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This Easy Cheesy Baked Tortellini is simple and delicious too. Tortellini, bacon, cheese, basil, & spinach fill this recipe and make it irresistible and perfect for dinner any night.
There’s something about putting pastas in a casserole dish and baking it, whether it’s this baked tortellini, baked spaghetti, or a chicken alfredo bake, it’s always a winner in our house.
extra Cheesy Goodness
Who here loves an easy dinner recipe? We are all about them and have realized that pasta recipes are the kids’ favorites. Today’s recipe is a Cheesy Baked Tortellini that the whole family enjoyed.
We’ve always loved Tortellini and have used it in so many recipes here on the site (including our Italian Tortellini Soup and Tortellini Salad).
We knew we’d love this recipe considering that it’s covered in cheese, bacon and spinach. And because the tortellini is already filled with cheese, it’s kind of a no-brainer to love this double-cheesy baked tortellini goodness.
Make and bake
We’ve already established the fact that Cheese Tortellini on it’s own is delicious, and turning it into an even cheesier, more delicious dinner idea is going to earn you major kudos with the family. Here is how you make baked tortellini casserole.
TORTELLINI. Cooking tortellini as directed on the package.
SAUCE. Cook bacon and cut up. Reserve bacon fat from pan. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add flour to the pan and whisk for a minute, then add milk and mix until smooth. Lastly, add salt, pepper, lemon juice and basil and bring to a simmer.
COMBINE. Drain tortellini and add back to the pot. Turn to low heat and add spinach and most of the mozzarella, Parmesan cheeses and bacon. Add sauce and stir until well combined.
BAKE. Add to an 8×8 or 9×9 dish. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and bacon. Cover your dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
What can I use instead of bacon? If you’re not a fan of bacon you can substitute it with another meat such as ham, pepperoni, italian sausage, chicken, turkey bacon, sauteed shrimp. Also, the recipe calls for saving the bacon grease. Since you will not have bacon grease to use when sauteing the garlic use 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil.
Make it ahead!
As if this recipe wasn’t already amazing, the fact that it’s a perfect make ahead meal is even better! Just follow the recipe steps up until it’s time to bake. Cover with with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for 1-2 days then bake. To freeze: Cover with plastic and again with aluminum foil. Label and freeze for 3-4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bake.
We really hope you love this cheesy, flavorful baked tortellini. We know you can buy tortellini with meat inside, so we think we’re going to try that next time. Either way, it’s a keeper recipe for sure. 😉
For more Cheese Tortellini recipes:
- Italian Tortellini Soup
- Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Spinach And Tortellini Salad
- Steak And Tortellini Salad
Cheesy Tortellini Bake
Ingredients
- 1 (12-ounce) package cheese tortellini, or any kind of tortellini
- 4 bacon strips
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 cups frozen spinach, thaw, drain, and chop
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook as directed on the package.
- Cook bacon and cut it up. Reserve bacon fat from the pan. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add flour to the pan and whisk for a minute. Add milk and mix until smooth. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, and basil. Bring to a simmer.
- Drain tortellini and add back to the pot. Turn to low heat and add spinach and most of the mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and bacon. Add sauce and stir until well combined.
- Add to an 8×8 or 9×9 dish. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and bacon.
- Cover your dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t eat pork so I nixed the bacon. Recipe was easy and tasty, thanks.
Very smooth taste, not at all spicy. I paired it with roasted chicken breast and peas.
In the video it shows fresh spinach, but the recipe calls for frozen spinach. If I wanted to use fresh spinach how much should I use?
You could use two heaping cups of spinach and it should be enough. If you love spinach, you could add a little more as it will cook down a bit in the oven.
Delicious
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Looks better then it tastes. Not much flavor. More garlic, bacon, salt, maybe heavy cream
I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out as well as you had hoped. Thanks so much for sharing your suggestions!
This was great. I added Ground itLian sausage.
