Easy Garlic Alfredo Tortellini
So simple, so easy, and just amazingly creamy. Best of all, it comes together in just 20 min from start to finish!
Three-cheese tortellini are smothered in a homemade alfredo sauce. And the best part about this? No, it’s not the epic cheesy-garlic goodness. Or the creaminess that just melts away in your mouth. It’s that it comes together in just 20 min from start to finish.
Seriously. It’s just that quick and easy. No joke. But the secret ingredient here is the fresh tortellini. Dry tortellini can be used but the fresh ones just taste so much better, and cuts the cooking time right in half. Either way, I recommend doubling this recipe or else you’ll be fighting for seconds!
Easy Garlic Alfredo Tortellini
So simple, so easy, and just amazingly creamy. Best of all, it comes together in just 20 min from start to finish!
Ingredients
- 1 9-ounce package refrigerated three cheese tortellini
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk, or more, as needed
- ½ cup half and half*
- 2 ounces cream cheese, cubed
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook tortellini according to package instructions; drain well.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in milk and half and half, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in cheeses until melted, about 1-2 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk as needed; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in tortellini and gently toss to combine.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
*Half and half is equal parts of whole milk and cream. For 1 cup half and half, you can substitute 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream or 2/3 cup skim or low-fat milk + 1/3 cup heavy cream.
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Extra primo good!!
Such an easy and delish recipe. I cooked small pieces of asparagus with the pasta, used pasta water to thin the sauce.
Its was soooooo good!!! Super easy 🙂 thank you for the great recipe !!!!
Made this tonight with sautéed chicken. Very good. Didn’t have half and half, so used milk and a little more cheese. More cheese is always a good thing. Everyone loved this. Will add this to my menu.
We enjoyed this recipe very much. The only change I made was to add onions, peas and increased the amount of red pepper flakes for more flavor. Used almost the entire bag of frozen (19 oz.) tortellini, so I made 1 1/2 times the sauce. It made enough for us two for dinner and 2 lunch portions for the next day. I plan to make this again. 4 1/2 stars.
This was amazingly delicious!
Awesome Alfredo! Super creamy and delicious. Made it just like the recipe ask minus the fact I added chicken. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
This is amazingly simple to make. And Damn Delicious to eat. Even my pickiest eater loved this pasta. I wouldn’t change a thing!!!
Beyond delicious and so simple!
Delicious! A super easy to make treat. We served this with a big green salad and it was such a comforting meal. Thank you!
Great Recipe. This is the first time I’ve made a GARLIC ALFREDO TORTELLINI and it turned out delicious.
I love how this gets right to the point. Also the sauce is amazing
My new favourite Alfredo sauce, I also served it with bite sized chicken that I browned off in pan then removed to make the sauce.
I cooked this with my 12 year old boy last night and today. Excellent and easy recipe, my son is amazed as to how quick it came together especially the way I cook.
Last’s night recipe:
added sausage, forgot the cream cheese and parsley. I used heavy whipping cream instead of half & half… we tore it up with no leftovers.
Today’s recipe:
Added chicken, added the cream cheese and forgot the parsley again. used whipping cream.
The cream cheese can be skipped with great results.
I love the simplicity of this recipe and how quickly and adaptable it is.
Thank you!
I love this recipe!! It’s my go to when I’m craving something really cheesy and indulgent for dinner. I don’t often have cream cheese on hand, so I usually just add a little bit of fresh mozzarella and extra Parmesan until the sauce reaches the right consistency. Works perfectly! Thanks so much
This is delicious as is and I did not have half and half, so I just used all milk. Next time I will also add spinach and artichokes and KNOW this will only make it even better!
This recipe was amazing and I wish I took a picture. Beautiful presentation. I had pan fried some diced pancetta for a few minutes and then added some peas to the pancetta. Threw them in at the end when I tossed the pasta with the cream sauce. Another change that I made was I added a mix of asiago and parmesan cheese. I also added some fresh ground pepper as well. Truly delicious!
Best recipe for the sauce I have every tried! Thank you!
I made this for dinner last night and my boyfriend (who likes to think he is something of a food critic) said it was the best cream sauce he’s ever had. I will definitely be adding this one to my recipe list—we loved it so much!
6 Stars
My gosh this is frickin’ awesome. Such tremendous depth in flavor. It’s as if God sent this straight down from heaven. Us mere mortals do not deserve gazing upon, let alone consuming such pure bliss. Perfection encapsulated in a luscious, creamy, garlicky sauce, all topped with a garnishing of parsley. Gordon Ramsey showed up at my doorstep the other day, so I made him this, and looked me dead in the eyes, gently kissed me on the cheek, and said “Well done my boy, this is F$@#&(* excellent”. The only thing he thought it needed was some olive oil, but that’s Chef Ramsey fer ya’. I personally find it to be beautiful in every way, and wouldn’t change a thing about it……
…..but if you do decide to up it a notch (nearly impossible but whatever) the last time I made this dish, I added some diced chicken which was marinated in pesto, along with some roasted garlic cloves and a heaping spoonful of Italian seasoning, and the whole flavor experience was like nothing I have ever shoved into my facehole. I was under the notion that perfection couldn’t become more perfect, but boy was I proven wrong. This’ll be my go-to recipe from now on.
Best recipe, and best review ever