The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
These Fried Tortellini Bites are surrounded by a crispy Parmesan Crust and make a fantastic appetizer with some warm marinara sauce for dipping! Plus, instructions for baking them!
Be sure to try my sweet cream cheese wontons next!
This fried tortellini is definitely one of my favorite appetizers to date. (And the quickest to disappear at a party, might I add.) Let’s get into some FAQ!
Can You Make These Ahead of Time?
Preparing the breading for this fried tortellini can take a bit of prep time.
Luckily, you can bread these ahead of time and place the breaded tortellini an an airtight container in the fridge the day before you’re ready to fry them up.
Can You Make These in an Air Fryer?
Anything with a breading like this (as opposed to a liquid deep fry batter) works well in an air fryer.
You can also use Ravioli to make this recipe in an air fryer. Check out how it’s done here.
Baking Method
- Yes. To bake these, preheat your oven to 375° and place a greased baking sheet in the heated oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the breaded tortellini on top. Lightly spread with cooking spray.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until they’re crisp and begin to toast and brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve with warm marinara!
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Parmesan Crusted Tortellini Bites
Ingredients
- 9 oz. refrigerated three cheese tortellini, see notes for my preferred brand
- 48 oz. Canola oil, (6 cups)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 2 teaspoons parsley, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes, (optional)
- ½ cup marinara sauce
Instructions
- Mix together the panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, and red pepper flakes.
- Cook the tortellini until it’s 1 minute before it’s al-dente. Drain, and coat generously with flour.
- Dip each tortellini into the beaten eggs, and then into the panko mixture.
- Heat the oil in a dutch oven to 375 degrees. You may not need to use all of the canola oil but ensure that the tortellini is covered by an inch or two.
- If you’re unsure if the oil is the right temperature, put a test piece of tortellini in the oil and ensure that it begins to fry almost immediately, but not too intensely. Cook the tortellini pieces for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. You may have to do this in batches.
- Place on a paper towel, pat dry, and serve with warm marinara sauce!
Notes
Baking Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375° and place a greased baking sheet in the heated oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the breaded tortellini on top. Lightly spread with cooking spray.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until they're crisp and begin to toast and brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve with warm marinara!
Could these be prepared a few hours ahead of time and heated up in the oven before serving? If so, how much time and oven temp. Thank you
Hi Diane! You sure can prepare them ahead of time, up to a day or so! I’d bake them at 350 degrees and keep a close eye on them, maybe about 15-20 minutes, or until they’reg golden brown 🙂
This recipe looks great. How do you recommend oven cooking these?
I would put them in at 350 degrees and just keep a close eye on them, they’d probably take about 15 minutes or so? 🙂
These were wonderful! Everyone loved them ! BUT…… make sure after you cook the tortellini
to do all the other steps of flour, eggs, and crumbs, and when they’re all ready, THEN start frying. Much less stressful, less messy, more control over the frying as these brown very, very quickly.
Great advice Bonnie, I always get stressed out when I’m frying something unless the prep work is completely done, (and even cleaned up)!! So I hear ya! I’m so glad that these came out well for you! THANKS for commenting!!! Happy New Year!!!
OMG! This was the first thing I saw on pintrest when I typed in appetizers! I usually can come up with anything to take to functions but lately, it has been chaotic that I believe I have fried my creative juices lol
Thanks for a wonderful idea! I love this and I too love Rao’s but Mezzetta is my ultimate favorite. And no I am not paid to say that either lol
Hey Leizele!!! OHHHHH I hope you’ve had a chance to try this! It’s SOOO good- I couldn’t stop eating it while I was trying to take pictures of it, hahaha… pretty counter productive, lol. But they’re SO TASTY!! 🙂 I’m glad to hear that it popped right up on Pinterest too!
This is just such a clever and delicious idea!! Thank you Stephanie 🙂
I’m looking at these tortellini and wondering why the heck I’ve never made these before. What a wonderful appetizer!!
Maureen, that’s exactly what I said when I made them! How have I not made them or at least see them made by someone else! This was such a long overdue first 😉 I hope you try them soon!
Oh goodness, anything that is crispy has my eye, these look yummy!!!
Thank you Karren! I feel the saaammmeee way about the crispiness!! 🙂
I bet my husband would love that appetizer! I’m sure Danielle and I would love it too. Thank you for sharing!
This looks really, really good. Definitely going to try it. Thank you for sharing!
Hey David, thanks so much! It was SOOOO beyond tasty… I can’t even look at the picture because it makes me want more!
Yum! This is such a great twist on fried ravioli! I love all the Parmesan cheesiness in the crumb coating.