Get my Cookbooks! Tortellini Sauce
This Creamy Tortellini Sauce has an Asiago and Parmesan cream sauce with browned butter, garlic, and the best blend of herbs and seasonings. Make this with frozen or refrigerated tortellini for a quick, gourmet-style meal.
Be sure to try my Ravioli Sauce and Baked Ravioli recipes next!
Tortellini Sauce
Now that we’ve nailed down the perfect ravioli sauce recipe, I think it’s time we make room for this incredible Tortellini Sauce. This sauce is speedy enough to be an easy weeknight meal, but it’s also fancy and indulgent enough for date night!
What Makes It Different
Browned butter adds a slightly sweet, nutty flavor that perfectly offsets the savory Parmesan and Asiago cheese. Smashed garlic cloves infuse the sauce with just the right amount of garlicky flavor and the simple blend of herbs and seasonings takes this sauce to the next level.
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Smash the garlic cloves and add them to a deep, 12-inch skillet along with the butter. Melt the butter over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes, swirl the pan often while it cooks for even coloring. Once it turns brown, add a splash of olive oil to prevent it from burning. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken broth in splashes and stir continuously.
Slowly stir in the half and half, then the seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Boil tortellini in a separate pot of salted water according to package instructions. Drain.
Reduce heat of the sauce to low and stir in the shredded Asiago and Parmesan cheese.
Add the drained tortellini to the skillet and stir to combine. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Pro Tips
- Browning the butter is optional, the flavor is very subtle but it does add a touch of gourmet. There is a fine line between browned butter and burnt butter. A splash of olive oil is added to mitigate burning it, but feel free to simply melt some butter and let it start to foam without browning it.
- Shred the cheese from a block, it will melt and tastes much better than packaged shredded cheese. Belgioioso is my brand of choice for the Parmesan and Asiago.
- All Parmesan cheese can be used or a combination of Parmesan and Romano if you don’t have Asiago.
- I use Rana 5-cheese tortellini for this recipe but a variety of options work well!
- Heavy cream may be used instead of half and half, the sauce will be thicker. A splash of milk can be used to thin it out slightly if desired.
- Sautéed mushrooms can be prepared in a separated skillet and mixed into the sauce at the end.
- 20 oz. ravioli can be used with this recipe as well.
- 📘 Find this recipe on page 181 of my 2nd cookbook, Let’s Eat!
Storage
- The flour in this sauce helps it to maintain it’s consistency when cooled and reheated.
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- To reheat it back to it’s original consistency, thaw it overnight and use a makeshift double boiler to reheat it on the stove top. I’ve found that to be the best way to reheat cream sauces.
- If you expect leftovers, I recommend that you store the sauce separately and boil fresh pasta for serving if possible.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- This is the Le Creuset skillet I used in this recipe, (and in 90% of my recipes). It’s pricey, but it conducts heat really well and is oven safe. The size is perfect and the quality is great.
- Box Cheese Grater– Lets you finely shred the cheese. (Always shred from a block instead of using packaged shredded cheese.)
- Pasta Strainer– This is the one I use, it’s the perfect size.
Try These Next
-
- Mushroom Chicken Pasta
-
- Marry Me Chicken Pasta
-
- Pasta Primavera
-
- Smothered Chicken
-
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
-
- Chicken Taco Soup
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Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tortellini Sauce
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 ½ cups half and half
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon EACH: dried basil, oregano, parsley
- ¼ teaspoon EACH: onion powder, mustard powder, pepper
Sauce/Tortellini
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 splash olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
- ½ cup asiago cheese, finely shredded
- Salt/Pepper, to taste
- 20 oz. tortellini, refrigerated or frozen. See notes
- Fresh Parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Combine sauce ingredients in a large measuring cup with a spout and set aside. Measure out remaining ingredients before beginning.
- As you continue with the following steps, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Heat the butter and smashed garlic over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Lift the pan and swirl it around frequently as it cooks for even coloring. When it starts to turn brown, add a splash of olive oil. The light golden color of the butter will give it a subtle sweet, nutty flavor and the splash of olive oil will prevent the butter from burning.
- Add the flour and stir continuously for 1 to 2 minutes, until the raw flour smell is cooked off.
- Add the sauce mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Let the sauce simmer, uncovered, while you cook the tortellini to al dente according to package instructions. Drain once cooked.
- Reduce heat of the sauce to low and gradually stir in the parmesan and asiago cheese. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper, as needed.
