What Is Cheese tortellini and How Can I Use It?
Cheese tortellini is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 19 recipes to get you started.
Key Points
- Cheese tortellini are tortellini filled with a ricotta and parmesan blend, the common supermarket version.
- The mild, rich filling suits cream sauces and baked al forno dishes; it is vegetarian.
- Simmer gently 3 to 5 minutes until they float; a hard boil leaks the soft cheese.
- Undercook the boil by a minute when baking al forno, or the rings go mushy.
- Cheese ravioli are the closest non-tortellini swap; refrigerated packs last about a week.
What is cheese tortellini?
Cheese tortellini are the cheese-filled version of tortellini, small dough rings stuffed with a soft blend that usually centers on ricotta and parmesan, often with a little mozzarella or romano. They are the most common tortellini on supermarket shelves.
The cheese filling is milder and richer than the meat version, so it leans into creamy and cheesy dishes.
It is also the obvious vegetarian pick, with no pork or prosciutto inside.
Ways to Use Them
Cheese tortellini sit well under a cream or cheese sauce that echoes the filling, baked al forno like Tortellini Al Forno with Radicchio & Goat Cheese. The richness inside and the sauce outside pull in the same direction.
They also bulk up brothy soups, where the cheese center softens into the broth, as in Italian Lentil Tortellini Soup. Cold, they anchor a pasta salad with a sharper dressing to cut the richness.
Cooking and Common Mistakes
Cook them at a gentle simmer, 3 to 5 minutes, until they float. A hard rolling boil tears the seams and the soft cheese leaks straight into the water, which is more of a problem here than with a firmer meat filling.
If you are baking them al forno, undercook the boil by a minute. They keep cooking in the oven, and fully boiled rings turn mushy under a blanket of bubbling sauce.
Substitutes
Meat or spinach-and-cheese tortellini swap in directly with no change to cooking time. Cheese ravioli are the next best stand-in, with the same soft cheese filling in a flatter shape.
When you only need filled-pasta richness, see the parent tortellini guide for the meat versions and how they differ.
Buying and Storage
Cheese tortellini sell fresh in the refrigerated case, frozen, and dried. Fresh tastes best and cooks fastest; frozen rings go straight into simmering water without thawing.
Refrigerated packs carry a use-by date and last about a week once opened. Freeze what you will not finish, and keep dried boxes in a cool, dark cupboard for months.
Quick facts
Where to find cheese tortellini: Cheese tortellini is usually found in the pasta section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
- In Chinese
- 奶酪饺子
- British (UK) term
- Cheese tortellini
- en français
- fromage tortellini
- en español
- queso tortellini
Recipes using cheese tortellini
There are 19 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Maximum Mac 'N' Cheese
Double cheese mac and cheese using cheese tortellini in a creamy processed cheese sauce. Cheese-stuffed pasta in cheese sauce means maximum cheese in every bite.
Tortellini Al Forno with Radicchio & Goat Cheese
Cheese tortellini with sweet red onions and radicchio enveloped in a balsamella white sauce top with parmesan and baked until bubbly and crusty on top.
Easy Alfredo Tortellini with Garlic for Two
So easy, so simple, and so deliciously creamy. An easy alfredo sauce enriched with garlic coats the tortellini. Best of all, it's ready in 20 minutes flat!
Three-Cheese Tortellini
Are you a cheese lover? If you use a cheese tortellini this can turn into a 4 cheese pasta dish.
Tortellini Primavera
This tortellini salad is easily hearty enough to be your main dish. It comes together quickly with a cream cheese based sauce and ready made fresh tortellini.
Easy Beefy Tortellini Soup
Due to its rich beefy flavor, and the hearty belly warming cheese tortellini, this beef tortellini soup has been a family favorite at our home for years.
Say Cheese Tortellini al forno
Tortellini bake with a crispy crusty topping in a cheese sauce - Tortellini al forno! Add some bacon and it's a poor man’s Olive Garden Tortellini al forno recipe.
Tortellini Soup
My favorite tortellini soup recipe. It's quick and easy to fix on a busy night and full of tasty, healthy ingredients. Make it Italian by adding some Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese rind while cooking.
Italian Lentil Tortellini Soup
Easy, vegetarian, tortellini soup that's filling and darned tasty. Italian cheese tortellini in a tomato based stock with mushrooms and lentils.
Santa Fe Chicken Tortellini Casserole
Instead of tortellini soup, turn that tortellini into a filling chicken tortellini casserole. A baked tortellini al forno!
Tortellini with White Sauce
Tortellini with prosciutto and sweet peas in an easy tortellini sauce based on mushrooms and garlic cream. Comes together & is on the table very quickly.
Pasta Salad At Its Best
Tortellini and fettuccine pasta salad with blanched snow peas, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and olives tossed in Italian dressing with Parmesan. A colorful, crunchy potluck favorite.
Warm Tortellini Salad
Warm cheese tortellini salad with broccoli, Havarti cubes, roasted red peppers, and Dijon vinaigrette. A quick, cheesy Italian pasta salad ready in 30 minutes.
Caesar Salad with Tortellini
A lighter Caesar salad with cheese tortellini and steamed asparagus tossed in a lemony anchovy dressing. Ready in 30 minutes with fresh Parmesan on top.
Pasta Rosa
Pasta rosa: cheese tortellini tossed with shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, cayenne, and peppery arugula in olive oil. Finished with grated Romano. Italian-style 30-minute pasta dinner.
Summer Tortellini Salad
Summer tortellini salad tosses cheese tortellini with shredded chicken, green and black olives, red bell pepper, sweet Vidalia onion, and a herbes de Provence vinaigrette. A picnic-ready pasta salad for four.
Tortelloni & Vegetables Stir Fry
Cheese tortelloni tossed with stir-fried cabbage, red, yellow, and green bell peppers in olive oil with basil. A colorful vegetarian pasta dinner that comes together in one hour.
