This Tortellini alla Panna recipe boasts an ultra-creamy and parmesan sauce, tossed with stuffed tortellini (either meat or cheese), frozen peas, and sliced prosciutto.
The butter, garlic, nutmeg, and fresh herbs give this pasta dish that umami flavor that’s totally irresistible.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It’s an incredibly easy pasta recipe made with a cream-based sauce, stuffed tortellini, and other pantry staple ingredients that comes together in just 25 minutes!
- It’s similar to Alfredo sauce, making it an easy hit among adults and kids alike.
- There are endless options for varying this pasta alla panna recipe to suit personal preferences.
Tortellini alla Panna is quick, creamy, and so easy. It’s a must-make pasta dish for a busy midweek family meal that’ll have everyone begging for seconds!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- Tortellini - fresh that's either cheese or meat filled.
- Unsalted butter
- Fresh garlic
- Heavy Cream
- Fresh basil leaves
- Fresh Italian parsley
- Ground black pepper
- Nutmeg - freshly ground
- Parmesan cheese - freshly grated
- Frozen peas
- Sliced prosciutto -- if you can't find prosciutto may substitute with ham.
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- While the pasta is cooking on the stovetop, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.
- Add the other ingredients to the sauce, making sure that you don’t allow the sauce to reach boiling point.
- When there is only one minute left before removing the pasta and draining, add the frozen peas. Sprinkle in the parmesan cheese to the skillet, stirring until melted and the sauce has thickened.
- Add the cooked tortellini and peas to the skillet with sauce. Add in sliced prosciutto.
- Stir to evenly coat and serve.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this pasta in cream recipe successfully.
- Pasta pot - or a deep pot for cooking the tortellini
- Deep skillet
- Wooden mixing spoon
- Liquid measuring cup
- Dry measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Microplane grater- for grating nutmeg and Parmesan cheese
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making Tortellini alla Panna Recipe.
Traditional Alfredo sauce doesn’t include cream although many modern variations of the sauce now do call for it. Alla Panna literally means “with cream sauce” in Italian so there’s no doubt that any variation of alla Panna includes cream as an ingredient.
Traditional Carbonara doesn’t contain cream. A Carbonara sauce recipe that does call for cream is more like an alla panna sauce.
It's penne pasta with a cream sauce! Penne is another popular choice of pasta to pair with alla panna since its cylinder-shaped pieces catch the sauce well.
Tortellini is traditionally stuffed with ricotta cheese although these days the pasta can also be stuffed with various types of meats too.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- It should only take 3 minutes or so to cook the frozen tortellini so be sure not to overcook them. The tortellini will also continue to cook when combined with the warm cream sauce.
- If your cheese sauce is too thick for any reason, whisk in a little milk until you achieve the desired consistency.
- Always shred your parmesan cheese from a block as it melts much better than pre-shredded cheese and also tastes better!
- Easily double this recipe when feeding a crowd. You may need a larger skillet when increasing the recipe.
- You can speed up the boiling of the pasta water by adding hot tap water to the pot. This may help with timing the sauce with the cooked tortellini, neither of which you want sitting around losing heat.
📚 Variations
- Any other pasta can be used for this dish. Short, tubular, and ridged pasta variations such as penne work the best since they are great for “catching” the sauce but you could also use linguine.
- I’ve used Parmesan cheese in this dish but you can use Pecorino Romano or even mozzarella instead.
- Add in some healthy greens such as spinach, sauteed onion, and chopped broccoli.
- For a kick of heat, add in some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper while making the sauce.
- Instead of using sliced prosciutto, consider pancetta, crumbled-cooked bacon, sliced ham, sausage, or even shredded chicken.
- Use only cheese-stuffed tortellini, only meat-stuffed tortellini, or tortellini that’s stuffed with mushrooms, and even spinach with ricotta.
- I’ve used unsalted butter in this recipe since the prosciutto and parmesan cheese are already quite salty. If you’d prefer to use salted butter though, go right ahead.
- If you use canned peas for this recipe, add them straight to the cream sauce when you are adding the cooked tortellini.
