Easy Tortellini Bake with Sausage
This Easy Tortellini Bake with Sausage will be a hit with your whole family! Fresh tortellini is baked with an easy, hearty meat sauce and lots of melted cheese for the ultimate comfort food! The best part is, you do NOT have to pre-boil your tortellini–it just cooks right in the baking dish with the sauce! This is also a great recipe to make ahead and bake when you’re ready to enjoy a perfect dinner!
This easy, baked tortellini casserole is a Godsend for a busy weeknight! Just a handful of ingredients are needed to make a hearty meat sauce that’s baked with tortellini and lots of melted cheese!
While the dish is baking, whip up a quick tossed green salad and some garlic bread and you’re set!
Love easy, baked pasta dishes? Try this Tortellini Casserole with Beef, this Cheesy Rigatoni al Forno, this super creamy decadent Bechamel Pasta Bake, or this Chicken Broccoli Lasagna!
If you’re in need of similar yummy flavors, but want a little less carbs, try out my Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- An easy weeknight meal that uses just a handful of ingredients.
- No need to pre-boil the tortellini which makes this dish quick and easy!
- Great to feed a big family or large group…and leftovers are delish!
- Can easily be made ahead and stored for up to 4 days.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this delicious Tortellini Bake with Sausage:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Italian Sausage: You can use sweet or hot, totally up to you! Just make sure it’s Italian sausage and not breakfast sausage!
Marinara Sauce: Use your favorite jarred marinara or pasta sauce. We LOVE Rao’s Marinara! It’s literally the only jarred sauce I’ll use!
Fresh Tortellini: Fresh, refrigerated tortellini is found in the refrigerated food section at the grocery store. It’s near the cheeses at my store.
HOW TO MAKE BAKED TORTELLINI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Brown sausage in a large skillet.
Step 2: Add pasta sauce (we LOVE Rao’s marinara!), spices, and heavy cream. Simmer for a few minutes.
Step 3: Spread 1 1/2 cups of the sauce onto the bottom of your baking dish. Add tortellini in an even layer. Sprinkle on half of the cheese.
Step 4: Add the rest of the pasta sauce. Top with remaining cheese.
Step 5: COVER with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and heated through. Broil the last 2-3 minutes, if you like.
⭐️ CONFIDENCE TIP ⭐️
Avocado oil cooking spray is great for spraying baking dishes. Avocado oil has a high smoke point and won’t burn or brown in the oven.
STORAGE & REHEATING
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also cover the casserole dish tightly with a layer or two of aluminum foil and store it.
- Reheating: Reheat individual portions covered, in the microwave.
- Freezing: You can make this cheesy baked tortellini recipe ahead of time and freeze it! Use a freezer-safe pan like this one and wrap it in several layers of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.
EASY SUBSTITUTIONS
Here are a few substitutions you can make:
- Italian Sausage: Ground beef and ground turkey also work well.
- Heavy Cream: You can use half and half or leave it out altogether.
- Cheese-Filled Tortellini: You can use whatever type of fresh tortellini you can find at the store!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Nope! You can add in the refrigerated tortellini right into your baking dish–no need to pre-boil! It will cook in with the red sauce.
Yes! Just add 10-15 minutes or more to the baking time and ensure the tortellini is hot and cooked through.
I just a simple garden salad, arugula salad, or Caesar salad and some yummy garlic bread are perfect to go along with this cheesy tortellini bake!
Yes! You can assemble this pasta bake up to 4 days in advance, refrigerate it, and bake it when you are ready! Just note, that you’ll have to add at least 10-15 minutes to the baking time to account for the dish being cold out of the fridge.
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TOOLS FOR THIS RECIPE
Check out all of my kitchen essentials in my Amazon store!
Ceramic Baking Pan: I use this white one for everything!
Potato Masher: Perfect for getting the meat broken up nice and fine!
OTHER EASY RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE…
I hope you love this Easy Tortellini Bake with Sausage! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Easy Tortellini Bake with Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 lb. Italian sausage sweet or hot, casings removed if necessary
- 1 28 oz. jar marinara sauce I only use Rao's!
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 lb. refrigerated cheese tortellini pasta See Note 1
- Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley or basil, red pepper flakes, optional for serving
Instructions
- Prep: Spray a 9×12 (or similar) baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook Sausage: In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. When oil is hot, add Italian sausage and cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks (about 3-4 minutes). Drain any grease, if necessary. Hint: During the last 2 minutes of cooking, use a potato masher to break up the meat nice and fine!
- Add: When sausage is browned, add pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and sugar. Mix well to combine and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.
- Start to Assemble: Spread about 1 1/2 cups of the sauce evenly over the bottom of your casserole dish. Then, add tortellini in an even layer.
- Layer: Add half the cheese on top of the tortellini. Then layer on the rest of the sauce and finally, top with the remaining cheese. Make sure all of the tortellini is covered with the sauce/cheese.
- Bake: Cover with aluminum foil, then bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and the dish is hot throughout. Optional: Broil for the last 2-3 minutes to get the cheese golden brown.
- Rest: Remove pan from the oven and let the dish rest for a couple of minutes. If you like, top with Parmesan cheese, chili flakes and fresh parsley or basil. Serve right away.
My favorite recipes are the ones that taste like they took all day but didn’t! This may be my new favorite!
Oh delish! This looks like a fantastic dinner bake to me! I am saving it to try for later.
This is my kind of comfort food! I loved how cheesy it was, and it was easy to make, too!
Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it does not disappoint! Hearty, bold and delicious; easily, a new favorite recipe!
This was the absolute easiest dinner for my family on a busy weeknight and everyone loved it! I am happy when my toddlers finish more than two bites of dinner and they gobbled the whole thing up and asked for more!
My family loved this tortellini recipe. I’ll be making it again for sure. Thanks for sharing!