Spinach tortellini is the perfect easy dinner for busy nights. Tender tortellini is tossed in a rich, flavorful sauce packed with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh spinach for a comforting yet balanced meal. If you’re searching for healthy recipes that feel indulgent but come together quickly, this spinach tortellini dish is a must-try.
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How to make tortellini more interesting?
Store-bought tortellini is super convenient and quick-cooking.
It’s great when you need a quick, no-brainer weeknight dinner but that also means that it just gets tossed with butter or a jarred sauce and served.
A bit boring, no?
Fortunately, tortellini is super versatile and can be added to a multitude of quick and easy recipes.
From tortellini soup to pasta bakes to salads to sauces, you’ll never run out of ideas to make tortellini interesting!
What type of sauce is best for tortellini?
For a super quick and kid-friendly sauce, just toss it in some olive oil, melted or browned butter. Add sage or basil to elevate it a bit.
Creamy sauces that will cling to the pasta such as this vegan alfredo sauce or this creamy vegan tortellini pasta are great options.
A basic tomato-based marinara sauce with the addition of finely diced vegetables for extra nutrition is a classic option.
Pesto, either homemade or store-bought basil pesto, is tasty and easy to whip up.
Really, the possibilities are endless!
What veggies to add to tortellini pasta?
Obviously, spinach is a classic and super healthy addition to tortellini pasta.
I’ve used spinach as the vegetable in the following spinach tortellini recipe as well as in this spinach tortellini soup recipe.
Whenever I make a simple tomato spaghetti sauce, I finely dice carrot, broccoli, and red peppers for extra vitamins.
An alternative option would be to roast the veggies.
In addition to the veggies I already mentioned, zucchini, squash or pumpkin, cauliflower, asparagus, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, peas, and mushrooms are all delicious served with tortellini pasta.
Spinach tortellini ingredients
This spinach tortellini skillet recipe is made with simple ingredients for a creamy vegan pasta sauce that only calls for three ingredients!
Tortellini: I’ve discussed vegan tortellini brands and where to buy them at length in this vegan tortellini recipe but the most common supermarket brand is Kite Hill cheese tortellini with an almond ricotta filling. The brand I use is German and has a vegetable filling.
Sun dried tomatoes: This spinach tortellini has a tomato-based sauce but not your typical marinara style sauce. It’s made from a base of sun dried tomatoes, which are super flavorful and umami. I use the ones packed in oil and re-use the oil to fry the onion and garlic.
Coconut milk: To make a creamy vegan pasta sauce, I’ve used coconut milk in this recipe. Thanks to the strong flavor of the sun dried tomatoes, this sauce does not taste like coconut.
Vegetable stock: To further reduce the coconut flavor, I blend in an equal amount of vegetable stock.
Spinach: I use about two cups of fresh chopped spinach in this recipe. You can probably substitute frozen spinach, but I haven’t tried it that way yet.
Onion and garlic: Onion and garlic make the flavor base of this super easy pantry sauce.
Salt: Add salt to the pasta-cooking water as well as the sauce.
How to make spinach tortellini
This spinach tortellini is ready in the time it takes to heat the water and boil the pasta!
Prep: Start by putting a medium-sized pot of water on to boil
Meanwhile, dice half a medium onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Roughly chop the spinach until you have two cups.
Pasta: Add a generous pinch of salt to the water and toss in the tortellini.
Cook the tortellini for the length of time indicated on the package directions.
I use “semi-fresh” tortellini that cooks in 8 - 10 minutes. Fresh tortellini cooks faster, in about 5 minutes, so follow the instructions on your product.
Sauce: Make the sauce by combining sun dried tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock in a blender and blending until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender.
In a medium-large saucepan, heat a tablespoon of the oil from the jar of sun dried tomatoes over medium-high heat and fry the onion until soft and transparent.
Then add the garlic and fry until soft - about another 30 seconds more.
Add the sun dried tomato sauce and heat through.
Finally, add the chopped spinach and salt and cook until wilted.
Combine: Add the tortellini into the saucepan. If the sauce seems a bit thick, you can add some of the starchy pasta-cooking water, one tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
Variations and substitutions
Spinach: I don’t see why this wouldn’t work with frozen spinach instead of fresh. Thaw it and squeeze out as much water as possible before adding it to the sauce.
Vegetables: As I mentioned above, you can add other vegetables to the sauce. I would fry them after the onion until soft then add the sauce. Diced carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, peas, etc. Your choice of veggies.
Seasonings: This recipe doesn’t call for any herbs, but feel free to add your favorite fresh or dried herb: basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, etc.
Cheese: Personally, I don’t like vegan cheese but you can grate over some vegan Parmesan cheese. Other options to add cheesiness are nutritional yeast or stir in a teaspoon or two of white miso paste into the sauce.
FAQs
How long does tortellini take to cook?
It depends on what kind of tortellini you have. Fresh tortellini takes just 5 minutes. Tortellini packaged in airtight packaging has a long shelf life and needs longer to cook - about 10 minutes.
How to tell if tortellini is fully cooked?
The usual advice is that tortellini is cooked when it floats. However, some packaged tortellini already floats when you put it in the pot! A better way is to taste it. The texture should be tender and springy with a soft center. If the pasta is falling apart or is mushy, it’s overcooked.
Make ahead and storage tips
The sauce can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge until ready to heat and use.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
The sauce tends to thicken from the fats in the coconut milk solidifying in the cold.
When reheating, either in the microwave or on the stove, add a splash of vegetable stock to loosen the sauce up again.
How to serve spinach tortellini
Like any good pasta, this spinach tortellini combines will with crusty bread or garlic bread and a nice green salad.
You could also serve this alongside your favorite steamed or roasted vegetables.
Spinach Tortellini
Ingredients
- 1 package (250 grams/9 oz) vegan tortellini
- ½ cup (100 grams) drained sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- ½ cup (125 ml) full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup (125 ml) vegetable stock
- ½ medium onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups (60 grams) chopped spinach
- Salt, to taste as well as to cook the pasta
Instructions
- Put a large pot of water on to boil. Generously salt the water and add the pasta. Cook for the length of time indicated on the package instructions. Reserve about ¼ cup of the pasta-cooking water just in case.
- Place the sun dried tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. (Note: cold stock can cause the fats in the coconut milk to solidify. If your stock has been in the fridge, warm it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so).
- Heat a tablespoon of the oil from the jar of sun dried tomatoes in a large pan over medium heat. Fry the onion until soft and transparent, then add the garlic and fry until soft.
- Add the sun dried tomato sauce and heat through. Add the spinach and salt to taste. Heat until the spinach is wilted.
- Add the cooked tortellini. If the sauce seems a bit thick, add pasta-cooking water or vegetable stock one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
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