Easy Baked Tortellini (gluten-free)

This Baked Tortellini dish is an easy one-skillet meal to make any night of the week. It’s gluten-free, a family favorite and you only need a few ingredients to make it.

Tortellinis are such an underrated pasta shape. They’re ring-shaped cheese-filled pastas and often times have meat and herbs in them too. They’re soooo satisfying and the ultimate comfort food to make. Especially if you and your kids love all things noodles and cheese, this is a must try dish!

I love that my tortellini bake is also higher in protein from the ground meat. You can also make this vegetarian by omitting meat or use a meat-alternative if you want.

This is one of those dishes you’ll come back to again and again. It requires little to now effort to make and tastes like a dream. It’s rich and cheesy and I love how quick it is to make this. You only need one skillet and a few pantry staples to make it too.

If you want to take this up another level, add in some veggies like kale or peas, broccoli, anything. I also use fresh tortellini or let the frozen kind thaw out so you don’t need to boil or cook it ahead of time. 

I cannot wait to hear what you think of this dish. I hope you love it as much as we do.

What ingredients you need to make this one-skillet Baked Tortellini:

• Avocado oil – I love using avocado oil because it’s neutral, buttery and is so versatile in recipes!
• Garlic cloves – I prefer using fresh garlic over powder in this recipe
• Sweet onion – or your favorite onion or omit if you’re not a fan of onions
• Ground meat of choice – usually like sausage, beef, pork, chicken. I love ground Italian sausage in this recipe or a beef but that’s my personal preference
• Pasta sauce – your go-to pasta sauce works. I love a tomato basil one
• Gluten-free cheese tortellini – thawed if frozen and if you’re not gluten-free, use any tortellini
• Ricotta cheese – love adding this for creaminess to to the skillet
• Mozzarella cheese – freshly shredded mozzarella cheese melts better but you can use pre-shredded if that’s all you can find too (and it’s cheaper!)
• Shredded basil for topping and parmesan cheese if desired

How to make gluten-free Baked Tortellini:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Head a large cast iron skillet or oven-safe skillet over medium/high heat
3. Add in oil to skillet then add onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant
4. Add in ground meat and cook until browned (use wooden spoon to form into smaller pieces while it cooks) and drain off any excess grease if needed
5. Then add the jar of sauce to skillet and reduce the heat and add in ricotta cheese to sauce and mix together with spoon until melted
6. Add in tortellini then cover with mozzarella cheese and cook in oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and melting
7. Garnish with fresh basil and parmesan cheese and serve while warm

FAQs and tips on making one-skillet tortellini bake:

1. Can I make this vegetarian? Yes! sub ground beef with another meat alternative or just omit completely.
2. Feel free to use any pasta sauce you want to switch things up. Vodka sauce, a spicier one with red pepper flakes works, anything! Even some pesto in there with the tomato sauce – yum!
3. Do I use frozen or fresh tortellini? I use fresh tortellini for this and if it’s frozen then I let the tortellini thaw out before adding it to skillet.
4. What do I serve with this dish? It’s great on its own but love adding some Caesar Salad, Oven Roasted Frozen Broccoli, garlic bread, anything!
5. What is the best way to reheat this dish? In oven, covered in foil or microwave with splash of water or sauce. 

A few other dreamy pasta dishes to try:

Baked Tortellini with Vodka Sauce

No-Boil Creamy Broccoli Pasta Bake

The Easiest No-Boil Baked Pasta Recipe (gluten-free)

Feta Spaghetti Squash with Sausage