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This Italian Sausage & Tortellini Skillet is a quick and delicious meal that cooks all in one pan using just five ingredients. It’s an easy weeknight meal that your entire family will be begging you to make over and over again!
We love Italian Sausage recipes because they pack a ton of flavor into a single meal, like Spicy Italian Sausage Dip, Tortellini Soup, or Italian Sausage Meatballs. This Italian Sausage & Tortellini Skillet is no exception!
Why We Love This Recipe
One Pan Meals are the kind of dinners you need in your weeknight recipe arsenal. They are quick, they are easy, and if you’re grabbing them from my site, I can guarantee they’re delicious!
This easy Italian Sausage and Tortellini Skillet meal is fast to prepare and so delicious. It’s a quick meal to get on the table when you’re in a hurry. With a quick prep of just 5-10 minutes, and a cook time of just 15 minutes, you’ll have dinner on the table in no time.
The tortellini is tender and flavorful, with an extra boost from being cooked right in the sauce. The sausage gives a nice savory, salty, or even spicy bite that compliments the creamy cheese. The leftovers are amazing, too!
There are just 5 simple ingredients, and it only takes about 30 minutes to make. Ground beef can be used instead of sausage but we love the flavors of ground Italian sausage with the tender cheesy pasta.
Ingredients
- Italian Sausage – Ground Italian Sausage is so flavorful. You can use sausage links and just remove the casings if you like.
- Refrigerated Tortellini – I always buy a few packages of refrigerated tortellini in my freezer so I can pull them out just for this recipe. You can usually find this in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. I have not tested with dry tortellini, but I’m sure it would work just with a little extra cook time.
- Marinara – I keep a few jars of marinara sauce on hand at all times for a quick meal. But if I’m feeling a little extra I’ll whip up a batch of my Homemade Marinara Sauce or Homemade Spaghetti Sauce.
- Onion + Garlic – Sauteed with the sausage for added flavor.
- Water or Broth – I usually just opt for water but beef broth would add an extra flavor boost.
How To Make One Pan Italian Sausage and Tortellini
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Cook the Sausage. Start by cooking Italian Sausage with onions and garlic until the sausage is no longer pink. Use a wooden spoon to crumble the sausage as it cooks. Drain any extra grease from the skillet and return the sausage to the pan.
Add Sauce and Simmer. Add spaghetti sauce, water, seasonings, and tortellini to the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and cook for 7-8 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
Add Cheese and Broil. Remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. There are two methods for melting the cheese – cover and melt or broil. My favorite is under the broiler where you get those lovely crunchy brown bits as the mozzarella broils.
Serve. Garnish with fresh parsley or basil and serve immediately!
Can I Use Frozen Tortellini?
A lot of comments I get ask about the type of tortellini. I have only used refrigerated tortellini with this recipe. However, a lot of readers have shared that they used frozen and it turned out beautifully. You’ll just need to adjust the cooking time slightly, and the frozen may result in more liquid, so be mindful of that.
Recipe Tips
- Use fresh tortellini – I have found the refrigerated tortellini to be the freshest. The recipe calls for 20 ounces of refrigerated tortellini. I typically will pick up the 2-packs at Costco which are about 24 ounces – you can use that but may need to add more water. Buitoni also makes refrigerated tortellini in a 20-ounce package.
- Cheese tortellini is best – My personal favorite is the five cheese from Costco, but you can use any flavor of tortellini that you like. Meat filled tends to have a different flavor though that doesn’t pair as well with the Italian Sausage in this recipe.
- Onion and garlic are optional but preferred – They really do add another depth of flavor but do add about 10 minutes to the prep and cooking time. It’s a personal preference – you can easily omit those two ingredients, but I recommend using them as the flavor and the aroma can’t be beat.
