If tortellini has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 27 recipes to try it in.

What is tortellini?

Tortellini are small ring-shaped pasta, each one a little square of dough folded around a filling and pinched into a navel-shaped ring. They come already stuffed, so you cook the pasta and the filling together in a single step.

The fillings vary. A meat blend of pork and prosciutto with parmesan is the traditional Bolognese version, while cheese-only tortellini are the common supermarket choice.

Both cook the same way.

Because they are already filled, tortellini make a fast, complete meal on their own. There is no separate stuffing-and-baking job the way there is with shells or manicotti.

Ways to Use Tortellini

Tortellini work in three settings: a light brothy soup, a creamy sauce, or a cold salad. In broth they want a clear, simple liquid that lets the filling lead, as in Master Chef Tortellini in Porcini Broth.

With sauce, keep it light. A delicate cream or a White Sauce coats the rings without burying the filling, which a heavy long-simmered ragu would do.

Cold, they make a sturdy salad. Tossed with vegetables and a vinaigrette like Garden Fresh Tortellini Salad, they hold up for a day in the fridge.

Cooking and Common Mistakes

Fresh and frozen tortellini cook fast, usually 3 to 5 minutes, and they tell you when they are done by floating to the surface. Give them a minute more after they float, then taste one.

The mistake is a hard boil. A rolling boil knocks the rings against each other and tears the seams, spilling the filling into the water. Keep the water at a gentle simmer and stir once or twice instead of letting it churn.

Do not overcrowd the pot either. Too many at once drops the temperature and they clump, so cook in batches for a crowd.

Substitutes

Tortelloni are the larger cousin and the closest swap; they hold more filling but cook and sauce the same. Ravioli are the next best stand-in, since they are also filled pasta, though flatter and usually larger.

Cheese tortellini work anywhere meat tortellini are called for, and the reverse holds too. For a non-stuffed pinch hitter, any short pasta carries the sauce, but you lose the filling that makes the dish.

Buying and Storage

Tortellini sell three ways: dried and shelf-stable, fresh in the refrigerated case, and frozen. Fresh cooks fastest and tastes best; dried keeps longest but needs a couple extra minutes in the pot.

Refrigerated tortellini carry a use-by date and last only a week or so once opened, so freeze any you will not use soon.

Frozen rings go straight into simmering water without thawing. Dried boxes keep for many months in a cool, dark cupboard.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find tortellini: Tortellini is usually found in the pasta section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Tortellini is a member of the Meals, Entrees, and Sidedishes US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

饺子

British (UK) term

Tortellini

en français

tortellini

en español

tortellini

How much does tortellini weigh?

Amount	Weight
¾ cup	81 grams

Related

Meals, Entrees, and Sidedishes

Recipes using tortellini

There are 27 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 27 recipes