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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 wonder if using frozen tortellini would change the cook time or the process at all? We’ll see tonight! Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m using frozen now and wondering how it’ll turn out. Any pointers real quick?! 😉
I made this last night because I love the idea of using kielbasa in a pasta dish. Whenever you’re using canned tomatoes in a recipe, you should always add sugar to offset the bitter taste that tomatoes often have. In this recipe, I used 1T granulated sugar and of course, salt & pepper are necessary as well. I sauteed two cloves of garlic with the onion. I also omitted 1 cup of the shredded cheese and replaced it with 4 oz. of cream cheese. I also added a cup of peas at the end of the cooking time. They were a great flavor and color addition. Great recipe, I’ll definitely make it again!
Thanks for your feedback Stephanie. I disagree about adding sugar though. If you cook the tomatoes like the recipe states, you should need to add any additional sugar.
This is a nice week night meal! I drained the oil, and deglazed the pain with wine, doubled the meat, drained my stewed tomatoes and added a splash of prego sauce! Came out great! Love one pot wonders ! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I made this tonight! At first when my fiance asked me what I was cooking for dinner and told him I was trying something new, he was skeptical then when he was eating it. He had more then just one plate so did my 2 year old and my very picky 1 year old. Thank you for sharing this delicious meal
Trying this tonight! Added mushrooms, peas, and used fresh cut tomatoes instead of canned. Simmering right now and smells so good!
About how many tomatoes did you use??
Is this a soup or a casserole dish?
It’s a casserole type dish.
I never write reviews but I made this and it was better than I thought. I like the creamy texture without adding any milk or cream. I added yellow bell pepper, parsley, mushrooms and mixed in the green onions at the end. I used diced tomatoes. The family loved it!!
I made this for dinner tonight and just want to say YUMM! and THANK YOU! Clean up was a cinch, it was delicious and my temperamentally picky 20-month old son even asked for seconds! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
i bet with shrimp and a few veggies this would be great!
Loved this!!! The only thing I think I will change is substitute the whole tomatoes for tomato sauce instead. Other than that, great flavor!! And it makes a ton!
I agree! I tried this recipe tonight and I thought that spaghetti sauce or vodka sauce would be better than the canned tomatoes. Also- I would use a little less pasta and add other veggies I like.
Are there any seasonings that would go good with it to give it more flavor?
Is this possible to make in a crock pot instead?
I haven’t tried it, but it’s a very different method of cooking and the timing and amounts would have to be adjusted. If you try it, please come back and let us know how it was!
I will be trying this tomorrow. It looks delicious and so very easy!! I purchased boxed tortellini….guess I didn’t read the ingredients well enough. Do you think this will work?
I made this tonight and I gotta say………..
I Loved It! I’ll be adding it to my favourites.
I did how swap the turkey for the leftover ham I had, left out cream cheese as I didn’t have any, used a can of diced tomatoes (19 fl oz)-drained it.
I used my frozen tortellini and it all fit in my large stir fry pan and used the lid till the last few min, took it off to let extra liquid evaporate.
It turned out wonderful and soooo yummy!
Thanks to so much for the great recipe.
Can ravioli be used in place of tortellini? I pinned this today but only have ravioli on hand! Was going to make for dinner on this snowing day!
I haven’t tried the same recipe with ravioli, but yes I think it would work. Might need to adjust the cooking time.
Looks delish! Could this possibly be converted into a crock pot meal?
I haven’t tried that, but I’d worry that it would be soggy. Let us know if you try it!
Hi Kristin,
I was wondering if you used a yellow or white onion in this recipe?
I have used both. It doesn’t really seem to make a difference.
Made this on Monday and ….O….M….G!!!! AMAZING!!! I don’t like whole tomatoes so I used 2- 8oz cans of tomato sauce and one small tomato paste. Both by Hunts with the basil, oregano and Italian seasons.
I added a 1/4 cup more broth and dropped the cheese back to 1 1/4 cups. It was outstanding! And even better the next day! It will definitely be going into our monthly rotation! Thanks!!!
Davina, did your recipe tweak create the dish as more of a soup or more of a casserole?
Warm, Yummy, Goodness! This soup is now in my favorite soup list! Not sure if I was off with my package of tortellini (1/2 of the Costco package and of course the side without the amount), but I had to add a total of 32 oz. of chicken broth so that we would have soup and not a cheese casserole!
I added two handfuls of spinach and easily could have added two more! Served with salad and baguette bread slices (to soak up the juice!).
It’s a hit Kristin! Thanks!
This is by far one of my favorite recipes – ever! I made it again tonight, for the… 4th time? Because my bf and I enjoy this immensily. It’s hearty, rich and flavorful – a great meal to cook up after a hard day (or any other day, cause it’s just so delicious). Thanks a lot for sharing this! I already have the ingerdients for another pot-ful in the fridge! ^^
Thanks so much for the wonderful comment. So glad you’re enjoying it!