For a quick and delicious school night dinner, try mascarpone tortellini! This dish combines creamy mascarpone cheese with tender cheese tortellini for a comforting, simple meal. Pair it with a light salad to complete the dinner.

Don’t you love when a recipe is easy, takes less than 10 minutes to assemble, and tastes delicious? I sure do. And when it involves only four ingredients, it is even better for a delicious weeknight meal.

Mascarpone Tortellini - A Perfect Dinner

Let me introduce you to Mascarpone Tortellini. A nothing-to-it dish that is perfect weeknight meal and an impromptu dinner with friends.

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I love the comfort of quick, delicious meals, and when it comes to pasta, you know you can have a miracle happening in your kitchen in less than 30 minutes. Italian comfort food that allows you less time in the kitchen and more time with your family.

Before I give you the super easy steps to this recipe, let me tell you a bit more about mascarpone cheese.

In this Article

Why you will love this recipe

Easy – there is nothing to make this recipe as it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare. The amount of time that it takes to boil the water and cook the tortellini. Who does not like that?

Ingredients already in your pantry – staple ingredients that make the preparation of this dish easier.

This recipe is perfect for school-busy night dinners—a weeknight meal when dinner cannot come fast enough. It’s yours to make, and your whole family will love it.

What is mascarpone cheese?

Mascarpone is an Italian soft acid-set cream cheese made with only two ingredients: heavy cream and tartaric acid.

Due to the high butterfat content, it will melt when added to warm food, making a great sauce base.

It’s one of the most versatile cheeses in my book. It can go from savory pasta to sweet dessert delight.

Mascarpone is made of triple-creme cheese made from fresh cream.

The fresh milk of cows grazing on pastures filled with fresh herbs gives it that rich flavor. It is extremely spreadable and very smooth.

Mascarpone Tortellini - A Perfect Dinner

Ingredients needed to make this recipe

This is a short introduction. The ingredient list is also brief. It includes essential items that you may already have in your pantry. Please read the recipe for complete instructions.

Spinach tortellini – or any kind that you may wish to enjoy

Unsalted butter – always use unsalted butter. You want to have control of the seasoning, and salted butter will not only add too much salt to your dish but change its flavor.

Mascarpone cheese – the star of this dish. Remove any extra water that it may have produced.

Sweet peas – I love canned sweet peas, it is a French thing, and here it is perfect for it as they will be soft and ready by the time you are draining the tortellini.

Parmesan cheese – grated yourself as it is fresher and better tasting.

Salt and black pepper – your seasoning needed for this tortellini recipe

ingredients to create mascarpone tortellini

Equipment Needed

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Large pot to boil your tortellini

Medium size skillet

Colander

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Substitute for mascarpone cheese.

  • Creme fraiche is a bit more acidic with a tangy flavor and is the closest substitute.
  • Sour cream is another great substitute.
  • Ricotta needs to be whipped as it is a bit more grainy.
  • Philadelphia cheese contains less fat but has a tangier taste to it.
  • Full-fat Greek yogurt is a great substitute.

Seeing that mascarpone is a rich cheese, you may want to add a tablespoon of heavy whipping cream to either the ricotta or cream cheese.

Step by step on how to make this great recipe of mascarpone tortellini

With all my recipes, please assemble all the ingredients before starting cooking and baking. Refer to the recipe card for the right amounts of ingredients.

I selected Barilla dry Cheese and Spinach Tortillas. They are not only the perfect bite-size, but they are also perfect for little ones. Because they are so small, they will have more.

Of course, you can use fresh tortellini from the deli counter or your local Italian market. They work beautifully with this dish.

mascarpone tortellini

Start with the tortellini.

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a full boil, and cook the tortellini according to the package instructions.
  • Reserve a cup cooking water to use later in case your sauce is too thick.

Meanwhile

  • Melt the butter in a medium-sized heavy skillet or large cast iron skillet and add the canned peas. Season with salt and black pepper and cook gently until warm. The peas need to be soft but not mushy.

