Million Dollar Cheese Tortellini
Million Dollar Cheese Tortellini is flavorful, creamy, and comforting. Made with store bought tortellini, marinara, alfredo sauce, and gooey cheese, it’s the perfect weeknight dinner!
A BIG DOLLAR CREAMY TORTELLINI BAKE
Just like all the other Million Dollar recipes, this Million Dollar Cheese Tortellini truly lives up to its name. It’s creamy, cheesy (a little rich) and tastes like a million bucks! Tender cheese-filled tortellini are baked in a blend of marinara and alfredo sauce, creating that “million dollar” flavor with minimal effort. Whether you use ground beef or Italian sausage, this easy pasta bake is simple to throw together making it the perfect weeknight meal!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Ravioli can be used in place of tortellini. If using frozen, you need to let it thaw first.
Serve with garlic bread or garlic cheese bread and a salad.
Green pepper and onion are great additions to this dish. Be sure to cook them with the ground beef.
If you want it saucier, you could definitely use a larger (32 ounce) jar of sauce.
Leftovers can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Reheat them in the microwave. Also, you can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months (can freeze before or after cooking – just cover well to protect from freezer burn).
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- refrigerated cheese tortellini– The cheese tortellini does not need to be boiled beforehand. You can use frozen tortellini, but you’d need additional time for it to cook or thaw it out some before using.
- ground beef– This can also be made with ground pork, turkey or chicken. If you want to add a little spice, use Italian sausage!
- marinara sauce– Typically I like Rao’s roasted garlic sauce but it can get pricey unless I can get a coupon. So, use whatever you like and is within your budget. The Classico sauce used here is about half the price of Rao’s right now, and it turned out great. If you prefer, you can make Homemade Marinara Sauce,
- garlic powder, Italian seasoning, black pepper – I do not find black pepper spicy at all but if you do, cut back on it or leave it out.
- alfredo sauce– grab a jar of your favorite sauce, or use some homemade Alfredo sauce like I use in my Million Dollar Spaghetti recipe.
- heavy cream– this can be optional, but that’s what really brings that ‘Million Dollar’ rich flavor.
- shredded mozzarella cheese – use pre-shredded or shred your own.
HOW TO MAKE MILLION DOLLAR CHEESE TORTELLINI:
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. Add the ground beef to a skillet. Cook and crumble over medium/medium-high heat until it’s no longer pink. Drain any excess grease and place back into the skillet. Stir in the jar of marinara sauce, two teaspoons garlic powder, two teaspoons Italian seasoning and 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper and continue to heat over medium-low until heated through. Turn off heat.
Add the tortellini to the casserole dish and spread out to evenly cover the bottom. Pour in the alfredo sauce and heavy cream. Stir the tortellini to make sure they are all covered. Pour the beef mixture evenly over the tortellini.
Sprinkle two cups shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes or and it is bubbling around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool slightly before serving.
Optional: top with chopped parsley. Then serve.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Million Dollar Cheese Tortellini
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (or ground Italian sausage)
- 24 ounce jar marinara sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
- 20 ounce package refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 15 ounce jar alfredo sauce
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley flakes (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add 1 pound ground beef to a skillet. Cook and crumble over medium/medium-high heat until it’s no longer pink. Drain any excess grease and place back into the skillet.
- Stir in 24 ounce jar marinara sauce, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning and 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper and continue to heat over medium-low until heated through. Turn off heat.
- Add 20 ounce package refrigerated cheese tortellini to the casserole dish and spread out to evenly cover the bottom. Pour in 15 ounce jar alfredo sauce and ½ cup heavy cream. Stir the tortellini to make sure they are all covered in sauce.
- Pour the beef/sauce mixture evenly over the tortellini.
- Sprinkle 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue to bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes or and it is bubbling around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow it to cool slightly before serving.
- Optional: top with chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley flakes. Then serve.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Excellent. Like a zillion bucks!
Just curious … your picture shows onion powder as an ingredient, but no where in your description do you mention onion powder.
You are so right! Thanks for catching that! I got it corrected!