – With pasta, tomatoes and spinach all together, you really don’t need much on the side.

Ingredients

Here is everything you’ll need to make this delicious recipe. You can find the full ingredients list along with measurements and instructions on the recipe card below.

Cheese Tortellini – Refrigerated cheese tortellini makes this recipe especially quick and easy.
Pasta Water - Adds flavor and helps to loosen the sauce.
Butter – Used to sauté the onion and garlic and adds richness to the sauce.
Onion – Adds great savory flavor to the base of the sauce.
Garlic – Fresh garlic gives the creamy tomato sauce tons of flavor.
Cherry Tomatoes – Cooked down until soft and juicy to create the fresh tomato base.
Tomato Paste – Deepens the tomato flavor and helps balance the richness of the heavy cream.
Heavy Cream – Makes the sauce smooth, rich and creamy.
Parmesan Cheese – Adds salty, nutty flavor and helps thicken the sauce.
Fresh Spinach – Wilts right into the sauce and adds freshness and color.
Italian Seasoning – Adds classic Italian flavor.
Garlic Powder – Gives the sauce another layer of garlic flavor.
Salt and Pepper – Enhances all of the flavors in the dish.

How To Make It

Here is everything you’ll need to make this delicious recipe. You can find the full ingredients list along with measurements and instructions on the recipe card below.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the cherry tomatoes and season them with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Cook the tomatoes for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to break down. Gently press some of the tomatoes with the back of a spoon to release their juices.

Diced onion and Cherry tomatoes blistered in skillet

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another minute or two. Lower the heat and stir in the heavy cream until everything is well combined. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until it has melted into the sauce.

heavy cream, tomato paste and parmesan cheese stirred into skillet

Add the chopped spinach and stir until it has wilted into the sauce. Add the cooked tortellini and pasta water and gently toss everything together until the pasta is completely coated. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve warm with extra Parmesan cheese on top, if desired.

spinach and tortellini added to skillet — Screenshot

Pro Tips

Let the tomatoes cook down. Give them enough time to soften and release their juices before adding the cream. This is where a lot of the sauce’s flavor comes from.
Cook the tomato paste briefly. Letting it cook for a minute or two before adding the cream helps deepen its flavor.
Keep the heat low after adding the cream. You want the sauce to gently simmer rather than aggressively boil.
Add the Parmesan before the spinach. This gives the cheese a chance to melt smoothly into the sauce before the spinach is added.
Save a little pasta water. If the sauce gets thicker than you’d like, a splash of pasta water will loosen it without watering down the flavor.

Variations

Add Chicken – Sliced grilled or sautéed chicken would make this even heartier.
Add Italian Sausage – Browned sweet or spicy Italian sausage would be delicious in the creamy tomato sauce.
Make It Spicy – Add crushed red pepper flakes with the seasonings for a little heat.
Change The Tortellini – Try spinach and cheese, three-cheese or another favorite refrigerated tortellini.
Add More Vegetables – Mushrooms or roasted red peppers would both work nicely here.

What to Serve With This

This tortellini is rich enough to be a meal all on its own, but garlic bread is perfect for soaking up any extra creamy tomato sauce. A simple green salad or roasted vegetables would also be great on the side.

Storage & Reheating

Store leftover creamy tortellini with spinach in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat it gently on the stovetop or in the microwave. The sauce will thicken as it sits, so add a small splash of cream, milk or water while reheating to loosen it back up.

Because this is a cream-based sauce, I don’t recommend freezing it. The sauce can separate once it’s thawed and reheated.

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