Well school is back in session for my kiddos and I’m back on the quick & easy weeknight meals train. This one pot cheese tortellini and sausage skillet was a huge hit with my family and now they have requested it two weeks in a row! It’s full of cheese tortellini pasta, Italian sausage, lots of herbs and spices, and a super flavorful sauce. A full meal all in one pan. Dinner doesn’t get any better than this!
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What You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients that you’ll need to make this hearty tortellini and sausage recipe:
- Italian Sausage: I chose mild Italian sausage for this recipe as it’s already pre-seasoned with lots of herbs and spices. You can also use ground beef or ground turkey, however you may need to add a little more seasoning if you do choose ground beef or turkey.
- Onion and Garlic: Diced onion and garlic adds lots of aromatics and flavor to this dish.
- Cheese Tortellini: I like using refrigerated tortellini because you can quickly cook it in the sauce, but you can also use frozen tortellini if you prefer. You may need to boil the frozen tortellini first according to the package instructions.
- Marinara Sauce: Marinara helps create the sauce for this recipe. It includes crushed tomatoes and lots of extra herbs and spices.
- Chicken Broth: The cheese tortellini cooks in the chicken broth and marinara sauce, making this a one pot meal!
- Spinach: A couple handfuls of spinach adds color and extra vegetables to the dish.
- Seasoning: A simple mix of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried oregano add a little more flavor to the jarred marinara sauce and the rest of the dish.
- Mozzarella Cheese: And I topped everything off with some gooey mozzarella cheese because…why not?!
Budget Saving Tips!
- You can often find refrigerated cheese tortellini in two sizes, a small 9-10oz. bag and a larger 20oz. family size bag. Most of the time the family size is the better deal and will save you some money. So grab the bigger bag! You’ll only need 10oz. of tortellini for this recipe and you can freeze the rest and save for later.🙌
- If you happen to have a can of tomatoes in your pantry, you can switch out the marinara sauce for one 14oz. can of diced tomatoes.
- And if you really want to save even more money, use just ½ lb. of Italian sausage for this recipe and freeze the rest for later. This dish will still be very filling and you can cook the rest of the sausage with the rest of the cheese tortellini that you saved. You may also still have half a jar of marinara, some spinach, and more mozzarella cheese leftover. Now look at what we just did. We’ve easily just created another meal! #winning
Serving Suggestions & Variations
- This dish is perfect to serve with a side of crusty garlic bread and a simple side salad or Caesar salad.
- Wanna make it creamy? Add about ½ cup of heavy cream at the same time as the chicken broth for a creamy tortellini skillet meal.
- And if you want to add some spice, add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes at the end for a little kick!
Storing Leftovers
Got leftovers? You can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The sauce mixture will thicken a little bit with time, but you can easily reheat it in the microwave until warmed through for a delicious lunch or dinner.
Oh, and if you loved this, try my stuffed shells recipe too!
Cheese Tortellini And Sausage Skillet
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.05)
- 1 lb. Italian sausage ($4.99)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced ($0.42)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce ($1.50)
- 1 cup chicken broth ($0.17)
- 10 oz. refrigerated cheese tortellini ($3.75)
- 2 cups spinach ($0.76)
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese ($0.62)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Brown the Italian sausage.
- Once the sausage has browned, add the diced onion and minced garlic to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
- Next add the salt, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper, marinara sauce, and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir to combine.
- Bring the skillet up to a simmer and add the cheese tortellini. Stir the tortellini into the sauce and cook for 5-6 minutes until the tortellini is tender.
- Add the spinach to the skillet and stir to combine, allowing the heat to wilt the spinach.
- Now top the skillet with the shredded mozzarella cheese and allow the heat to melt the cheese.
- Serve hot with fresh garlic bread and some freshly cracked black pepper or red pepper flakes on top. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
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How to Make Cheese Tortellini And Sausage Skillet – Step by Step Photos
Heat a large deep skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Brown 1 lb. Italian sausage.
Once the sausage has browned, add 1 diced yellow onion and 2 minced garlic to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
Next add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, and 1 cup chicken broth to the skillet. Stir to combine.
Bring the skillet up to a simmer and add 10 oz. refrigerated cheese tortellini. Stir the tortellini into the sauce and cook for 5-6 minutes until the tortellini is tender.