Question. Once it has been baked can i Freeze It or does it not freeze well after baking. Thanks
So glad you liked it! I haven’t tried freezing it, after it’s been baked, but if you are, I would cover with plastic wrap & aluminum foil & freeze. Thaw out & bake. I wouldn’t know an exact time, since it’s already been baked & I haven’t tried.
Used turkey bacon, skim milk and shredded Cheeses instead of grated. Loved it !
Sounds perfect! Thank you for sharing that! I will have to try that sometime 🙂
Easy and super tasty …I added some chicken witch did not need it but I had it to add so I did , definitely will make again!
Great idea!! Glad you liked it! Thank you for letting me know!
Made this recipe many times. All my guests and family. Want to know if this could be frozen either after fully cooked or before
I think it could before or after. If it is before, I would thaw it a little or it may need a little more time 🙂
Havent made this yet – do you thaw spInach ahead of time or add to pan with cheeses frozen? Im just cOnfUsed based off the instructions. Thanks!
I like to just thaw it a little & I wrap it in a towel & squeeze it, to drain it, then chop. Hope that helps!
Who doesn’t love tortellini?!
Right?! I know I do! Thank you!
Easy to make and sooooo good! It’s one of my daughters top food requests.
Woohoo! Love to hear that! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
Type Tortellini into Pinterest’s search bar and hundreds of recipes appear. For some reason I chose yours and it did not disappoint! The whole family loved it.
So glad you chose mine! I’m happy that you liked it 🙂 Thank you so much!
Where can I find nutritional information on this?
I’m sorry I don’t have it. You would just need to find a site that will tell you, once you’ve put in the amounts of ingredients or google 🙂
This was a little too cheesy but other than that DELICIOUS. Great recipe thanks ????
Thanks so much! You could use less next time for sure! Glad you liked it!
Will this be good with chopped prosciutto instead of bacon?
I haven’t tried, but I bet it would taste great. Let me know if you try it 🙂
My whole family loved this recipe. Only thing I did different was up the garlic and add onion. Will definitely be making it again. Thanks for the recipe! And your pictures of it are beautiful! ????
Oh, you are so sweet! Thank you for trying it and letting me know!
Could I use frozen spinach, and how much? I’m trying to clean out the freezer. ☺
Yes, you could. The small box would work. I don’t know off the top of my head the ounces, but equivalent to 2 cups. Just squeeze the water out. Good luck and hope you like it!
Recipe was delicious few changes I made the sauce separate Because i use bacon bits cooked ahead of time so i made a roux with butter instead thenadded garlic milk and seasonings then added half the cheeses and cooked the pasta 2 minutes shy of cooking and added sauted mushrooms And added more cheese because I love cheese so I basically added 1 and 1/4 cups of cheese in total
Those additions sound great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!
Can I use monterey jack cheese not mozzarella cheese?
I personally haven’t, but I’m sure it would be fine 🙂 Let me know what you think. Thanks so much!
Hi, I used mozzarella cheese I dint want to try to use monterey jack cheese and my husband loved it. Your recipe is wonderful and thank you so much.
I’m so glad you both liked it!! Mozzarella would be great 🙂 Thank you!!
I wish I could eat some but my baby allergy to dairy products through my milk so I will try others your recipe that I can eat ^_^
Looks so creamy and comforting!
It is!! I hope you’ll give it a try!! Thanks for stopping by!
Going to make this tonight. How many people does this dish serve?
Being in an 8×8 dish, it won’t feed to many. If you have a family of 6 or more, I would maybe double and put in a 9×13. Hope that helps!! Thanks so much for giving it a try!!
Can you make this ahead of time and bake later?
Of course! Hope you like it!! Thanks so much for stopping by!
