Cheese Cappelletti – The Easy Way

Update: It has been over five years since I first posted this recipe on my fledgling blog. It remains to be the most popular recipe on my site so I decided it was time to update the photo. I have changed how I cook quite a bit from when I first made this recipe but I recognize that a lot of people really like simple recipes that have easy to find ingredients. I now make something similar to this but the tomato sauce is my own recipe and it includes goat cheese and cream rather than jarred alfredo sauce. 

One other note – Timothy wasn’t very picky at 18 months old but he sure is now at 7 years old. Lots of things have changed over the years. 

This was a pretty big hit with Timothy last night at dinner. He isn’t a really picky little boy but sometimes his mum’s willfulness regarding what he will eat rears its ugly head.  The other bonus with this recipe is that it is so easy to throw together it is the perfect weeknight dinner. Adding a salad to get some more veggies on the plate is probably a good idea though.

I like to mix the shredded cheese with seasoned breadcrumbs and a bit of Parmesan cheese and then drizzle a little olive oil (about 1-2 tsp) when it is spread out over the tortellini and sauce. It makes for a lovely crunchy and flavourful crust without using obscene amounts of cheese. I buy the 1 kg package of cheese tortellini from the deli section at the grocery store and break it up into 250 gram portions in baggies and freeze them for use in this recipe and others. There is a lot of flexibility in the recipe as well. You use whatever jars of Alfredo and tomato sauces your family likes and you can substitute slightly healthier spinach ravioli if you like.

Cheese Cappelletti - The Easy Way

Christina Austin

Simple baked pasta dish with cheese tortellini and a rosé sauce. It's perfect for a weeknight meal.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 1 1/2 cups jarred tomato sauce I used PC Organics Roasted Garlic & Herb
• 1 cup jarred Alfredo sauce whatever kind is on sale
• 500 grams fresh cheese tortellini
• 1/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 2 tsp olive oil

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together the two sauces in a medium saucepan and heat gently until warmed through.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the cheese tortellini and simmer for about 5 minutes. While that boils mix your breadcrumbs with Parmesan and shredded mozzarella.
• Once the tortellinis are done (the 5 minutes are up) drain and add them to the pot with the sauce. Stir gently to coat the pasta and then pour into your baking dish. Make sure the pasta and sauce is distributed evenly in your dish. I used a Corningware quiche dish but any mid-sized baking dish will do.
• Spread cheese and breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top of the pasta and sauce.
• Drizzle the olive oil over the cheese and breadcrumbs and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Serve with a nice green salad and maybe a bit of garlic bread if you are going all out. Enjoy!