Pasta is always a reliable meal for lunch or dinner with our family, and cheese tortellini is requested by our kids all the time. This pesto tortellini recipe is our warm weather weeknight favorite. We love to add roasted vegetables to make it hearty and filling. It’s a filling main dish with little fuss that also happens to be vegetarian too!
When we originally developed this recipe years ago, we wanted to keep it easy by letting the oven do most of the work. We roast mushrooms and cherry tomatoes for their earthy and naturally sweet flavors, which compliments the bright pesto so well. But the beauty of this tortellini with pesto is that you can really roast almost any vegetables you already have in the fridge. If you love a hearty pasta, our sun-dried tomato chicken tortellini or salmon pesto pasta are also both great choices.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- 30 minute dinner recipe. It’s a comforting pesto pasta that takes minimal time to prep as well as clean! The oven does most of the work for you.
- Customize to everyone’s liking. We use mushrooms and cherry tomatoes in our recipe, but you could use other vegetables like zucchini, onion, or corn. It’s a vegetarian entree, but if you want to add a protein too, that’s also delicious.
- Easy recipe to have the ingredients already at home. This is one of our favorite meal prepping recipes. We’re always sure to have some cheese tortellini in the freezer, pesto in the fridge, and often use whatever vegetables we already have on hand.
Tips for Busy Cooks
When it comes to cooking with pesto, it’s a sauce that shouldn’t be cooked! You will want to just stir it into the hot pasta to warm it through from the residual heat. If you cook pesto, it will turn brown and the flavor will mellow, so be sure just to add it right before serving.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Sliced mushrooms: You can use white or bella mushrooms here, buy them pre-sliced for ease.
- Cherry tomatoes: When roasted, they are jammy and wonderfully sweet.
- Garlic cloves: Infuses every bite with delicious garlic flavor.
- Olive oil: Cooking fat for the recipe.
- Tortellini: We love any cheese tortellini, you can buy them fresh, frozen, or the shelf stable kind. We usually have a package in our freezer for easy weeknight meal prep.
- Basil pesto sauce: Our homemade pesto is simple to make in less than 10 minutes, but you can also purchase a store-bought brand too. Our favorite is Giovanni Rana.
- Grated parmesan: This is optional and for serving, but we highly recommend for it’s deliciously cheesy and salty flavor.
How to make pesto tortellini with vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- In a medium bowl, combine mushrooms, tomatoes, olive oil, pressed garlic, salt and pepper.
- Transfer the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with silicone mat or foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and tortellini, and cook according to package directions, for about 8-10 minutes. Drain the water.
- Stir in pesto.
- Add roasted mushrooms and tomatoes into the pot with tortellini. Mix well.
- To serve, top with grated parmesan, if desired, and serve immediately
Expert TIps:
- Don’t cook the pesto or it will turn brown. All you need to do is stir to coat the pasta with the pesto at the end right before serving. It will be perfect.
- To prevent having mushy tortellini, cook for just a couple of minutes. We even like to cook it 1 to 2 minutes less than the package instructions to make sure it’s al dente.
- Use fresh, frozen, or shelf-stable tortellini. Any kind you prefer will work for this recipe. We often keep the frozen kind in the freezer so we can make this meal quickly during the week.
- Add a protein if desired. It’s delicious with chicken or steak, and a great way to use up leftover proteins too!
- Make an easy homemade pesto or use store-bought to cut down on prep time. Pesto is something that stores well in the fridge too, so we love to make a big batch on the weekend to use on all sorts of recipes throughout the week.
Variations
This dish is so versatile; you can add in other vegetables, as well as cheese, proteins, and even nuts. Here are some of the other ingredients we’ve added to this tortellini with pesto in the past:
- spinach
- zucchini and yellow squash
- variety of cheeses, such as parmesan, Pecorino, or mozzarella
- roasted chicken as well as seared steak or salmon
- pine nuts or walnuts
- herbs such as parsley, chives, or dill
Storing Tips
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We like to let it sit out for 10 to 15 minutes before eating to take the chill off. The leftovers are great cold, or you can reheat them in the microwave or a skillet over low heat for a couple of minutes.
We don’t recommend freezing this pesto tortellini, as it will change the texture of both the pasta and the vegetables.
FAQs
Yes, either work well for this recipe. Just be sure not to overcook or the pasta will become mushy.
It’s great warm or cold. When it’s served cold it’s almost like a pasta salad.
We love to serve this recipe with chicken, steak, even salmon or shrimp are delicious too.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
- Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Tortellini
- Creamy Scallops Pasta
- Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
- Chicken Tomato Pasta
Pesto Tortellini with Roasted Veggies
Ingredients
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms
- 12 oz cherry tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves pressed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 20 oz tortellini refrigerated or frozen
- 1/3 cup basil pesto sauce Note 1
- Grated parmesan for serving optional
Instructions
- To roast the vegetables: preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- In a medium bowl, combine mushrooms, tomatoes, olive oil, pressed garlic, salt and pepper.
- Transfer the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with silicone mat or foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender.
- To cook tortellini: meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and tortellini, and cook according to package directions, for about 8-10 minutes. Drain the water.
- Stir in pesto.
- Then add roasted mushrooms and tomatoes into the pot with tortellini. Mix well.
- To serve, top with grated parmesan, if desired, and serve immediately
Share your thoughts! If you make this please leave a review letting me know how it was!
Notes
Nutrition
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.
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This recipe was originally published on February 19th, 2018, and last updated on June 4th, 2020.
Reader's Reviews
Lori says
Can I make this dish a day ahead and bake the day I serve it
Shinee says
Hi, Lori. I’ve never tried making this dish that way. My only concern is that the pasta may dry out during baking, since this dish isn’t saucy.