Dutch Oven Sausage Tortellini Casserole

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• Why you should make this recipe
• Recipe Ingredients
• Variations
• How to make sausage tortellini casserole
• Recipe FAQs
• Need more ideas for Tortellini
• Other One Pot Meal Recipes
• Get the Recipe

Why you should make this recipe

Because it's delicious and hearty!

We can all use more recipes that are not only quick and easy to make, but also hearty and satisfying, not to mention nutritious.

This recipe has all those elements. Delicious, tender fresh tortellini, Italian sausage, and kale, all combined into a delicious meal that our family loved, and we know your family will love it too.

So grab your Dutch oven, your favorite wooden spoon and get cooking.

Recipe Ingredients

• Cheese tortellini — we used refrigerated tortellini with cheese.
• Sauce — because we added more seasonings, we just went with a simple jarred marinara sauce.
• Produce — kale, mushrooms, and an onion. To save a prep step, we bought sliced mushrooms.
• Sausage — we used mild ground Italian sausage.
• Cheese — shredded Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. We recommend using the block cheese and grating it yourself for best flavor.
• Seasonings — to buoy the flavor, we used Italian seasoning blend, granulated garlic, and black pepper. Salt is needed both for boiling the pasta and for the casserole to taste. You can use fresh garlic or garlic powder instead of granulated.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

Sauce — Instead of marinara sauce, you could use spaghetti sauce, chunky sauce, vodka sauce, or any of your favorite flavors. Homemade using tomato sauce and herbs like fresh basil is also an excellent option.

Sausage — You can use sweet, mild, or spicy sausage. You can also use sausage links and remove the casings. If you're looking to go meatless, use your favorite brand of plant based ground sausage.

Tortellini — While refrigerated cheese tortellini is classic, there's lots of varied fillings from Italian sausage tortellini, to mushroom, spinach, and more. Dried tortellini, frozen tortellini, and fresh tortellini are all great options, just will have varied cooking times.

How to make sausage tortellini casserole

Step 1 — Heat a dutch oven or large skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and crumble the sausage. Bring another pot with water to boil.

Step 2 — When the sausage is about halfway cooked, add the onions and mushrooms.

Step 3 — Once the sausage is cooked through, the onions softened, and the mushrooms have turned golden brown add all the seasonings. Mix them in well. Add tortellini into the boiling water that's been generously salted and cook the tortellini pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water.

Step 4 — Stir in the chopped kale and pasta water.

Step 5 — Gently stir in the cooked tortellini.

Step 6 — Stir in the pasta sauce.

Step 7 — Add both the Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

Step 8 — Stir everything well, top with more shredded mozzarella cheese (if you fancy), red pepper flakes (if you like it a bit spicy), and serve.

Recipe FAQs

Need more ideas for Tortellini

Packaged tortellini is a convenient pasta to make wonderful meals with, like our Tortellini with Sausage. Easy one-pan baked tortellini and Instant Pot Tortellini Soup are other tasty options too.

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