Cheese Tortellini with Sautéed Vegetables

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Cheese tortellini with sauteed vegetables is a perfect 30-minute meal for weeknight dinners. Simple sauteed veggies tossed together in a light olive oil sauce with seasonings and simple but delicious cheese tortellini. This can also be served as a pasta salad making it an easy and versatile recipe everyone will love!

Who doesn't love an easy pasta recipe that comes together in 30 minutes and that everyone loves?! Recipes like Easy Chicken and Spinach Skillet Pasta - crowd favorite over here! There are just days when you need something that can be tossed together quickly and that is really what I like to call "no recipe recipe".

A big serving bowl full of Cheese Tortellini with Sautéed Vegetables with a wooden spoon and green onions next to it.

AKA - you don't have to strictly follow a recipe to a T. Add a little of this, a little of that, use what you have, and make it up as you go kinda thing. That's my kinda meal!

Tortellini with vegetables is just that. It is something that can be made for a quick dinner with any leftover veggies you have that need to be used up in the fridge. It is also a recipe that can also be served as a pasta salad like BLT Pasta Salad or Caprese Pasta Salad. And just all around an easy and adaptable dish that I know you will love. Let me show you how it's done!

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Ingredients Needed
How to Make
Variations and Substitution Ideas
Frequently Asked Questions
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Recipe

Ingredients Needed

Below is what I used exactly for this specific recipe, but keep reading down further for more ideas/substitutions to make this adaptable.

Olive oil
Veggies: Onion, zucchini, red bell pepper, garlic cloves, sun-dried tomatoes, and green onions.
Pasta: Cheese tortellini - bag sizes may vary depending on where you purchase - a medium/family size will work, it doesn't have to be 12 ounces exactly.
Seasonings: Salt, oregano, Italian seasoning, pepper, white pepper
Parmesan cheese
Reserved pasta water + more olive oil for dressing

Bag of tortellini and sun dried tomatoes with green onions, zucchini, onion, garlic, and red pepper on a white table.

How to Make

Sautee veggies. In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and diced onion, zucchini, and red bell pepper. Saute for 5 minutes until it starts to become soft. Add in the minced garlic cloves and sundried tomatoes and saute for an additional 10 minutes - or until the veggies are nice, soft, and fragrant.
Cook tortellini. While the veggies are cooking, place a large pot filled with water on the stove over high heat. Bring to a rapid boil and generously season with salt. Add in tortellini and cook according to package directions or just until al dente (do not overcook). Once finished, drain the tortellini and add to a big bowl, keeping the pasta water for later.
Assembly. Add the sauteed veggies on top of the tortellini in the large bowl. Add in the seasonings. Toss to combine.
Garnish to finish. To finish, add in the green onions, and parmesan cheese, and drizzle with some more olive oil. Toss to combine. Add in a little pasta water is needed to loosen everything up and bring it together. The olive oil, pasta water, and seasoning will act as a "sauce" - add desire about but it may be roughly around ¼-1/2 cup of pasta water depending.
Serve. Serve immediately. Garnish with more parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper to taste if desired.

Sautéing veggies in a skillet on the stove.

Sautéed veggies in a clear bowl with cooked tortellini in a strainer.

A couple of tips that will help you make this recipe:

Do not overcook tortellini. Follow the package directions and cook until just al dente - do not overcook to where it will mushy or too soft.
Use fresh or frozen tortellini instead of the shelf-stable kind. It yields a better flavor overall. You can find the fresh kind in the refrigerated section usually close to the diary or in the frozen meal section.
Save that pasta water! Heavily salt the water you will cook the tortellini in - this helps gives it the flavor. Strain the tortellini out instead of dumping in it. We will use some of that starchy and salty pasta water to help loosen up and make a little bit of a dressing as we toss everything together.

Variations and Substitution Ideas

As I said earlier, this recipe can be easily adaptable. Here are some ideas to make this a "use up or use what we have kinda dish".

This can be served as an easy dinner, but also can be served at room temp or chilled as a pasta salad.
If you have some veggies in the fridge that are needing to be used up, this is a great recipe to do so. Start with onion and garlic for flavor, put all veggies you want to use in the pan, and saute together. Squash, eggplant, tomatoes, olives, spinach, etc. would be great additions too. Make it easy and use what you have!
Any flavor of tortellini can be used not just cheese! Use what you have on hand already or whatever your favorite flavor is - spinach and cheese would be a delicious idea too!
Add some protein to bulk up if you would like. Shredded rotisserie chicken would be a perfect pairing to this dish to add some protein and meat if desired.
Use ravioli instead of tortellini if you would like! There are no hard and fast rules. 🙂

Tortellini and veggies served on a. white plate with a big bowl in the background.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Store Leftovers

Keep leftovers stored covered tightly in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Can This Be Made in Advance?

This is best made for the day you would like to enjoy. If you plan on making a chilled pasta salad you can make it a couple of hours in advance and store it in the fridge until needed to be served. Toss with some olive oil to loosen back up if the pasta has become to stick together as it chills.

Can This Be Made Gluten-Free?

Absolutely! Use your favorite brand of gluten-free tortellini and cook according to the package directions.

More Easy Pasta Recipes

Recipe