Pasta is my favorite go-to weeknight meal because it’s quick, and it’s so easy to create a well-balanced, one-dish meal. You can even grab whatever is in the fridge and turn it into a nutritious dinner. These days, I love making stuffed pasta, so today I’m sharing my favorite recipe for Easy Homemade Tortellini.
I love my Easy Homemade Tortellini for many reasons. First, you can stuff it with almost anything. Grab whatever you have in the fridge, or pack it with nutritious vegetables that the kids may otherwise resist. Also, you can make it ahead of time, freeze it, and pull it out of the freezer at any time. And did I mention that my recipe is super simple and quick?
What makes these tortellini so easy is the wrapper. I don’t bother making homemade pasta. Instead I use wonton wrappers that you can find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store (usually in the produce section). So, all you really need to do is whip up the filling.
My favorite filling is made with onions, butter, a bit of nutmeg, and spinach. My oldest daughter is a superstar vegetable/fruit eater. I mean, she gets way more than 5 servings of fruit and vegetables in one day. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about my youngest. She’s going through that, “What’s that green thing in my food?” phase. So, stuffing spinach in a cute little pasta package and covering it with cheese all of a sudden makes the spinach disappear. She loves this Easy Homemade Tortellini.
Probably the most complicated part of the filling is making sure that the spinach is well-squeezed out after you saute it. If you don’t remove the excess moisture, the tortellini will completely fall apart.
Since the wrappers I used are square, here’s how I folded the tortellini:
Once I fold all tortellini, I line them up on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Then I freeze the sheet for about 30 minutes. When they’re frozen, I pile them up into a zip-top bag and pop them in the freezer.
When I cook the tortellini, I don’t even need to defrost it. And I don’t boil it. All I do is place a bit of pasta sauce (You can use any sauce you like. I used my favorite bottled sauce.) in the bottom of an oven-proof dish, place a single layer of tortellini over the sauce. Top it with more sauce and a thick layer of cheese. Then I bake it. It’s so simple, and it’s so perfect for a healthy, easy week night meal!
You can change up this Easy Homemade Tortellini by filling it with just about anything. Just make sure that the filling is pre-cooked before wrapping the tortellini and that the filling is not too moist. Other than that, the sky’s the limit! You can even stuff it with Nutella or peanut butter and chocolate and fry it for a delicious dessert tortellini!
- For the Spinach Stuffing:
- 3/4 pound spinach, washed and stemmed
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (about 1/2 a small onion) chopped fine
- salt and pepper to taste
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 large egg yolk
- To Assemble the Tortellini:
- 1 package wonton wrappers
- small bowl of water
- Wash the spinach, and place wet spinach in a large pot. Cover and steam over medium heat until the spinach wilts (about 5 minutes).
- While the spinach is still warm, squeeze the water out of the spinach by placing it in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze.
- Chop the spinach fine and set aside.
- In a small skillet, melt the butter.
- Saute the onions in the butter until translucent (about 5 minutues).
- Add the spinach and cook for about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg.
- In a medium bowl, mix the spinach mixture with the rest of the filling ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
- Set the filling aside to cool completely.
- Place a teaspoon of the filling in the center of the wonton sheet.
- To fold, see the photos above, using water to seal the edges.
- In an 8″ square, oven safe dish, place enough sauce to cover the bottom of the dish.
- Place a single layer of tortellini on top of the pasta, covering the bottom of the dish.
- Place more sauce over the tortellini to cover.
- Cover with shredded cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for about 25 min at 350 degrees.
- *You do not need to freeze or pre-cook the tortellini.
- **If the tortellini is frozen, just add 15 minutes to the bake time.
This post is linked to these awesome parties.
Aida, this looks so tasty! I love pasta, and I like it for the reason you do…it makes a great, easy weeknight meal that can be well balanced. You’re making me hungry! 🙂
Thanks so much Kristi! Yes – pasta is such a reliable weekday meal 🙂
Yum! pinned!
Thanks for the pin Kimberly! Hope you’re having a great Memorial Day!
This looks delicious! I would love to have you share it on my recipe link up Tasty Tuesday. Everything gets pinned and I would love to have you!
Hi Stephanie,
I’ll head on over to check it out! Thanks so much 🙂
Best,
Aida
Your tortellini’s look so cute! I really struggle with enjoying pasta, unless it is stuffed, but my family loves it. These I believe will be a hit with the whole family, spinach included. Thanks so much for sharing on Weekend bites!
Thanks so much Adelina! The tortellini is so versatile that it can be specified for anyone’s taste.
Genius idea to make tortellini with wonton wrappers! I have made many tortellini recipes but I always use the refrigerated tortellini. I’d love to make my own one day – this is a great start!
Thanks so much Julie. It’s such an easy way to make semi-homemade tortellini!
What a great meal Aida! I’ve never made my own tortellini, it just sounds super complicated. But I’m sure I could handle this! You are a genius 🙂
Thanks, Serene! I know. Isn’t it incredibly easy? Plus, you can use leftovers (ground meat or veggies) as the filling. It’s so perfect!