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Creamy Sausage Tortellini with Spinach, Tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese sauce - Italian style easy dinner! Buy those pre-made tortellini in the store, smother them with this delicious homemade creamy sauce, and your dinner is ready!
Creamy Mozzarella, Sausage, Spinach, and Tomato Tortellini - easy, delicious pasta dinner that's easy to make, yet it tastes like something you would get in a good Italian restaurant. You'll love this recipe and the simplicity of how to make it.
For this recipe, I used fresh pork sausage (uncooked), Jimmy Dean brand, the kind of sausage that comes uncooked in a sausage roll, 16 oz. I used the regular pork sausage, and the Italian sausage can be used too. I like to use this kind of sausage, because it's flavorful, simple, crumbly and easy to cook.
Sausage is cooked first, the fat is drained, the diced tomatoes from the can (including the liquid from the can) are added. Next, cook the tortellini, and add it to the same skillet. Then, you pretty much combine the rest of the ingredients together. That's how easy it is to make this sausage pasta dinner.
Enjoy!
Creamy Sausage Tortellini with Spinach, Tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese sauce
Ingredients
- 16 oz Italian pork sausage or regular, fresh, uncooked, I used Jimmy Dean brand
- 14 oz diced tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups cheese tortellini
- 2 cups spinach uncooked
- 1 cup half and half
- ¼ cup Mozzarella cheese shredded
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook sausage, crumbling it and stirring, on medium heat until done and no longer pink. Drain the fat from the skillet.
- Add diced tomatoes (with the liquid from the can of diced tomatoes) to the skillet. Add red pepper flakes, paprika. Mix on low simmer.
- In a separate pan, cook tortellini according to the package instructions. Drain, and add them to the pan with the sausage and tomatoes.
- Add uncooked spinach, mix. Add half and half, bring to gentle boil, reduce to simmer, cover with lid and let spinach wilt for a couple of minutes, covered. Remove the lid, stir. Bring the mixture to a gentle medium boil. Add ¼ cup mozzarella cheese and stir until the cheese melts.
- Taste, and add salt, extra paprika, and extra crushed red pepper flakes, if needed, to taste.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Made this for my birthday dinner and wasn’t disappointed. This dish was an instant family favorite. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us. I’ll be following for more like it.
Pam, you are very welcome! And, I want to thank you for taking the time to write such a wonderful and positive comment! 🙂
Very nice and tasty!!
Marina, I am happy you liked it! 🙂
I used this recipe as a foundation for the one below and HOLY it's good!
Cook cubed chicken in sun dried tomato oil with paprika, crushed red chili flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper.
Remove the chicken and set aside. Keep the oil and drippings in pan. Add can of diced tomatos and juice, add 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes to that same pan, 3 cups of chicken broth. I salted this again and peppered. Bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add package tortellini. Keep boiling on high heat for 7 minutes. You want most of the liquid evaporated by then. During this time i heated up a cup of heavy whipping cream seperately until warm. Once the 7 minutes is up, if more than a half a cup of liquid is left.. ur heats probably not high enough. But don't overcook the tortellini!
Add the cup of warm heavy cream to it and 2 cups spinach. Throw your chicken back in to the mix. Add 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic. Bring to a boil then cook on medium low until thick and Creamy . About 4 to five minutes. At the end use about 3/4 cup of mozzarella!
Kelly, I love-love your version! I spent like 10 minutes reading your version. You made it a one-pan recipe with chicken! Sounds so good!
Made this for dinner last night - delicious!!! I used Italian style turkey sausage, fire roasted diced tomatoes, and added 2 cloves of minced garlic. So good!
Penny, I love that you made this recipe with turkey sausage - sounds so good!
Interested, but don’t like sausage. Or meat, really. Any suggestions for substitutions? Or could I do everything but the meat?
Hi Diane,
One option would be to use mushrooms (such as regular button mushrooms or Portabello) instead of sausage.
Another option is to try Hot Italian Beyond Meat sausage instead of regular sausage: https://www.beyondmeat.com/en-US/products/beyond-sausage?variant=hot-italian
Delicious! My husband ate seconds. Will make this again.
Thank you, Sandy, for your positive comment - I appreciate it! 🙂
This was a very good recipe, and is great for weeknight cooking. After digging into it I realized that it's like a home-made, high-end Hamburger Helper - and I mean that as a compliemnt!
Dave, thank you so much for such a kind and positive comment! 🙂 I am glad you've enjoyed this recipe!
My family loved it!!! I used whipping cream as I didn’t have 1/2 n 1/2 and we absolutely will make it again. Thank you
Deb, I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
My family absolutely loved this recipe. I loved that it was so simple to make. Thank You.
Destiny, thank you so much for such a positive comment! Glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
My second meal based on your tortellini and I used a caseless breakfast sausage like you ( not Jimmy Dean we don't have that in Canada ) I added a little smoked bacon to get a little more fat and add some flavour. Its much nicer without the overpowering seasoning of the Italian sausage. I elected again not to add the cheese this does does not need it if you use cream and some light seasoning.
Thanks,
Picky teen likes and my wife has approved this meal.
Doug, what a wonderful comment! Thank you for such detailed feedback - so helpful to me and other readers. I agree that the sauce does not really need any cheese for thickening if you use cream.
This recipe looks so yummy, but I do not like sausage. What can I substitute?
If you don't like sausage, I would suggest using Beyond Meat sausage (plant-based sausage). Or, if you like meat alternative, I recommend ground turkey seasoned generously with paprika, chili powder, Italian seasoning, and salt.
I used 18% cream its all I had. This made it very rich and I decided not to add the cheese. I added more paprika to my taste and some onion and a clove of garlic, but I tried to stay true to your directions.
Very simple, smells wonderful, tastes very nice. I can't wait for my wife and son to get home and try it. Thank you for the supper idea.
PS: Can you put measurements in Metric? Outside the USA its not common to use ounces and cups and its a little confusing.
Doug, I am glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment - I appreciate it! 🙂 And, I just updated the recipe to have the option to switch between US and metric measurements.
I made this tonight and my picky child loved it! Definitely on the routine! Thanks!
I am so happy to hear this recipe was enjoyed! Thank you so much for your comment!
This recipe is so delicious. I have used fire roated tomatoes or basil and oregano canned tomatoes. I also add onions and garlic. One of my favorite recipes and so easy to feed a crowd!
Pam, I am so flattered this is one of your favorite recipes! Thank you. And, thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂 I really appreciate it!!
Easy, simple dinner that got great reviews from the entire family.
Megan, I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for the comment and a 5-star review! 🙂 I appreciate it!!!
This has become one of my most favorite recipes. I make it at least two or three times a month. Easy and delicious.
Do you think it could be frozen? I like to make things in advance and freeze them to put in my elderly parents freezer. Saves mom from having to cook
Erin, your comment made my day! So happy to hear it's one of your favorite recipes. Yes, you can freeze this. But, make sure to reheat it gently and add extra milk or half-and-half or heavy cream to thin out the sauce as you reheat it.
Very simple recipe, with minimal dishes for cleanup. Only thing is that there's something off about the taste - I'm guessing it's the canned tomatoes. I'll be trying fresh next time! Thank you!