Balsamic Tortellini Bake with Sausage & Peppers
Posted Sep 04, 2017, Updated Oct 09, 2022
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Balsamic Tortellini Bake with Sausage and Peppers is a cheesy, meaty, hearty & healthy dinner recipe that everyone in your family will love! On the table in 40 minutes or less, it’s the perfect weeknight dish for busy nights!
September is my favorite produce month of the year! Summer and fall collide to bring us the very best that nature has to offer! This Balsamic Tortellini Bake combines the produce of summer with the comfort of fall in a delicious, cheesy dish that your family is sure to love!
This tortellini bake is ready from start to finish in 40 minutes, max! It’s hearty, healthy and oh so yummy that even the pickiest eaters in your family will enjoy it! My husband loves this Balsamic Tortellini Bake and my kids gobble it up right along with him!
The flavors of this Balsamic Tortellini Bake are out of this world. The salty flavor of the chicken sausage paired with a sweet and tangy balsamic vinegar accompanies the rich cheesy tortellini in a way that can only be described as dinner perfection.
As the cool weather sets in, let’s all snuggle up and eat lots of cheesy comfort food out of cast iron skillets. Ok?! Here are some more of our favorite pasta dishes:
- Cheesy Sausage Gnocchi is made on repeat around here.
- This Pizza Casserole is one of my family’s favorite meals!
- I LOVE this pesto pasta, and make it all summer long!
- This tomato and zucchini pasta sauce is a great sauce to use in this recipe!
- And I can’t forget this creamy avocado pasta!
How to make Baked Tortellini
This recipe is ready in 40 minutes and is super simple to make! But there are two tips that are important to ensure success when you make this dish!
- Cook the tortellini first. While the oven is preheating cook the tortellini. Drain and rinse with cool water so it stops cooking while you make the rest of the dish!
- Brown the sausage. To ensure a crispy and delicious bite of sausage in every bite be sure to brown it before adding the veggies.
That’s it! Everything is really straightforward and super easy!
Can you cook tortellini from frozen?
YES! I do it all the time! Just toss the frozen tortellini into a bot of boiling water and cook it about 4-5 minutes longer than the package suggests!
Balsamic Tortellini Bake: Substitutions
This recipe is fairly versatile! Here are a few possible substitutions
- Chicken Sausage. Aidell’s chicken and apple sausage is my absolute favorite, but you can use any sausage variety you like and this will still taste amazing! Crumbled Italian sausage is delicious!
- Fresh/Frozen Tortellini. I highly recommend using fresh tortellini. I buy the double pack from Costco {Kirkland Five Cheese Tortellini} and freeze it in four, 12 oz portions! Then I always have some on hand to make this dish!
- Bell Peppers. If you’re not a fan of peppers feel free to substitute your favorite veggies! I love adding zucchini {either in large chunks, or shredded so no one can tell it’s in there}!
- Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce. This is my favorite flavor of pasta sauce, but feel free to use your favorite or make your own!
- Cheese. Any variety of cheese works great in this recipe! I have used Colby jack, cheddar, and odd mixtures of whatever is left in my refrigerator!
- Balsamic Vinegar. Please use a high-quality variety. A good balsamic vinegar should be naturally sweet& thick and stand on it’s own!
- Spices. Feel free to use real garlic and onions instead of the powders. If you’ve been around my blog a while then you know that ever since my 3rd pregnancy I take a hard pass on both of those ingredients. But if you love them then go for it!
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Balsamic Tortellini Bake with Sausage & Peppers
Ingredients
- 12 oz fresh or frozen tortellini
- 1 package Aidell’s chicken sausage cut into half-circles
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 TBS olive oil divided
- 3 cups tomato basil marinara sauce
- 2 TBS high-quality balsamic vinegar
- 2 TBS Italian Seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic salt or to taste
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper or to taste
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, mix together Italian seasoning, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper. Stir gently to combine. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, mix together the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Set aside.
- Place chopped chicken sausage and 1 TBS olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, stir to combine.
- Cook, stirring occasionally until the sausage begins to brown (about 5-7 minutes)
- Add diced peppers and additional 1 TBS olive oil and cook until peppers become soft (about 5 minutes).
- Once peppers are soft, add marinara sauce, balsamic vinegar and seasoning mixture and stir to combine.
- Add tortellini and stir until evenly combined.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Remove skillet from heat and spread the top of the mixture until it’s flat and even.
- Sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over the top of the skillet.
- Place the skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted!
- Let cool slightly and serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I love one pot meals – easy for clean-up! The addition of balsamic here sounds delicious. Looks like a great weeknight recipe!
This look soooo yummy and comforting. I haven’t had tortellini in forever and I think it’s about time I fixed that! Thanks for the sub ideas.
I have been dreaming about this recipe since I saw it on Facebook earlier this week. My husband will DIE for it!
Love the addition of balsamic to this! I’m sure that takes the flavor up a notch or two! And you can never go wrong with sausage!
I was just eyeing the tortellini at the store today! I love how you bulked it up with the veggies! This needs to be on my menu soon!
Total comfort food that the whole family would love!
This recipe looks amazing. I’m trying to stay away from dairy as much as possible but I might have to break it just to make this.
This looks like such a cozy delicious satisfying pasta meal. I love pasta + cheese + sauce; there just is no better combo!
September IS such a great produce month and two of my favorites are peaches and peppers! This tortellini is a meal that we would love — you can’t beat a cheesy tortellini dish and we use Aidell’s all the time. 🙂
September is a favorite produce month for me as well! It’s a great celebration of all things Summer AND Fall! Love this cozy dinner!