More One Pan Meals to Try
- One Pan Cheesy Beef & Tomato Pasta Skillet
- Italian Chicken & Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner
- One Pan Ham & Cheese Tortellini
- Tortellini & Broccoli Alfredo
- One Pot Bacon Chicken Ranch Pasta
Italian Sausage & Tortellini Skillet
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup diced onion optional
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic (2 cloves) optional
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage mild or spicy
- 24 ounces your favorite spaghetti sauce or marinara
- 20 ounces fresh cheese tortellini 2 9-ounce packages will do
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- Fresh chopped parsley or basil optional
Instructions
- Heat an oven safe skillet over medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon olive oil and add onions, cooking for a couple of minutes or until they begin to soften.
- Stir in minced garlic and add crumbled italian sausage. Cook until no longer pink. Drain off any extra grease.
- Stir in spaghetti sauce, water, Italian seasoning and Tortellini. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 8 minutes, or until tortellini is tender.
- Remove from heat. Sprinkle Mozzarella can Parmesan cheeses evenly over tortellini. Cover the skillet with the lid and let sit for 5 minutes while the cheeses melt. Alternatively, you could place the skillet under the broiler for a 2-3 minutes or until golden, melted and bubbly.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or basil if desired.
Notes
- Use fresh tortellini – I have found the refrigerated tortellini to be the freshest. The recipe calls for 20 ounces of refrigerated tortellini. I typically will pick up the 2-packs at Costco and one of those is the perfect size. Buitoni also makes a refrigerated tortellini in the 20 ounce package which you can see HERE. (affiliate link) If you can’t find the 20 ounce package, just substitute two of the 9 ounce packages and you’ll be fine.
- Cheese tortellini is best – My personal favorite is the five cheese from Costco, but you can use any flavor of tortellini that you like. Meat filled tends to have a different flavor though that doesn’t pair as well with the Italian Sausage in this recipe.
- I updated the recipe to add some onion and garlic, which I think are totally optional. They really do add another depth of flavor but do add about 10 minutes to the prep and cooking time. It’s a personal preference – you can easily omit those two ingredients, but I recommend using them as the flavor and the aroma can’t be beat.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
I cannot tell you how many times I have made this recipe!! There are some picky eaters in our house but everyone loves this dish. I normally have the ingredients on hand and it has become one of my go to recipes!!
That’s so awesome Debbie! Thanks for stopping by to share.
Kristen, thank you for this recipe. I live in a family of adults to take food-pickiness to an extreme. When reading this recipe, I knew that 3 of us would like it, but to my great surprise, the 3 picky people were also delighted with the dish. It’s quick & easy and easy to extend the size.
You are so welcome Lynn! Love your feedback, thanks for stopping by.
This was easy and tasty. I happened to have the Costco tortellini and the Italian sausage links they sell too. The dish came together quickly and I loved not having to strain the tortellini. Thank you for the recipe!
You are so welcome Amber! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.
This dish was delicious 😋 My husband loved it! Will most definitely make this again!!!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Jamie.
Made this recipe a few days ago. Excellent!!! Added a little more garlic and onion as well as some extra cheese but this is a VG recipe. My wife, who happens to be Italian, also enjoyed it. Thanks.
You are so welcome Richard! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.
This is a go-to recipe for my family. I have three picky eaters and they all get so excited when I tell them we’re having this for dinner. It’s simple to make and cooks quickly so it’s perfect for nights when we are short on time.
Love the feedback Heather! Thanks for stopping by.
I decided to try this out on a whim because I had bought some dry tortellini and it’s really all I had at home. While I didn’t follow the recipe exactly as this was a “whatever’s in the kitchen” type meal, it still came out phenomenal. I had to omit the parmesan cheese and a good bit of the mozzarella since all I had were some mozzarella cheese bites. I say this because even if you can’t follow the recipe exactly, it still comes out delicious and I can’t wait to make this with everything it calls for in it.
Definitely pair with a salad and/or bread, but 10/10 would recommend and make again
Nice! Love the feedback Nicole. Thanks for stopping by.
Recipe was quick and easy with minimal clean up. The meal itself was delicious and even the kids enjoyed it. I agree that throwing it under the broiler to melt the cheese has a huge impact. Yum!