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My One Pan Creamy Tortellini and Smoked Sausage is a match made in heaven! It’s a delicious one pan meal that combines the tender, cheese filled pasta with savory smokey sausage and wraps it all in a creamy cheesy tomato sauce. One bite and you’ll wonder where it’s been all your life!
*This recipe was originally posted in 2014 and has been updated for 2017.
One Pan Meals have long provided record breaking traffic to the blog. People really fell in love with the One Pan Cheesy Smoked Sausage Pasta and others like my One Pan Caprese Pasta and One Pan Beef Stroganoff (my personal favorite).
I did make one small change to the recipe this time around (but left both versions in the printable recipe). I had originally used a big can of whole tomatoes that you cut up yourself in the can, but I’ve found that I prefer crushed tomatoes. Using crushed eliminates a step, and they taste just as fresh if you use a good quality brand like San Marzano.
So really it’s not a huge change and you can stick with whatever type of tomatoes you prefer.
To make the One Pan Creamy Tortellini and Smoked Sausage, start by cooking up the smoked sausage with some fragrant diced onions and a little garlic. That alone will make your kitchen smell divine and you might want to just start picking them out of the pan and eating them one by one. But refrain! You’re so close because this recipe is incredibly easy.
Once the onions are soft and the sausage is browned, you add in the rest of the ingredients (minus the cheese) – Refrigerated Tortellini (whatever flavor you prefer), a can of crushed tomatoes or cut up whole tomatoes (use your kitchen scissors and cut them up right in the can), a cup of chicken broth or water, and salt and pepper. Give it a few quick stirs while you let it come to a boil. Then cover it up and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Alternatively, you could leave the lid off while it simmers at a higher heat, stirring often, to cook it a little faster.
Once the pasta is tender, you just add in the cheeses. The sauce will seem thin, but will thicken as it sits. Cover to allow the cheese time to melt, then serve hot.
This is one that I will definitely be adding to my monthly meal plan, because my kids LOVED it! You can kick it up a little by adding two cans of Rotel Tomatoes instead of the whole canned tomatoes, too. If not for my picky kiddos, I would have added a couple big handfuls of spinach.
One Pan Creamy Tortellini and Smoked Sausage
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 pound package of smoked sausage cut into 1/4-inch rounds
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 20 ounce package of refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes or whole tomatoes cut in the can with kitchen scissors
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup freshly shredded jack cheese
- Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened; 3-4 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add sausage and cook until browned on both sides.
- Stir in chicken broth, tortellini, tomatoes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until pasta is tender, stirring at least once to prevent sticking. *There should still be liquid in the pan to make the sauce, but if it seems excessive, you can remove some with a large spoon. (If you want a quicker cooking method, set at medium-low heat, uncovered, stirring often for about 8-10 minutes).
- *If there is too much liquid left in the pan, spoon some out. But be sure to leave enough behind to make the sauce.
- Remove from heat and stir in cheeses, reserving a handful for sprinkling on top. Cover and let stand for five to ten minutes, or broil for 2-3 minutes to brown. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of "Yellow Bliss Road" is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Love my One Pan Creamy Tortellini and Smoked Sausage? You might also like these easy dinner recipes:
 Sheet Pan Italian Chicken and Vegetables
Italian Sausage & Tortellini Skillet
One Pan Creamy Lemon Artichoke Tortellini
One Pan Ham & Cheese Tortellini
 For all One Pan Meals go HERE, for all dinner recipes go HERE and for the Recipe Index go HERE.
I thought this was pretty good, but a little salty. Will skip the extra salt next time and try adding zucchini.
I made this last night and it was an immediate family favorite. Even my toddler who is going through a “picky” phase loved it. I used ricotta & spinach filled tortellini and it was amazing!
Made this tonight. I added cherry tomatoes to the onions and sausage. Substituted diced tomatoes and used pepper jack cheese which gave a nice little kick. BIG HIT. Thinking of adding peas next time.
Made this for my husband and I last night, and it was amazing! I used Andouille sausage and it added a rich spiciness to the mix. I’ll definitely be making this again- thank you!
Personally I did not care for this recipe. WAY too much cheese. The sauce basically just tasted like a cheap mac n cheese. I would say if you do want to try it to start out with HALF the amount of cheese listed and then add a little at a time if needed, but I do not know why you would need it. My husband and I love cheese, and this was just too too much.
