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This Creamy Pesto Tortellini is a quick and delicious weeknight dinner made with cheese tortellini in a rich, garlicky pesto cream sauce. It’s ready in under 20 minutes and packed with bold flavor.
I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen making dinner, but I also don’t want to have take out or fast food every night either. I love doing make your own take out like Chicken Lo Mein for quick dinners as well. On the table in the same amount of time it would take for delivery.
I am a sucker for pesto, and will incorporate it any time I can. Italian Turkey Cutlets are so easy and so good, and also work perfectly with chicken. This creamy pesto sauce would go with just about anything, but works really well with cheese tortellini. I added some smoked turkey sausage to give it some protein. It is super creamy, full of all the herbs and deliciousness of pesto and a great weeknight dinner.
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Butter
- Smoked Turkey Sausage – you really can use any protein here, chicken breast, shrimp, other sausage etc.
- Fresh Cheese Tortellini
- Heavy Cream – I use a combo of heavy cream and milk to give it the richness, but also cut down a little on the fat and calories
- Milk
- Parmesan Cheese
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Pesto
If you have a homemade pesto that you like it is great to use in this recipe. This Spinach Pesto gives you all the flavor you need and works great. Or you can use store bought. Whatever you have on hand is fine, definitely not something to stress over.
This creamy pesto sauce is going to be a staple in my house. I can see it tossed with spaghetti with grilled chicken served on top. Or even a shrimp pasta. It comes together in minutes. From start to finish you can have dinner on the table in 20 minutes, so it is great for any night of the week.
Serve with a side salad or go crazy and have Cheesy Garlic Bread. Whatever you do your family is going to love this dinner.
Pro Tip
You don’t want to heat the pesto too much, or it starts to separate and ruins the sauce. But stirred in right at the end, it is creamy and delicious!
If you want to skip the sausage you could use a different flavored tortellini and it would be wonderful as well.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Chicken Parmesan Sandwich
- Air Fryer Boneless Pork Chops
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
- Easy Sesame Chicken
- Spinach Chicken Alfredo
Creamy Pesto Tortellini
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 13 ounces Smoked Turkey Sausage, such as kielbasa, sliced
- 20 ounces Fresh Cheese Tortellini
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
- 3/4 cup Skim Milk
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 cup Pesto
Instructions
- Boil tortellini according to package directions.20 ounces Fresh Cheese Tortellini
- In a large skillet melt butter. Add sausage and sauté over medium high heat until browned.2 tablespoons Butter, 13 ounces Smoked Turkey Sausage
- Mix cream, milk, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper together. Pour over cooked sausage.3/4 cup Heavy Cream, 3/4 cup Skim Milk, 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, 1/2 teaspoon Salt, 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes until it starts to thicken. Add in cooked tortellini, tossing to coat.
- Stir in pesto until everything is blended. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.1/2 cup Pesto
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I love pesto too…It adds such a fantastic flavor to any dish! Can’t wait to try this!
Delicious dish – easy and light! our favorite kind of meal! Have a nice weekend!
SO delicious! I just love pesto. Love the added turkey sausage too!
Pesto adds so much flavor to so many dishes…like this tortellini!!
I love pesto so much, I can’t wait to try this one out!
Wow! This looks so good! I have to make it soon!
I need to make this for dinner tonight!