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Easy cheesy tortellini bake with creamy Alfredo sauce is the perfect tortellini dinner idea! This Baked Tortellini Casserole is loaded with cheese, ham, broccoli, and a toasty panko bread crumb topping.
Looking for tortellini dinner ideas? This Cheesy Tortellini Bake is one of our favorites and soon, it will be one of yours too! It is simple, delicious, and perfect for feeding your family. In this recipe, cheesy tortellini is combined with an Alfredo sauce of sorts, then tossed with ham and broccoli, topped with bread crumbs and baked. The result is an easy baked tortellini casserole that your whole family is going to love. Did I mention it’s easy? So easy!
Cheesy Tortellini Bake Ingredients
Only a few simple ingredients are needed to make this delicious tortellini bake. Ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- cheese tortellini – I like to buy the Buitoni brand of refrigerated tortellini
- butter
- flour
- heavy cream
- milk
- salt and black pepper
- cheese : smoked gouda and sharp cheddar cheese
- ham and broccoli
For the casserole topping:
- Panko bread crumbs
- butter
This Cheesy Tortellini Bake is one of those recipes that came to be after I was trying to figure out how to use ingredients I already had in the house. With a package of tortellini, lots of cheese, a pound of ham, and some broccoli just waiting to be used, I decided to make this Cheesy Tortellini Bake with a super crunchy topping.
You could omit the ham and broccoli and this Tortellini Bake would still be outstanding. Feel free to add in any ingredients that you have on hand. In place of ham you could toss in leftover chicken. In place of broccoli you could toss in peas. It’s a versatile recipe that has a deliciously solid base, without any extra added ingredients.
How to Make Cheesy Tortellini Bake
- Cook tortellini according to package directions.
- Make the tortellini sauce: you’ll need butter, flour, heavy cream, milk, salt and pepper along with cheese. Feel free to use any cheeses that you prefer.
- Add in ham and broccoli or any other add-ins you’d like – chicken is a great option!
- Combine sauce with tortellini.
- Prepare a casserole dish – spray it with non-stick spray or lightly butter a 9×13.
- Make the topping – combine melted butter with Panko bread crumbs.
- Assemble the casserole – add the tortellini and sauce mixture to the casserole dish, top with bread crumbs then bake.
The sauce comes together in just a few minutes, and because the tortellini literally only take a couple of minutes to cook, the hands-on time with this recipe is pretty minimal. May I suggest grating your own cheese? You will get the best melty, ooey gooey cheesy result if you shred your own cheese versus buying the pre-shredded cheese from the grocery store.
Refrigerated tortellini typically takes around 4-6 minutes to cook in boiling water. It is best to follow package directions.
What to serve with Cheesy Tortellini Bake
Any time that I am making a pasta dish, I always pair it with my Perfect Cheesy Garlic Bread and a side Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing!
Is there anything not to love about cheesy tortellini with more cheese and a crunchy topping? I assure you, this is a meal the whole family will love! Enjoy!
And in case you have some leftover tortellini, this Tortellini Soup is to die for!
More Tortellini Dinner Ideas
Looking for more tortellini dinner ideas? I’ve got you covered! Here are some delicious suggestions:
If you try this recipe for Cheesy Tortellini Bake, please leave a comment and let me know what you think. I love to hear from you! Enjoy!
Cheesy Tortellini Bake
Ingredients
- 1 pound cheese tortellini cooked according to package directions
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups milk I used 1%
- 1/2 teaspoon salt – plus additional to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper – plus additional to taste
- 2 1/4 cups shredded smoked gouda – divided
- 2 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese – divided
- 3 tablespoons melted butter for the crunchy topping
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs for the crunchy topping
- 1 pound ham cut into small bite sized pieces
- 8-10 ounces of broccoli cooked
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Cook tortellini according to package directions.
- Melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet.
- When the butter has melted, add in the flour and whisk really well. Allow this mixture to cook for a few minutes. It’ll be a pasty consistency.
- Slowly add in the heavy cream and whisk well.
- Gradually add in the milk, continuing to whisk really well to remove any clumps.
- Reduce the heat to low and begin to slow add in 2 cups of smoked gouda and eventually 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese.
- Stir in cooked ham and cooked broccoli. Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked tortellini.
- Grease a large casserole dish ( I used my 9 x 13 inch casserole dish) and pour the tortellini and cheese mixture into the dish.
- In a small bowl combine 3 tablespoons melted butter with 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of gouda and 1/4 cup of cheddar over the casserole.
- Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the casserole.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, then broil for a few minutes until the panko bread crumb topping is golden brown.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Recipe from
CenterCutCook
