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Parmesan Crusted Tortellini Bites

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!
a fork dipping a fried and breaded tortellini bite into marinara sauce

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!

a plate of breaded, fried tortellini with marinara sauce in background.

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Parmesan Crusted Tortellini Bites with a fork dipping one into Marinara sauce.

Parmesan Crusted Tortellini Bites

5 from 7 ratings
These Fried Tortellini Bites are surrounded by a crispy Parmesan Crust and make a fantastic appetizer with some warm marinara sauce for dipping!

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!
BUITONI Refrigerated Three Cheese Tortellini is great with this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 377kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 73mg, Sodium: 453mg, Potassium: 118mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 225IU, Vitamin C: 1.4mg, Calcium: 139mg, Iron: 2.6mg
Did you try this recipe?Mention @TheCozyCook on Instagram or tag #thecozycook!

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Parmesan Crusted Tortellini Bites

Parmesan Crusted Tortellini Bites

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53 comments on “Parmesan Crusted Tortellini Bites”

  1. could you make and fry these, then cool and freeze them for later, when ready to use pull them out of the freezer and bake ?

    • Hi Diane! Nothing beats them right out of the fryer, but you can absolutely do what you’ve outlined, I have several times, it’s convenient! Enjoy!

  2. So good! Really love this Parmesan crusted tortellini bites appetizer. Just wanted to let you know that it made our list of the Best Appetizers https://www.listsforall.com/appetizers/

    Would love for you to checkout the rest of the list if you get a chance.

    Thanks for sharing!

  3. Hi Stephanie, I planning on making these for Thanksgiving Party at work, I will be making them a night before and would have to reheat in the microwave, What Marinara Sauce do you recommend?

    • Hi Sandhia! I absolutely love Rao’s marinara sauce, it can be a little pricey but it’s delicious! If possible, it’d probably be better to reheat the tortellini in an oven for them to be extra crisp, I haven’t tried the microwave before but I hope you all enjoy them!

  4. These look so good ! Would they be okay to make the day before…… the next day skewer (as one person noted), and then warm in oven ? I’m having a party for 25, thought this would be a cute appy, but i’m limited on time, so would like to cook the day before, and reheat the next day. Or do you think they would lose their crunchy ?

    • Hi Cathie, I honestly thing that would be absolutely fine to do. Just let them cool completely before you store them away overnight to prevent any condensation which could make them soggy. Other than that, baking them again should do the trick! Enjoy, and have a great weekend, you will be very popular at that party with these 😉

  5. These sound and look wonderful. I am so glad you republished this recipe. Can’t wait to try them. Thank you so much,Stephanie.

    • Hi Tisa!! Yay! They are really so good, and a lot of people have never heard of them which is fun when you bring them to someone else’s house. I can’t wait for you to try them, and I hope that you love them as much as I do! Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂

  6. Hi! What type of tortellini do you recommend to use for this recipe?

  7. Do you do the breading 3 times on each tortellini? It doesn’t say it in the instructions, but in the statements before that’s what it sounds like.

  8. Thanks Stephanie! I checked out the “baked” version of the recipe. I am planning on making these for a shower. I will put 2 or 3 on a skewer in a little cup with some marinara on the bottom.

    • Hi Alanna! This is a perfect recipe for a shower!!! I brought them to a birthday party recently and they were a huge hit, people had never heard of doing this with tortellini and loved it! 🙂 I hope the baked version worked out well for you!

  9. I know that it wouldn’t be nearly as good but if I added a little olive oil to the crumb mixture could I bake these instead of “deep frying ” them?

  10. Totally drooling. Nothing better than a “fried” ravioli…. well, except for maybe a parmesan crusted fried ravioli! 🙂 Love these!

    • Thank you SO much Karly!! I actually just reshot the pic for these this weekend, so I’m happy that they caught your eye! They’re SO good, I brought them to a birthday party and they were gone so fast, (I’m lucky I had some left to bring, ha!)- I appreciate the comment, made my day!

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