- Add the drained tortellini and toss to combine. The sauce will continue to thicken upon standing. Serve!
Notes
- Browning the butter is optional, the flavor is very subtle but it does add a touch of gourmet. There is a fine line between browned butter and burnt butter. A splash of olive oil is added to mitigate burning it, but feel free to simply melt some butter and let it start to foam without browning it.
- Shred the cheese from a block, it will melt and tastes much better than packaged shredded cheese. Belgioioso is my brand of choice for the Parmesan and Asiago.
- All Parmesan cheese can be used or a combination of Parmesan and Romano if you don't have Asiago.
- I use Rana 5-cheese tortellini for this recipe but a variety of options work well!
- Heavy cream may be used instead of half and half, the sauce will be thicker. A splash of milk can be used to thin it out slightly if desired.
- Sautéed mushrooms can be prepared in a separated skillet and mixed into the sauce at the end.
- 20 oz. ravioli can be used with this recipe as well.
- 📘 Find this recipe on page 181 of my 2nd cookbook, Let's Eat!
Storage
- The flour in this sauce helps it to maintain it’s consistency when cooled and reheated.
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- To reheat it back to it's original consistency, thaw it overnight and use a makeshift double boiler to reheat it on the stove top. I've found that to be the best way to reheat cream sauces.
- If you expect leftovers, I recommend that you store the sauce separately and boil fresh pasta for serving if possible.
Here’s a good one – I made this one weeknight and it was delicious. My husband liked it so much he bought 5 packages of pasta just for this sauce. I made this tonight (using 2 pkgs of pasta) and it’s perfectly yummy. I let my butter brown a little longer than last time and the flavor was perfect. Quick, yummy and flavorful! Thank you for another winning recipe. And, yes I will be making this again for all of that pasta
I’m so happy it was a hit Wendy! I love that you browned the butter a bit, so yummmmy! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!😃
Easy and tasty with simple ingredients.
Yayyy, thanks Margie!💗 This one has gotten me out of a lot of dinner ruts when I’m not sure what to make!
OMG! MO! I was skeptical with the small amount of reviews. Not enough people are making it! It is absolutely delicious! I used fresh Asiago and Parmesan already shredded from cheese dept of grocery store. I also used heavy cream since I like a thicker sauce. I tripled the recipe for my party tonight but I’m not sure I want to share it!
Thanks so much for the wonderful comments Colleen and for helping spread the word!❤️ I absolutely love this one too. Thanks again!
I made this for dinner tonight. I was a little nervous about browning the butter but it was actually pretty simple. I did sauté mushrooms separately with some shredded chicken and it was really filling. My family loved it. Will be making this again. Thanks for sharing it
You’re very welcome Vickie! I’m so happy you stuck with it and browned the butter. Sounds like you pulled off a yummy meal, nice work! Thanks so much for the great review!💖
Can you do this in the slow cooker? Looks so good!
Dairy is likely to curdle in a Crock Pot, and the cooking methods used here require various cooking temperatures for the right consistency. This would be runny in a Crock Pot due to the condensation 🙂
Tried this recipe today and it was delicious. I didn’t have any half and half, so I substituted with regular condensed milk and it was great! This will be a regular go to cheese sauce for me. Thank you for sharing!
It’s my pleasure Helen, I’m so happy it was such a hit! Thanks so much for the great review!❤️
Zelo dobro🧡✔
Thanks!😀
The texture seemed great and it looked pretty good, and then I turned around and it looked congealed and the butter seemed to separate and it was oily looking and thick, and all stuck together. Do you know what I did wrong?
Hi Jen! I’m so sorry this happened! In order for the dairy to separate, it would have had to get too hot. This could have happened right at the end somehow, and then when it cooled, that made it appear congealed. That would be the only explanation I think can think of 🙁
Adding cold half and half to your butter/flour mixture will assure you don’t have clumps.
Adding cold dairy to a hot base can cause the dairy to separate and curdle, so I would keep that in mind 🙂
Love this recipe! Super easy and quick. The whole family loved it!
Thanks so much Jennifer! I’m so happy the whole family loved it!💗
Hi! This looks so tempting! When do we add the seasonings (parsley , basil, oregano, mustard powder, etc.) to the sauce? Was it before the cheese? Or after? Thanks!
Hello! The seasonings are added in step 5 🙂 “Add the chicken broth in splashes, stirring continuously. Add the half and half in the same manner, followed by the seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Let it simmer, uncovered, while you cook the tortellini according to package instructions. Drain once cooked.”