Assembling your dish

  • Once your tortellini are cooked, drain them and return them to the pan. Add the warm peas and the soft mascarpone.
  • Gently fold in until the sauce is softened and heated through.
  • Serve immediately with copious amounts of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

I told you it is an easy weeknight meal!

    Pro Tips

    My personal choice: I do not mix the parmesan cheese with the peas and mascarpone sauce. I’m not particularly eager to fight with my food while I try to fold in the sauce. Because the parmesan melts, it makes it harder to stir the pasta properly.

    Always reserve a cup of cooking water before draining the pasta. It contains all the starches from the pasta, and if your sauce is a bit on dry sauce, the cooking water will come in handy to soften the sauce.

    Mascarpone Tortellini - A Perfect Dinner

    Can I use other pasta with this recipe?

    Yes, of course, you can. The base sauce is fantastic, along with other tortellini fillings and ravioli.

    Any tubular pasta will work beautifully as well.

    I recommend tubular pasta such as penne, rigatoni, mezzi ziti so your cream sauce will go inside of the tubular part, and you get more of the sauce to enjoy.

    Variations and Substitutions

    You can substitute the tortellini with fettuccine or linguini pasta.

    This recipe requires canned peas; you can substitute them with frozen peas. However, let them cook longer with the butter over medium heat. They need to be tender to the bite but not mushy.

    Adding Italian sausage to the pasta sauce gives it a rich protein base. Cook sausage in the same skillet as the peas to avoid dirtying another pan.

    If you want to add a kick of heat, sprinkle red pepper flakes while preparing the peas.

    Storing and Reheating instructions

    Store: For several days, your mascarpone tortellini stores quite well in an airtight glass container.

    Reheat: Once you are ready to enjoy them again, please bring them back to room temperature and place them in a skillet large enough to hold the leftovers.

    Add a couple of tablespoons of water or one tablespoon of mascarpone cheese with one heavy cream.

    Warm under low heat. You want to warm them up, not burn them, and gently stir them until they are ready to be enjoyed.

    What dishes can you enjoy with this oven-roasted asparagus?

    I am always a fan of green salad, buffalo mozzarella marinated with tomato and arugula, tomato salad with mint for a refreshing dinner ending.

    If  you enjoyed this mascarpone cheese recipe, check out these flavorful recipes:

    Fettuccine with Lemon and Mascarpone Sauce

    Chantilly Mascarpone Dessert – An Anytime Dessert

    Ink Pasta with Shrimps, Tomatoes and Garlic

    Orzo with Basil Butter, Peppers, Tomatoes

    Enjoy this great weeknight meal.

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    Mascarpone Tortellini

    5 from 16 votes
    Mascarpone Tortellini - A Perfect Fall Dinner
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 4 people
    Author: Giangi Townsend
    Don’t you love when a recipe is easy, takes less than 10 minutes, and tastes delicious? I sure do.  And when it involves only four ingredients, it is even better.
    Print Pin

    Ingredients 

    • 12 ounces cheese spinach tortellini,
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1 cup mascarpone,
    • 8 ½ ounces sweet peas, drained and rinsed
    • 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese,
    • salt
    • pepper

    Instructions

    • Cook the cheese spinach tortellini in salted water and according to package directions.
    • Meanwhile, in a medium-size skillet, melt the butter and add the canned peas. Season with salt and pepper and cook until warm. If using frozen peas, cook a bit longer. They need to be soft but not mushy.
    • Once the tortellini are cooked and drained, return them to the cooking pan and add the peas and mascarpone. Mix and fold the pasta with the sauce to soften it.
    • Serve immediately with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

    Equipment

    Nutrition

    Calories: 622kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 592mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1923IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 272mg | Iron: 3mg

    Giangi’s Kitchen provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as a registered dietician does not calculate them.

    Did you make this?

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    Originally published on March 10, 2020.