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Tortellini Alfredo

This Tortellini Alfredo recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make with sauce that’s restaurant quality! It’s easy to add broccoli or leftover chicken for a dinner that your family will love.

Be sure to serve this with a side of my Garlic Bread with Cheese.

A wooden spoon in a skillet filled with Tortellini Alfredo with broccoli.

Tortellini Alfredo

A few years ago, I was lucky to the best Alfredo sauce recipe from Olive Garden, and since then, life has been pretty wonderful. This is definitely one of my favorite 30-minute meals on the blog. (And it actually takes less than 30 minutes!)

Although you can pair this with any kind of pasta you have on hand, Tortellini has to be my favorite because, well, it’s cheese-filled. 😉

(Unless we’re talking about my Chicken Alfredo Bake, in which case, I love using shells.)

Alright- let’s do this.

Ingredients

The bottom of this post also contains recipe card with ingredients and full instructions.

  • 3 cups broccoli florets
  • 20 oz. refrigerated Tortellini, Rana 5-cheese tortellini is my favorite, but any variety will work!

Alfredo Sauce

  • 6 Tablespoons high quality butterCabot is my preferred brand.
  • 1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups half and half 
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated from a block and at room temperature
  • ½ cup Romano cheese, grated from a block and at room temperature
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Fresh parsley, to garnish

How to Make It

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Melting butter in a skillet and adding minced garlic for Alfredo Sauce.

Whisk in the flour. Slowly add in the half and half, continue to whisk. Increase heat slightly and bring the sauce to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low.  

Adding flour and cream to a skillet with butter to make Alfredo sauce

Gradually sprinkle in grated cheese and whisk to incorporate. Let it continue to heat on low while you prepare the pasta.

A skillet with cheese being added to Alfredo sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tortellini and boil for 4 minutes. (Confirm cooking time on package.) Drain.

Add the broccoli and pasta to the Alfredo sauce. Stir to combine and serve. The sauce will continue to thicken as it stands.

A skillet with Tortellini and broccoli being added to alfredo sauce.

Pro Tips

  • Use high-quality butter for this recipe. Mince your own garlic, and shred the cheese from a block for best results.
  • A pound of dry pasta may be used instead of tortellini. I like to use 3/4 of a pound for extra saucy pasta.
  • This is a great meal to use with leftover chicken.
  • I don’t recommend using milk instead of half + half, as the lower fat content can cause it to curdle.
  • Serve this with a side of garlic bread with cheese.
  • Any filling option is fine when selecting your tortellini. Sun-dried tomato and pesto, spinach, or tomato basil make great alternatives to cheese-filled.

Storage

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

The BEST Way to Reheat:

I recommend reheating this with an easy homemade double boiler. Just fill a metal or glass bowl with leftover pasta and place it over a pot of steaming water, ensuring that it fits snuggly. The bowl will reheat slowly and evenly, and this will reheat the pasta nicely, as close as possible back to its original state.

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A close up view of cheesy Tortellini with Broccoli in Alfredo sauce.

Tortellini Alfredo

5 from 12 ratings
This Tortellini Alfredo recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make with sauce that's restaurant quality! It's easy to add broccoli or leftover chicken for a dinner that your family will love.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups broccoli florets
  • 20 oz. refrigerated Tortellini, *see notes

Alfredo Sauce

  • 6 Tablespoons butter, high quality
  • 1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups half and half
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated and at room temperature
  • ½ cup Romano cheese, grated and at room temperature
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Fresh parsley, to garnish

Instructions

  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
  • Whisk in the flour. Gradually add the half and half, whisking constantly.
  • Bring the sauce to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low.
  • Slowly sprinkle in the cheeses, continuing to whisk. It will continue to thicken as it simmers.
  • Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the broccoli. Cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the tortellini and cook for 4 minutes. (Confirm cooking time on package.)
  • Drain the tortellini and broccoli and add to the Alfredo sauce, stir to combine.
  • Garnish with parsley and serve!

Notes

*I like to use Rana refrigerated 5-cheese Tortellini (any alternative filling option is also fine!) It only takes 4 minutes to cook and these instructions are based on that timeframe. If an alternative brand is used, refer to the package for cooking time. The broccoli takes 5-6 minutes to boil.

Any kind of pasta may be used as an alternative to Tortellini.

Alfredo sauce isn’t meant to be too thick, but if you prefer for it to thicken more, let it continue to simmer and reduce slightly prior to adding the tortellini.

Nutrition

Calories: 643kcal, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 38g, Saturated Fat: 21g, Cholesterol: 125mg, Sodium: 808mg, Potassium: 316mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 1161IU, Vitamin C: 42mg, Calcium: 475mg, Iron: 3mg
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A wood spoon scooping up Tortellini Alfredo with broccoli from a skillet.

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40 comments on “Tortellini Alfredo”

  1. Love love this. We had some leftover so I put some in a couple of casserole dishes, added a little milk and put some mushrooms in the bottom of my husbands, baked it at 425 for about 20 minutes and added some mozzarella cheese for about 5 minutes. In heaven 

  2. This recipe tastes amazing, BUT, it is excessively rich in taste. I can eat a quater of a serving and already feel full. The sauce alone can be great with a different type of pasta that doesnt contain more cheese.

    • Hi LC! Yes, it is a rich dish 🙂 When I created it, I based it off my favorite local Italian restaurant who has a rich sauce and a cheese-filled tortellini. Based on your feedback I just added additional emphasis in the post that any filling option is fine to use in this recipe. A few suggestions might be sun-dried tomato and pesto, spinach, or tomato basil! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts on the recipe, I appreciate it!

  3. I plan on making it this week.  It looks delicious 

  4. I am about 7 ounces short of the half and half. Will this effect it? Can I substitute with a little heavy cream?

  5. First time making alfredo of any kind, and for picky eaters. It was better then if we went to a restaurant thank you for the recipe. Will definitely be using the sauce again.

  6. OMGosh this was really yummy. I added mozzarella and Cheddar along with the Parmigiano and Romero in the recipe since we love lots of cheeses. No complaints about leftovers either. Was better the next day with a splash of milk to thin it out. Love your recipes. Thanks for sharing!! 💗😋😁

    • Thanks so much for the review Sue! I’m so happy to hear you liked this one and are enjoying the other recipes!😃 I also love soup leftovers, makes such a great lunch the next day!

  7. This was fantastic! The sauce was perfect! I didn’t have broccoli on hand so I used asparagus… I also used Rana toasted garlic chicken ravioli, again that is what I had on hand. This recipe is so quick and easy and the sauce came together so perfectly!!  

  8. I tried this recipe and loved it. Only change I made was that I used le gruyere cheese instead of Romano. It gave the cheese a little extra flavor.

  9. This was absolutely delicious! Only substitute was mozzarella instead of romano cheese and adding another cup of half and half (I live in a high evelation state so sometimes pasta recipes can give us dry/not enough sauce–this wasn’t the case for this recipe and probably doesn’t need it for the future!) Definitely going into our dinner rotation 😋 Thank you!

    • Hi Rachele! I’m so glad you liked the Tortellini Alfredo! I love this one! Those upper elevation states can be tricky but I’m happy to hear this worked out for you!😀

  10. Delicious! Made it for the whole family and it was a big hit. I had some left over grilled chicken that I mixed in and it worked really well. I definitely recommend this one, 5 stars!

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