Delicious baked tortellini that's crisp to perfection on the outside and comforting and creamy on the inside
This baked tortellini is an easy, comforting and rich dish. It uses store-bought tortellini (though of course, you can make your own), and is coated in a creamy, lemony and cheesy sauce with added mushrooms and bacon. The tortellini is then topped with sweet tomatoes and more cheese, then baked to crispy perfection. This is a great recipe to have on regular rotation.
Product test review of the Tefal Jamie Oliver frypan
To make this dish you’ll need an oven-safe non-stick frying pan, like this Tefal Jamie Oliver Classic Induction Non Stick Anodised fry pan.
This fry pan transitions smoothly from stove-top to oven, making it perfect for dishes like this which involve cooking with both. It’s a great size too, large enough to make a decent quantity but small enough to fit comfortably in a standard-sized oven.
The frypan is also easy to transport, thanks to the silicone grip on the handle, and not being too heavy. It’s non-stick properties are excellent, so it is also very easy to clean.
If you don’t have an oven-safe non-stick frying pan then just use a frying pan for the stovetop part of this dish, then transfer to an ovenproof baking dish.
What Goes in Baked Tortellini
Tortellini – can be substituted for ravioli, agnolotti or any other small, stuffed pasta. We used high-quality store-bought spinach and ricotta tortellini. It’s definitely worth spending more on a higher quality brand, as there can be a big difference in taste. When it comes to the filling this is really just a personal preference, but as the dish already has bacon we preferred a meat-free filling.
Vegetables – onion, garlic and mushrooms. Most types of mushrooms will work – we used basic white mushrooms, you could substitute with portabella or porcini mushrooms, but we wouldn’t suggest using an Asian style mushroom-like shiitake.
Bacon – you can substitute with pancetta, ham or other smoked meat. If you want to make this dish vegetarian you can also substitute it with more mushrooms.
Seasoning and spices – salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg.
Solonato tomatoes – these are small, sweet tomatoes. You can substitute with any other type of small tomato – cherry tomatoes, Perino tomatoes, baby Roma etc. Larger tomatoes could also be used.
Mozzarella – freshly grated or pre-grated Mozzarella will be fine. You can substitute with tasty cheese or more Parmesan.
Cream sauce – The cornstarch is mixed with the milk to act as a thickening agent. We made this recipe using full-fat milk and cream, you could potentially go low-fat but we think it’s best to just accept this dish is going to be high in calories and just go the whole way with it!
How to Make Baked Tortellini
Fry the Vegetables and Bacon
Fry the onion until slightly translucent, then add the bacon and fry until just cooked, then add the mushrooms and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Adding the garlic towards the end reduces the chances of it burning and making the dish bitter – the garlic should come through as nice and mellow.
Add the Sauce Ingredients
Combine the cornstarch with the milk in a small bowl, then add to the frypan. Add the cream and stir until the sauce has thickened. Grate over the nutmeg, then add the lemon juice and Parmesan and stir until the Parmesan has melted.
Add the Tortellini
Add the tortellini, and stir gently to completely coat in the sauce. You’ll need to be gentle to ensure you don’t rip through the tortellini, but make sure you are thorough enough so that you don’t have pieces of tortellini stuck together, they should all be separated and nicely coated.
Top with Cheese and Tomatoes
Scatter over half the grated mozzarella, then the sliced cherry tomatoes, then finish with the remaining mozzarella.
Bake
Bake at 200 C for 20 minutes. The cheese should completely melt and turn golden and crispy in parts – delicious! Once done, let it sit in the frypan for five minutes or so to set.
Serve
Garnish with some finely chopped fresh parsley and serve with a green salad lightly dressed with olive oil and balsamic. You can also use roughly torn fresh basil leaves instead of parsley.
Enjoy!
Baked Tortellini with Creamy Mushroom and Bacon Sauce Recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 3
Ingredients
- Olive oil for frying – can substitute with canola or other neutral oil.
- 1 onion peeled and chopped
- 85gm bacon cut into small pieces
- 120gm mushrooms thickly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2tsp of salt
- Pepperto taste
- 1tbsp of corn starch
- 1/2cup of full cream milk
- 1cup thickened cream
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2cup of Parmesan
- 1tbsp lemon juice
- 600gm tortellini (or other small stuffed pasta – eg. ravioli, agnolotti etc)
- 1cup grated mozzarella (or tasty cheese)
- 75gm solanato tomatoes (or other small tomatoes – e.g. cherry tomatoes, perino tomatoes etc), sliced
To serve
- Finely chopped parsley(or basil)
- Green salad, lightly dressed with olive oil and balsamic
Method
- Preheat oven to 200 C.
- Heat the oil in an oven-proof non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
- Add the oil and fry for three minutes.
- Add the bacon and fry for a further two minutes.
- Add the mushroom and garlic, season with salt and pepper, then fry for another two minutes or until the mushrooms have softened.
- Combine the cornstarch and milk in a small bowl. Add to the frying pan, along with the cream. Cook, stirring until the sauce has thickened – it will take a minute or so. Grate over the nutmeg.
- Add the Parmesan and lemon juice, then stir until the Parmesan has melted. Turn off the heat.
- Add the tortellini, then stir gently until fully coated in the sauce. Scatter over half of the grated mozzarella, top with the sliced tomatoes then finish with the remaining mozzarella,
- Transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.
- Best served immediately, with fresh parsley and green salad.
