Slow Cooker Cheesy Tortellini
There’s nothing better than coming home to the cheesiest tortellini ever, and yes, it’s easily made right in the crockpot!
Remember that pre-emptive holiday health kick I was talking about with those baked green bean fries? Well, today, we are shifting gears to the ultimate comfort food. It’s all about balance, right?
Now the beauty of this recipe is that it comes together so easily right in your slow cooker. All you have to do is crumble up some ground beef and throw everything into the crockpot. Easy enough, right? Then, 15 minutes before serving, you’ll throw in your fresh tortellini and that cheesy goodness. That’s it!
Comfort food has never been so good (or easy!).
Slow Cooker Cheesy Tortellini
There’s nothing better than coming home to the cheesiest tortellini ever, and yes, it’s easily made right in the crockpot!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 9-ounce package refrigerated three cheese tortellini
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef, onion and garlic. Cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Place ground beef mixture, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and green chiles, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes into a slow cooker; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir until well combined.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.
- Uncover and stir in tortellini; top with cheeses. Cover and cook on low heat for an additional 15-30 minutes, or until tender.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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This is delicious! I made it last night (my second time) and it is a hit. I am having some for lunch today! I find I don’t need any salt as the cheese has plenty for me. Thanks for the great recipes.
Actually, I think I bought the wrong bag because the kind I found was in the freezer section, only in 19oz bags. I guess I could use that too, right?
You may want to edit your ingredient section. I think you meant a 19oz bag of tortellini, instead of 9 😉
Is this freezer friendly?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Thank you so so much for putting the nutritional info on your post!! I seriously love that, as I track my calories, protein and carbs. You rock!!
How do I cook leftover cheesy tortellini without using a microwave.
Thanks
You can use the oven to reheat as needed.
Made this tonight for dinner and really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe – it was perfect for a busy weeknight!
I’m making this tonight for dinner and I just realized…the refrigerated buitoni tortellini I bought has cooking instructions…do I cook it prior to adding it to the crockpot or put it in as is?
Nope – there’s no need to! 🙂
Thank you so much for the great recipe! I’m going to try it this week! I do have a question though, if the ground beef is already browned before adding it to the crock pot, why do you cook it for so long?
That’s the beauty of using a slow cooker!
Chungah,
I made this dish last night and like every other recipee on this site it was delicious. I hope you keep adding new slow cooker recipees to the list of wonderful meals. When does your new cookbook come out? Thanks!
Thank you, Ginny! The cookbook is scheduled to be released Fall 2016.
Made it twice already and it was a huge success! I’ve made some of your other recipes as well and everything is to die for. Definitely my favorite recipe website!
I’m making this for dinner this week! Our family loves pasta, especially my 1 year old. Thanks for the recipe!
Trying this now for tomorrow’s dinner with Italian ground turkey! Sounds yummy!
I’m a newbie cook and am confused by the pasta. I got a bag of frozen tortellini pasta. Should I boil the pasta according to the bag instructions or throw in the defrosted (kept in fridge all day) bag as is? Thanks
I have not tried using frozen tortellini in this recipe (the recipe calls for fresh, refrigerated tortellini) but it may be best to cook it prior to adding to the slow cooker.
I just made this using frozen tortellini, cooked on Low for 30 minutes (as specified in the recipe) and it seems fine. Just in case you were still wondering. 🙂
so excited to try this! For the can of crushed tomatoes is this undrained as well?
Yes! Although there’s really nothing to drain when it comes to crushed tomatoes – the consistency is similar to a chunky marinara.
What is the serving size?
I would estimate about 2 cups per serving.
2 cups per serving? Ha! Ha! Not in my house!
If doubling this recipe would the crockpot cooking time change?
Unfortunately without further recipe testing, I cannot advise on the appropriate cooking time if this recipe is doubled. Please use your best judgment.
Do you think I could use dry tortellini and achieve the same results?
Unfortunately, this recipe is meant for fresh tortellini. With dry tortellini, you may need more liquid and also have to extend cooking time.
What is the difference between dry and fresh? Which brand of tortellini do you use?
Rae, here is great article regarding Dry Pasta vs. Fresh Pasta. And you can use any brand you would like, but I personally prefer to use Buitoni.
I use dry tortellini all the time for this recipe. I prefer Barilla Collezione three cheese tortellini. When I make this up I usually use one pound of ground beef and half a pound to one pound of sausage. (I have, on occasion used ground turkey for one or the other. It just depends on what I have in the freezer). I use 2 – 14 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes and 2 – 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles. This provides adequate liquid at the end for the dry tortellini. I add it during the last 30 minutes in the crock pot. Stir it into the sauce mixture, and then add cheese over the top. If you find leftovers a little drier than you would wish, a bit of marinara sauce or pasta sauce works nicely.
What size of crockpot did you use ? I find the cooking time varies greatly depending on the size . Your photo looks like you used a 4-5 quart. I have a 7.5 quart
I used a 3-qt round slow cooker, but there shouldn’t be a huge discrepancy in cooking time even with a 7.5-qt slow cooker.
I made this for a bring-a-dish party and it was a huge success! I made it up in the morning and threw the last ingredients in at the end of the day and it was no trouble at all. I used half ground beef and half sausage (because I had some I needed to use) and liked that combination, but otherwise it was just as written. I’ve usually put tortellini in a creamy tomato-basil soup or used an Alfredo sauce (I don’t like heavy tomato sauces), and this was a very welcome change. Just had some of the leftover portion for lunch and it might have even been better – great recipe, thanks! I’ll be making this again!