🥫 Storage
Store leftover tortellini alla Panna in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
This creamy pasta can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stovetop, adding a splash of milk or cream to the mixture while reheating and stirring.
📗 Related Recipes
I don’t know about you but I love comforting pasta recipes that can be pulled together in 30 minutes or less for a delicious midweek family meal. Here are some of my favorites that I love to rotate:
- Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
- Spicy Pesto Shrimp Fettuccine with Mushrooms and Garlic
- Gorgonzola Pasta With Diced Apple
- Easy One Pot Three Cheese Tortellini Pasta
🍽 Serve with
Serve your Tortellini alla Panna as is or with a side of Garlic Cheesy Bread or this light Italian Summer Salad!
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Tortellini alla Panna has been a pasta dish served in my family since I can remember! Over the years, I’ve experimented with using different stuffed tortellini with this latest version including peas for a touch of green and delicious texture.
Being similar to Alfredo sauce, this tortellini alla panna has always been loved as a midweek family meal. Even better is the fact that it’s so quick to make!
If you love that creamy Parmesan Alfredo sauce, then you've got to try our White Lasagna Ravioli. It's like classic lasagna only without the fuss.
And if it's a classic lasagna taste you want without the prep time, then you've got to try our Beefy Baked Ravioli recipe layered with cheesy goodness.
There is something so inviting about a cheese filled pasta dish, that's why we serve our Cheese Ravioli with Pumpkin Pasta Sauce to our special guests in the Fall. It's elegant. It's easy. And most of all it's delicious.
And do you like zucchini? If you do, make this incredible Zucchini pasta sauce that is so rich and buttery you'll think it's overloaded in fat, but it's not. This is perfect as a easy delicious weeknight dinner or side.
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
Tutti a tavola, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
Tortellini alla Panna is a luxuriously creamy pasta dish made with cream, butter, and parmesan cheese sauce, fresh herbs, stuffed tortellini, frozen peas, and sliced prosciutto. This entire pasta with cream dish comes together in less than 30 minutes and is loved by everyone!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Tortellini alla Panna with Prosciutto and Parmesan Cheese
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- 19 oz Fresh tortellini frozen or refrigerated
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted butter
- 3 Cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup Heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon Fresh basil chopped
- 2 teaspoon Fresh Italian parsley chopped
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated - may use Pecorino Romano instead.
- ⅓ cup Peas frozen
- 1 ounce Prosciutto cut into bite size pieces
- Nutmeg lightly grated - a pinch
- Black Pepper Q.B. (Quanto Basta) - to taste
Instructions
- On the stove bring a large pot of water to boil. While the water is heating, add butter to a large skillet set over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted add the minced garlic to it and sauté for 1 minutes.
- Add the cream to the butter and mix in the nutmeg, black pepper, basil, and parsley.
- Stir often as the cream heats and starts to thicken. Adjust the temperature so that the sauce doesn't reach the boiling point or that it bubbles too much.
- Once the water pot is boiling, add a bit of salt to the water then the frozen tortellini. Cook according to package directions, about 3 minutes.
- Add the frozen peas to the pasta water when there's 1 minute remaining of tortellini cook time.
- Drain the water and return the tortellini and peas to the pot. Set aside.
- Add the grated Parmesan cheese to the skillet with the sauce one-half at a time, stirring well after each addition so that it melts.
- Once the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened, add the cooked tortellini, peas, and the cut up prosciutto. Stir to evenly coat.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- It should only take 3 minutes or so to cook the frozen tortellini so be sure not to overcook them. The tortellini will also continue to cook when combined with the warm cream sauce.
- If your cheese sauce is too thick for any reason, whisk in a little milk until you achieve the desired consistency.
- Always shred your parmesan cheese from a block as it melts much better than pre-shredded cheese and also tastes better!
- Easily double this recipe when feeding a crowd. You may need a larger skillet when increasing the recipe.
- You can speed up the boiling of the pasta water by adding hot tap water to the pot. This may help with timing the sauce with the cooked tortellini, neither of which you want sitting around losing heat.
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