Add 2 cups spinach to the skillet and stir to combine, allowing the heat to wilt the spinach.
Now top the skillet with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.
Allow the heat from the skillet to melt the cheese.
Serve hot with fresh garlic bread and some freshly cracked black pepper on top. Now get ready to enjoy a super hearty and delicious dinner meal!
If you like dishes extra meaty this is a perfect one for you, I wish I’d paid attention in the ideas portion and just saved half for another meal, learning for next time (and my wife still loved it). And if you like me forget to put in the spinach it can totally work at the bottom of the bowl and add a fun texture. Over all it goes in the keepers box.
Really solid recipe! Definitely more than the sum of its parts. I made 2/3 with the sausage and 1/3 without sausage plus extra spinach for the vegetarian. Did not reduce sausage by the way, so the meat version was extra meaty. Used Better Than Bouillon No Chicken stock for both. Added some grated parmesan at the end as well. My husband really loved the meat version. And it was super easy, 40 minutes to make start to finish including garlic bread.
Pretty Good! Instead of using 10 oz of refrigerated tortellini I used 19 oz of frozen. I boiled them before putting them in the dish. Since I did that I only used 1/2 cup of chicken broth. I would probably use a little more marinara next time to compensate for the increased amount of tortellini. I think more tortellini is good for this recipe, so it’s not “overly meaty” like others are saying. Will probably add this to my rotation though!
I made this last night for dinner. It was delicious and super easy. I did swap a few things because of what I had to hand- spinach and cheese tortellini instead of just cheese tortellini, plus a package of mushrooms which I had in the fridge which I sauteed quickly in the fat from the sausage, kale instead of spinach, and an Italian cheese blend on top instead of mozzarella. This is a recipe that I’ll put on a regular rotation because it was that good. Portion size was accurate as well.
Very simple, yet so tasty!!
This was very tasty and cost effective! It also helped me to get rid of stuff in my fridge that normally don’t go together.
I agree with another commenter, too salty. I’d leave the salt out completely. I used non-refrigerated tortellini, added a little extra water, and boiled a bit longer according to the package directions, which worked well. I think it’s a little meat heavy overall, and I don’t love recipes that leave weird amounts of ingredients (marinara) behind. I’d be interested in ideas to make this more like the old school Budget Bytes recipes.
I have to agree. It was very tasty but I wonder how to increase the “sauciness” without messing up the recipe. I did use refrigerated tortellini but still had to boil longer than it calls for, I think mainly because of low liquid in pan. Maybe they have some tips to remedy?
Beth was such a stickler for budget mindfulness (like finding a way to use all the sauce or suggesting a repurpose in the post) and I miss that aspect of things. I will say, since Beth has left and things have shifted, Marsha’s recipes are the most consist hits and I appreciate that! I always knew a Beth recipe wouldn’t do me wrong and Marsha has that same skill. :)
Thank you for the kind words! :) I do think this recipe is pretty versatile in that you could absolutely add more broth or marinara if you’re wanting to thin it out and make it more saucy!
Whoa, this was incredibly salty. Why add salt to pre-seasoned pasta sauce (especially in a dish with salty sausage, salty chicken broth, and salty cheese added to it)? I don’t think any of the seasoning in step 3 are necessary. Outside of that, this is a fine recipe.
Loved this recipe. It was quick and easy, and super delicious. Will be looking up more of your recipes, and making this again!
I love this recipe! Simple, quick, and delicious.
Marsha’s recipes are always great!!
This tortellini looks amazing! This definitely reminds me of something my mom would make! I can’t wait to try it!
This was delicious. We often have Tortellini because Aldi’s are delicious and very reasonable in this tight economy This recipe was SO much better than just Tortellini with marinara sauce and grated cheese.. Did not have spinach on hand so parboiled briefly chopped broccoli which was also delicious. Tasty recipe, love your site, really helping me more than ever with the high cost of groceries.
I make lots of pots of Italian food like this but tortellinis will be a first, great idea, adding this to the mix, thanks!
If I had an Italian mom, I’m pretty sure this is the comfort food she’d make me on Sunday. Really delicious, really easy, and really filling!
Wonderful! This was quick and delicious. I get excited every time Marsha posts a new recipe cuz it’s always a hit!
Wow! Thank you so much Clare :) And I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!!