Creamy Pesto Tortellini with red peppers comes together in minutes, and is a family favorite easy weeknight dinner served with a green salad. This will become one of your “back pocket” recipes you can pull out when you need a dinner everyone loves in a flash.
There are two things I’ve known for years that our son loves: tortellini and my homemade ‘secret ingredient’ pesto sauce. Okay, there’s actually a lot more than that (maple-mustard chicken, decadent chocolate chip walnut pie, etc.), but tortellini is not something I make by hand (hello?), so we don’t have it as much as I’m sure he would like.
So making a creamy pesto tortellini recipe for dinner while he was home on a break from college may or may not have been my attempt to try and accumulate more of those mom points. Luckily for me, the whole family loves creamy pasta and pesto, so making that pasta a cheese-filled tortellini is kind of a no-brainer.
Making a variation of a family favorite recipe is a sure way to make sure you will have a hit recipe on your hands. In addition to making the pasta a tortellini, I also added chopped red peppers for added vegetables and color.
If you wanted to add cooked chicken, you could do that, too.
I love the simple ingredients in dishes like this – pesto, cream, red pepper and tortellini (both fresh and frozen work in this recipe).
It’s pretty easy to add color and flavor to your main dishes with savory items like red peppers, parsley, and parmesan cheese. The bonus is that they add incredible flavors, too – I love cooking with these ingredients.
Not only does this creamy pesto tortellini with red peppers taste delicious, it’s a perfect go-to dish for any busy season. It’s easy and quick to put together, yet colorful and nice enough to serve to guests for a relaxing meal with a salad, a good bottle of wine and some great conversation.
Creamy Pesto Tortellini with Red Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 12 ounce package tortellini fresh or dried
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 8 ounce prepared pesto (about a cup, preferably homemade_
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper or to taste
- Optional toppings: chopped parsley, freshly grated parmesan
Instructions
- Start a large pot of water to boil and cook tortellini according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan and add diced red peppers. Cook until softened a bit, about 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle with flour, stir to incorporate and immediately pour cream over peppers, stirring until it thickens a bit.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add prepared pesto. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes more. Season to taste.
- Add cooked, drained tortellini to the sauce and mix to coat everything well.
- Transfer pasta to a serving dish and top with parsley and parmesan, if desired.
Nutrition
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Julia says
December 19 at 5:18 pmYum!! This looks easy and delicious… definitely one to try.
Annie says
December 18 at 7:24 pmLooks fabulous. I love anything with pesto so I can’t wait to try!
Mindy says
December 18 at 5:29 pmI’ve been pulling summer pesto out of the freezer lately for quick weeknight meals. My son LOVES ravioli and tortellini with it, as well, so I get mom points, too. 🙂
Jami says
December 18 at 8:51 pmHow funny both our boys like this type of pasta! My daughter likes it, but she doesn’t love it like he does. 🙂 Don’t know what we’d do without our freezer pesto, either!