LOVE this!! Tried with cheese ravioli instead (my tortellini is sausage cheese). Easy to make, yummy to eat. What more can a busy mama ask for?? Definitely a winner
LOL!! Thanks so much!! That sounds delicious 🙂
Have you ever tried putting it in the crock pot instead of baking it? I would like to try it just not sure how long it should cook for. I would not want it to turn to mush. Thanks
This was absolutely delicious!!! I add some tomatoes to mine as well. My family loved it. Thank you!
Thank you so much for letting me know!! Tomatoes are a great addition to this recipe!!
Making this for dinner tonight. But I am not sure how many servings this makes. I have 3 teen age boys and a husband to feed. I need to make about 8 servings. Could you help me with this?
Is that 2 tablespoons of flour
Yes. 🙂
I’m making it tonight with chickem meatballs instead of bacon. Can’t wait
Oooh – sounds great! Let me know how it goes. 😉
I cooked the tortellini-spinach-bake today for me and my family (also a husband and four kids), after I saw this recipe at Pinterest before a few days. And it was easy to make and delicious to eat. I just change the bacon into chicken. Thank you.
Thanks for stopping by, Maren. SO glad you liked it!! I’ve never tried it with chicken before but will have to try that out – sounds like a great substitution. 😉
This definitely looks tempting! Will definitely give it a try! 🙂
This looks delicious! I will definitely be trying this tonight!
Only tip that I have is instead of cooking the bacon in the dish (I find that some bacon – depending on the brand, tend to get soft, soggy, and just taste weird – I almost always mix in my bacon at the end and top it off at the end. So just set it to the side until the end!
That way you still get that heavenly bacon taste.
Great tip! Thanks, Miranda!!
I saw this on Facebook and decided to make it for dinner tonight. It is VERY good! My daughter who doesn’t even like tortellini even likes it. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us 🙂
Pinned! Thanks for the awesome recipe 😉
I made your recipe today with some tweaks. I added 1 yellow onion, diced. Also, I cubed 1 lb of kielbasa sausage and pan fried it. Didn’t have any basil, parrmesan or lemon. Added extra spinach. I also used 1 bunch of diced fresh green onions to top it. I used 2% milk. My husband absolutely LOVED this dish. I asked him on a scale of 1 to 10, what would he give this dish? He said a 20! He sais this is the best pasta dish I’ve made so far. Oh, I mixed in mozzarella cheese into the sauce as well as topped the casserole with cheese, so it was pretty rich in cheese.
He scarfed this dish down quickly and got seconds. The dish is a rich,, heavy dish and definitely a remake. Maybe next time I will use a different green like kale or swiss chard. I like your addition of lemon as that probably cuts some of the richness some. I also might try a pesto tortillini instead next time.
Thanks for sharing this recipe with the world.
I love adding spinach to pasta dishes! This is a perfect quick and easy weeknight meal!
Thanks for the yummy recipes mom!!
I’ll be sure to tell her! 😉
I HATE bacon! Do you think it will effect it much if I don’t cook the bacon (so no bacon grease)?
I really don’t think it will effect it that much at all. Let me know if you try it out without bacon so I can make a note in the recipe for others who don’t want to include it. 🙂
I love bacon and I didn’t care for it in this dish. I am making it again for my younger daughter when she gets home from Navy training next week without the bacon. I will let you know, but I’m sure it will still be delish!
I don’t like bacon. I use turkey Canadian bacon or turkey ham, and cut it in small pieces.. May need some pan pan spray.
I’m always taking pictures of my mom’s food too! Glad to hear someone else is doing it also! Looks fab once again 🙂
My mom makes the best stuff, so I’d be silly if I didn’t take pictures!! Glad I’m not the only one. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Julie!! XO
Super delicious!! I love adding spinach to pasta dishes. It gives it color and great nutition! Can’t wait to try this! Thanks so much for the recipe!!
You’re welcome, Crystal! Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!
This looks incredible. I have actually never had tortellini before, I’m going to pin this recipe to try later!
Tortellini is SO good!! Would love to know what you think of it once you’ve tried it. 🙂