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Spinach Tortellini in Light Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Eating Italian, Pasta ,Pizza, Gnocchi, Recipes

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Spinach Tortellini in Light Homemade Alfredo Sauce is a creamy colorful pasta dish. The homemade sauce is lower in calories than the original parmesan-cream sauce but it doesn’t sacrifice flavor. Fresh baby spinach ribbons and slivers of sun-dried tomatoes add additional color to the green pasta and garlic-cheese sauce. This one-pan dish is on the table in less than 30 minutes. Quick and easy meets rich and tasty. 

For this recipe, you will need spinach tortellini, unsalted butter, fresh garlic, flour, heavy cream, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, chicken broth, baby spinach, sun-dried tomatoes. 

Spinach Tortellini with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach in a gratin dish that sits on a metal tray.

Fresh spinach tortellini pasta versus dried

In this recipe,  we preferred using fresh tortellini rather than dried. We wanted a recipe we could make in a short amount of time so we picked a refrigerated variety.

Interestingly enough, I wanted to check and see what the experts said about the quality of the dried versus the fresh. What I found out surprised me! The testers took 3 frozen, 3 dried, and 3 refrigerated tortellini pasta and did quality tests.

What they found out surprised me!!????

What they looked for:

  • quality of the pasta wrapper
  • the quantity of filling
  • flavor of the tortellini
  • the texture of the pasta

The winner of the test was a dried three cheese tortellini pasta. The experts agreed that a flavorful filling proved more important than the type of pasta. This is great news for me because I like having tortellini as a pantry staple.

spinach tortellini with strip of red sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach in a rich creamy parmesan sauce in a oval white gratin dish.

Preparing the spinach tortellini

Whenever we make pasta we always look at the directions and subtract 2 minutes, even more. If it’s going to be a one-pan dish it will continue to cook.

Another important step in preparing pasta is to make sure the water is salted. By salted the saying is as salty as the sea.

Once the water comes to a boil, we turn it down to a simmer. If the water is boiling profusely, the tortellini could fall apart. I’d certainly be upset ???? if my spinach tortellini fell apart.

A spider makes it easy to gently lift the pasta out of the water and transfer them to a glass dish with a bit of olive oil in it. The olive oil will prevent the delicate pasta from sticking to each other.

Now is the time to start on the sauce.

Ingredients for the spinach tortellini and an induction burner with black pan with spoon.

Time to make the light homemade Alfredo Sauce

We made this recipe for a Facebook Live last week. We needed a quick delicious recipe and this fit the bill. If you’d like to see the video, you can find it here.

The creamy garlic-parmesan sauce comes together very quickly. Have all the ingredients measured and ready to go. This homemade Alfredo sauce is so quick and easy you won’t have time to stop and measure.

  1. The garlic goes into butter for a minute or so and then a
  2. A light dusting of flour over the melted butter and garlic whisking until it becomes pasty and begins to smell deliciously nutty.
  3. Whisk in the heavy cream and part of the chicken broth.
  4. Stir in the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes.
  5. Gently fold in the spinach tortellini

Your exquisite dish is ready to plate and eat. All this is done in 30 minutes or less. We know you’ll love the rich taste of the Spinach Tortellini and you’ll love even more how easy it is. If you love pasta dishes like our ravioli, we linked to more down below.

Tutti a tavola è pronto!

Un caro saluto e alla prossima.

 

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We love our pasta pot and when we’re home we always use it along with the spider. It’s only when you don’t have the little conveniences that you have to make do. The over-the-sink strainer is great.


Spinach Tortellini in Light Homemade Alfredo Sauce

This spinach tortellini one-pan recipe is incredibly easy but the delicious garlicky homemade Alfredo Sauce gives the dish a rich creamy taste without a lot of calories. The sun-dried tomatoes and fresh baby spinach give the pasta recipe an additional layer of flavor. I’m certain this will be a family favorite.

If you like this recipe please give it a 5-star rating.

Spinach Tortellini with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach in a gratin dish that sits on a metal tray.

Spinach Tortellini in Light Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Cheese spinach tortellini are mixed with a delicious homemade garlicky parmesan cheese sauce that's flavored with sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach. 
5 from 20 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 391kcal
As An Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients

  • 9 oz. spinach tortellini
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 clove garlic
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup chicken broth separated
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • 5 oz. baby spinach coarsely chopped
  • 7 oz. sun-dried tomatoes (jar)

Instructions

  • Boil the spinach tortellini 2 minutes less than the package directions.
  • While the tortellini are cooking, start on the sauce. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large skillet. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant. 
  • Whisk in the flour and keep stirring until it's absorbed and becomes pasty and smells nutty. 
  • Slowly whisk in the cream until it is smooth. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and whisk until combined. 
  • Add the salt and Parmesan cheese. Allow it to simmer until thickened. About 2-3 minutes. If it seems too thick add another 1/4 cup chicken broth. 
  • Stir in the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Transfer the drained tortellini to the skillet and gently stir to coat the pasta with the sauce. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 728mg | Potassium: 702mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3445IU | Vitamin C: 42.9mg | Calcium: 214mg | Iron: 2.5mg

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IF YOU LIKED THIS SPINACH TORTELLINI WITH HOMEMADE ALFREDO SAUCE RECIPE YOU MAY ALSO LIKE . . .