Sorry you weren’t happy with the recipe. My family loved it as is, but results can vary from kitchen to kitchen. 🙂
“Personally I did not care for this recipe. WAY too much cheese.”
-Nobody ever
Haha! Good one Kaelah! I thought this dish was awesome. My husband and I are huge cheese fans, so this was perfect. I thought it was delicious and I’ll be making it again and again. Thanks for the great recipe!
Just made this, it was amazing!
I used prefrozen pasta, I just let it thaw on the counter for a bit and drained off the excess water 🙂
Absolutely amazing…I added garlic and some parsley.
I made this last night, it’s delicious. Next time I think I will add some peppers and fresh basil. I think that would be delicious too! Thanks for sharing!
I used this recipe as my basis for Sausage and Cheese Tortellini Soup. While sausage and onion were browning I put the chicken broth(app. 4+ cups), the tomatoes(1-small can of diced and (1) can of diced with green chilies in my slow cooker( I have the type that you can brown/saute in, set it on 375 degrees to bring to a boil quickly) and added my frozen tortellini, sausage and onion. I used 8 oz. of cream cheese, taking one cup broth( of the total 4 cups) that I had saved out and heated, adding together and blending well(I used my hand mixer, cause sometimes it’s hard to get the cream cheese to incorporate completely).Add to slow cooker(that has been turned from the 375 degrees to high. Then the shredded cheese (I used what I had which was mozzarella and cheddar, pepper and Italian seasoning(no salt cause the broth has plenty, usually). I like my soups creamy, so I added some cornstarch mixed with cold water to thicken – totally up to your preference. You could add spinach or mushrooms if desired Velvetta could be used instead of the shredded cheeses. A roux could be used instead of the cornstarch.
It was delicious!!!!
P.S. If you are thinking about replacing your slow cooker, I highly recommend the Cuisinart 3-in-1 Multicooker. Well worth the money!
Sounds wonderful!
Is it 4 cups shredded cheese, 2 of each? Or 2 total?
It’s two cups total. You can combine the two cheeses or just use what you have.
I don’t care for tomatoes (whole/chopped etc), would a basic tomato sauce with instead? Or perhaps paste?
It would change the consistency of the dish. Without trying it I can’t say what the ratios should be.
If adding spinach, should it be added with the onion and sausage while browning or when the tomatoes, tortellini, and chicken broth are added?
Also, do you recommend turkey kielbasa over smoked kielbasa for any particular reason?
Add it when you add the tomatoes and and broth. Also, I prefer turkey sausage because it’s healthier. 🙂
In the pictures it looks like you used a green onion, so is that the only onion you used in the recipe, or did you dice up a yellow/sweet onion and use the green onions as a garnish towards the end?
If you use frozen tortellini, do you have to boil it first?
Thanks!
I wouldn’t use frozen tortellini, as it will add more liquid to the dish. You could always boil it separately and add it in on the last couple of minutes.
Did you add the sauce that comes in the tomato can or strain out just the tomatoes?
You do not strain, add everything in the can. 🙂
Can I use frozen tortellini?
For this recipe I think it would add too much water. It might work if you cut back on the liquid and don’t cook for as long.
I made some changes based on items in the fridge/freezer I needed to use up, which included frozen tortellini. I didn’t measure but used leftover chopped tomatoes (close to amount needed), probably 2 cups broth, low fat cream cheese, maybe a cup of reduce fat shredded cheese and some leftover Irish bangers and chunks of chicken I’m trying to use up. Very quick, warm and hearty and paired it with roasted zucchinni. I think this would have about 4 good sized servings. I’d double it up if I had four hungry men! Leftovers aren’t the worst thing but I doubt there’ll be any! Very good tomato taste!
I’m making it now and it looks delicious! The only problem with the recipe card is that it doesn’t say to cover it, however it does in the written description.
All I can say is you’re making me crave Tortellini Sausage with Tomato Cream sauce and it’s 6:20 am here!
How many servings does this yield? I’m feeding three men with big appetites that start out with big portions and usually go back for seconds. Could I get 6 to 8 portions out of your quantities above?
Generally speaking, I’d say most of the one pot meals yield 4-6 servings.
this looks absolutely amazing – and will be added to our meal rotation for sure!
This looks so delicious! I’m trying this asap!