When it’s time to clear the fridge of scrappy bits of veggies, tortellini primavera is your friend.
We are throwing together lots of bright colorful veggies in a creamy sauce with your favorite tortellini flavor + a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) for protein. I have made this many different ways with many different veggie combos and it just always turns out delicious.
I make it pretty veggie heavy, so it only uses one 300g (10.5oz) package of tortellini. The rest of the bulk is veggie and a can of chickpeas, which keeps it well rounded, filling and nutritious.
On a budget? This recipe can fit a wide range of budgets. To keep the costs low, grab some store brand tortellini or one from Aldi (usually the cheapest option) and just lean towards lower cost veggies such as green beans rather than asparagus, bell pepper rather than sweet pepper, etc. It’s going to be great no matter what.
Choosing Your Ingredients
You can mostly just mine the fridge for scraps to put this one together, but there is some logic and science to it all.
- This recipe was developed for a 300g (10.5oz) package of fresh tortellini. Package sizes can vary – a little more or less should work out OK. But you definitely want the fresh stuff, not the dried shelf stable stuff, which would need a lot more liquid and time to cook. If you want to use frozen, that should be OK, I would just run it under some hot water to take the edge off defrosting it before adding it to the pan. It will take a little longer to cook.
- I love to add white wine to this dish but if you don’t want to use wine, feel free to swap in the juice of one lemon, and add 1/3 cup more veggie stock.
- I use dried provencal herbs, but Italian mixed herbs or a mix of thyme + tarragon are also great options.
- Feel free to swap in frozen spinach, just defrost it and squeeze out the water first. Kale would also work but it doesn’t reduce as much, so use a little less.
- The canned chickpeas are a great way to add some cheap protein to this meal, and make it more filling. Feel free to swap in some fava (broad) beans, or any canned white beans if you like.
More One Pot Tortellini Ideas
Tortellini Primavera
A simple creamy tortellini primavera recipe that makes weeknights so easy. With your choice of fresh veggies and garbanzo beans, it is a filling and healthy dinner that all comes together in one pot. I use cheese tortellini, but it works with any kind!
Ingredients
- 2 shallots , sliced (or half of of a large white onion)
- 8 oz (225 g) peppers (sweet mini, romano or bell peppers all work), chopped
- 8 oz (225 g) green beans, asparagus and/or broccoli , chopped into small fork size pieces
- 14 oz (400 g) canned chickpeas or white beans, drained
- 1 tsp provencal herbs mix
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 10 oz (300 g) packaged fresh tortellini, see notes
- 1 cup (150 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups (60 g) fresh spinach leaves
- â…“ cup (80 ml) white wine
- 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable stock
- ¾ cup (180 ml) double (heavy) cream
- 1 cup (100 g) parmesan, pecorino or Italian hard cheese, and more for topping, if you wish
- 1 handful parsley and/or any other fresh green herbs available, chopped
Instructions
- Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a deep saute pan or shallow casserole dish (choose one with a lid) over a low-medium heat. Start sauteeing your aromatics first (onions / shallots and peppers in my case, but carrots and celery would go in now too if you're using them) until they are starting to soften.
- Next add any remaining hard veggies that need to be sauteed or cooked down (just green beans in my case, but include broccoli, asparagus, zucchini or mushrooms if you are using those – just hold back on tomatoes and leafy veggies) and saute for another 5 minutes or so. You don't need them fully tender at this stage, but they should be starting to soften up.
- Next add the chickpeas, garlic and dried herbs and give it all a quick stir just to get the garlic and herbs to release their scent. This would be also be the time to add any frozen or canned veggies you're including.
- Pour in the white wine and allow to sizzle for a minute or two, just until the harsh alcohol smell dies down.
- Now add the dried tortellini and cherry tomatoes to the pan. Pour the cream and vegetable stock over the top, cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Lift the lid a few times to stir during this time.
- Once the tortellini has plumped up and almost cooked through, add the spinach and parsley to the pan. Mix it in as best you can then cover again to get it to steam and cook down a bit more. Repeat until all the spinach has just wilted down.
- Add the cheese to the pan and mix through until it has disappeared into the sauce, then serve immediately.
Make sure to prep everything before you start cooking. Once the first ingredients hit the pan, you are going to need to give it your full attention until it is ready.
The time this takes will depend on what type of cookware you're using and how full the pan is, so just play it by ear.
Notes
Tortellini:
- This recipes was designed to work with refrigerated tortellini, not frozen or dried. Frozen will work if you defrost the tortellini a bit before adding it to the pan. Dried would be trickier to sub because it would need more time and liquid.
- Different brands have slightly different quantities, so a little more or less is OK. If you want to use a much bigger package of tortellini just scale up all the liquid proportionally.Â
Calories: 633kcal, Carbohydrates: 60g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 17g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 94mg, Sodium: 1256mg, Potassium: 681mg, Fiber: 11g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 4749IU, Vitamin C: 95mg, Calcium: 516mg, Iron: 5mg