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dee | Grammy's Grid

    5 stars
    YUM, spinach! Looks so good. Thanks so much for linking up with me at the Unlimited Monthly Link Party 23. Pinned!

    Reply

  3. Albert Bevia

    Just the presentation of this dish makes me want to eat this right now! I will also use fresh spinach tortellini to make this, incredible recipe, quick, easy and done in a flash…love this

    Reply

  10. Analida @ ethnicspoon.com

    5 stars
    The sauce sounds fantastic! I love the research on the tortellini and I have been buying the fresh refrigerated but I think I will pick up some dried to keep on the pantry too. Those come in so handy! Thanks for sharing a great recipe!

    Reply

  13. Patti @Patty Cake's Pantry

    I’m so glad to read you research that dried tortellini taste better than fresh. As a frugal cook, I usually buy dry, but I feel guilty about not buying the fresh for my family. Thank you for sharing that information. I love Alfredo sauce on tortellini because of how well it clings to all the little nooks and crannies of those little “belly buttons”. I really love all the things going on in this Alfredo sauce–sun-dried tomatoes and spinach are a great pairing with Alfredo sauce. Great flavors and a lighter sauce. I can’t wait to make this for my family.

    Reply

  14. Elaine @ Dishes Delish

    5 stars
    I love everything about this pasta dish! I love spinach tortellini and mix it with more spinach and a light alfredo, then I’m in heaven!! And I forgot to mention the sundried tomatoes! Glorious! Hubby is going to be so happy when I make this for us this weekend!

    Reply

  16. Veena Azmanov

    5 stars
    The only time I use dry pasta is when I need a specific shape like the Penne. We love fresh pasta and the kids love helping in the process. I often choose to make whole wheat which really has now become the staple when it comes to pasta. This looks so crazy creamy and delish Marisa

    Reply

  17. Denise Wright

    5 stars
    This looks like pure comfort food! That was very interesting about the dried vs. frozen vs fresh. I often use dried in soups and buy fresh for an entree. Good to know the dried is ok to use that way too. When my hubby and I first went to Italy I remember buying fresh pasta at the grocery store and we were both in heaven. I don’t know if it was truly so much better or just being in that beautiful country. Anyway, this looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!

    Reply

    • Marisa Franca

      Hi, Denise. Well, this pasta was the refrigerated kind so had the quality test been with fresh I don’t know how it would have ended up. These were name brands so the quality was consistent from one package to the next. And yes, the beauty of Italy would make anything taste better. ❤️

      Reply

  19. Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy

    5 stars
    I am a pasta lover. I am totally surprised they chose the dry pasta….I would have though the fresh for sure. I use both, but for the most part fresh is my “go to”. Now I just need to make homemade LOL. This is great weekend, stress free dinner you can cook together. Pour some wine and cook some dinner. Sounds like a plan to me. Especially with this snowy weekend. I am SO DONE with winter!!

    Reply

    • Marisa Franca

      I’m the same way, Gloria. It all depends on what I’m cooking the type of pasta I purchase. There are quite a few I haven’t tried. So many dishes — so little time. And I totally understand about winter. You should come to the area where we are. It’s cold back home so we’re happy here.

      Reply

  21. Jolina

    5 stars
    I technically only know how to bake but I am slowly expanding into learning how to cook…starting with pasta. This is definitely going into my to-make list! It looks amazing. And thanks for your salty as the sea tip!

    Reply

  23. Ciao Chow Linda

    What a gorgeous and tempting dish. At first I thought the sun-dried tomatoes were prosciutto! I am surprised to read about the taste testing of dried vs. fresh and that the dried won out.

    Reply

    • Marisa Franca

      Well, Linda, I don’t think prosciutto would have hurt it. The sun-dried tomatoes make it. And I’m like you, I would have thought the fresh tortellini would have won. What won the judges over was the taste of the filling.

      Reply

  25. Joyce

    5 stars
    25 minutes? Wow! 😀 I need dinners like this more often! This is SOOOO creamy looking and I can’t believe how light it is! 🙂 Definitely will need to be in my rotation.

    Reply

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