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Spicy Italian Sausage Tortellini
I love the classic Italian dish, who doesn’t? And I love how easy these dishes are generally to make, especially Italian Sausage Tortellini. And for starters, this make great leftover meals, too! My husband demands this recipe for those comfort food kind of nights – other than just plain old spaghetti. And this one is just as easy to whip up in under 30 minutes!
Plus, there’s added veggies in here that no one will notice – shh! Even your kids will devour every bite, I swear.
Serving size: 4;Â Prep Time: 10mins;Â Cook Time: 30mins;Â Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
- 1 Jar of Marinera Sauce (preferably, or other spaghetti sauce you have around is OK, too!)
- 2 Mild Italian Sausage (You can also use 1/2 lb. ground sausage – I used links this time because Aldi is amazing and has limited edition flavors of Italian Sausage I can’t ignore!)
- 1 1/2 cups diced mushrooms
- 1 diced medium white onion
- 1 large chopped zucchini
- 2 large containers of Tortellini (do yourself a favor and get the refrigerated kind – it’s better for you and fresher!)
- Seasoning to taste: cracked pepper, salt, minced garlic, parsley, & paprika
- Optional (if you have it lying around): 1/3 cup heavy cream OR 1 cup of Milk
Directions:
- Â If you are using GROUND sausage, brown that in the pan FIRST. If you are using SAUSAGE LINKS, continue reading on. In a large sauce pan (or Wok, if you have one, so you can just combine all ingredients at the end!), add 2 minced chopped garlic cloves and the chopped onion on medium/low heat. If you don’t have fresh garlic, that’s OK, just use garlic powder with the onion and add some Olive Oil to the pan. Go ahead and add the other seasonings provided as desired: Paprika, salt, cracked pepper, parsley (fresh, if you have it!).In the meantime, while the onions tenderize, chop your sausage links and add them to the pan. Then the mushrooms. These should all cook for approx. 4-5 minutes on medium/low.
- Add your chopped zucchini. These do not take long to cook, and I don’t like mine mushy – so the less cooked, the better. But if you like yours more tender, you can add them in during step one. Add your jar of sauce to the pan of sausage and veggies, and turn down the heat to low. Stir everything thoroughly in with the sauce.Bring a separate pot of water to boil for the tortellini. If you bought the refrigerated kind, these don’t take long at all to cook through, but if you bought the bagged hard kind, these take about 6-7 minutes on a boil. Add 1/3 cup of heavy cream OR 1 cup of Milk to your sauce pan, stir that in completely to alleviate some of the thickness. Continue to simmer sauce until Tortellini is ready.
- Add the tortellini to the sauce pan and stir together the ingredients. It’s easier this way so you can coat everything with the sauce. Add Parmesan or any cheese desired in a serving bowl.
Enjoy!