Easy Cheesy Baked Tortellini -

Easy Cheesy Baked Tortellini

Baked Cheese Tortellini is an easy but delicious dinner! The cheese tortellini is baked in a rich tomato sauce with red pesto and sundried tomatoes. Covered with creamy mozzarella then baked until creamy, gooey and scrumptious!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Vegetarian

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 55

Servings

Calories 545kcal

Author Michelle Alston

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 medium carrot peeled then finely chopped
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely minced or put through a garlic press
1 tablespoon dried oregano
500 ml / just over 2 cups of passata
5 sun-dried tomatoes drained and thinly sliced
1 heaped tablespoon red pesto
1 x 300 g / 1 x 12 oz pack of spinach and ricotta tortellini
125 g / 1 x 6 oz ball of fresh mozzarella
50 g / ½ a cup of grana padano cheese finely grated, in US you can use Parmesan or any vegetarian hard Italian cheese
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ tablespoon Fresh basil chopped + more for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan oven / 200°C(390°F) conventional oven.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large oven-proof saute pan.
Add the chopped onion, celery and carrot with a small pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until soft. Stir often.
Once the onion mixture has softened add 1 tablespoon of dried oregano, a small pinch of red chilli flakes and 2 cloves of finely minced garlic and cook for a minute.
Then pour the passata into the pan, add 1 tablespoon of red pesto and the sliced sun-dried tomatoes.
Season with the remaining salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes.
Add the cheese tortellini to the sauce then gently stir them being careful not to break any.
Sprinkle the grated Grana Padano over the sauce, then tear up the mozzarella into bitesize pieces and spread it over the sauce.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes turning the pan halfway through cooking. Be careful the pan will be piping hot!
Once the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has melted, remove it from the oven.
Leave to cool slightly before serving, add some chopped basil as a garnish and serve with some good crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Notes

Tortellini - you can use any tortellini you like for this. We love four cheese tortellini or spinach and ricotta tortellini.
Sauce - if you need to make this in less time you can use a jar of your favourite tomato-based pasta sauces.
Nutritional Information - is calculated using an online nutrition tool and is approximate. It is based on one serving of four and does not include bread.
Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients, using a digital scale, if possible for best results.

Nutrition