Name: Baked Tortellini with Sausage
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Baked Tortellini:; 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil; 1 lb. ground Italian sausage (I use a mild one for my kids, but spicy would be delicious); 2–3 carrots, chopped; 2–3 stalks of celery, chopped; 1 yellow onion, minced; 3 large cloves garlic, minced; 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed; 1 25-ish ounce jar of tomato sauce OR a can of San Marzano tomatoes; 10–15 ounces of refrigerated cheese tortellini; 1 1/2 – 2 cups chicken broth; 2 cups baby spinach, torn; To Go On Top:; 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan; finely chopped parsley; For Serving:; this garlic bread

Brown the sausage: Heat a very large oven-safe skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and the sausage; break apart with a wooden spoon and brown until it’s got some nice color. Transfer to a bowl and drain out any of the oil that you don’t want (I usually drain off about a tablespoon, leaving a tablespoon in the pan).

Sauté the veggies: If you’ve got some browning on the bottom of your pan – great. Add the veggies and they should start to pull up some of that yummy brown flavor. Add the fennel seeds. Cook until the veggies are fragrant and soft – you can add a bit of salt or oil if you’re feeling chefy. Then add the sausage back in.

Add everything else: Add your tomato sauce, your tortellini, and 1 cup of broth. The pan will be full. Let it come to a low simmer and cook for 5 minutes or so to cook the tortellini. If you need more liquid to cook the tortellini, go ahead and add some or all of the remaining broth. Sometimes I just pop a lid on and leave it for a while on low heat.

Spinach and cheese: Give it a taste – if you used canned tomatoes instead of a jar of sauce, it will probably need some salt. Add the spinach and stir it in until it wilts. Top the whole thing with the mozzarella cheese and pop it into the oven at 375 for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melty.

Finish: Sprinkle some grated parm on top along with some chopped parsley, and dunk into that baby with some chunks of garlic bread. SO GOOD.

Notes

Package sizes for tortellini range between 10-20 ounces, and the amount of tortellini you add here can be dependent on your pan size – I can never fit a full 20, but sometimes I feel like I can fit a little more than 10? Basically… it’s flexible. Grab a package of tortellini and fit what you can in there.

In the photos above, I’m using a3 quart All Clad sauté pan. If you have doubts about the size of your pan being big enough, I would suggest just sizing up into a Dutch oven or similar so you don’t run out of room!

Baked Tortellini with Sausage

Ingredients