beef tortellini pasta recipe
Baked Tortellini is loaded with cheese tortellini, ground beef, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese for an effortless pasta dinner that the whole family will love!
Equipment
- 3 quart Baking Dish I love this beautiful baking dish!
- Colander
- Large Pot
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.
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.