How to Cook Tortellini

Have you ever wondered what tortellini is and how to cook tortellini? If so, this article is for you! 

Tortellini means ‘small little pies’ and it is a ring shaped pasta that originated in Italy. It is typically stuffed with cheese or meat and served in a broth or sauce, like tomato or mushroom.

You can find store-bought tortellini that are already filled and simply require cooking in boiling water for just a few minutes. If you want to cook store-bought tortellini, just bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the tortellini for 4-5 minutes and drain. Heat your pasta sauce through and add the cooked tortellini.

If you fancy making tortellini yourself, you can have some fun and get as creative as you like with the fillings. Some of our favorite fillings include spinach and ricotta as well as crab and shrimp!

Homemade tortellini does take a bit of practice, but practice makes perfect! You can even make a big batch of tortellini and freezer the ones you don’t need so that you have several meal’s worth of pasta ready. 

How to make tortellini

Using store-bought or homemade pasta dough, cut the pasta into two pieces.

Place one piece underneath a dish cloth so that it doesn’t dry out.

Using a pasta machine, roll the pasta slowly through it until it is very thin.

Dust your work surface with flour. Use a cookie cutter or knife to cut 3 inch circles out of the rolled out pasta dough. Ensure that any pasta you are not working with is kept covered to prevent it drying out.

Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the circle and dab the edges with a small amount of water. Fold the pasta over and seal at the top, pushing down gently as you work your way around the filling, ensuring that any air bubbles are pushed out.

Now, the tricky part is folding it to give it its traditional shape; to do this, take the corners of the pasta and bring together around your little finger and press together to seal. There should be a little hole in the middle where your finger was.

Repeat this until you have used all of your pasta or filling. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the tortellinis. Cook for 4-5 minutes. When cooking the tortellinis, don’t overcrowd the pan - cook in batches if needed. 

Now that you know just how to make tortellini, why not try some of our favorite tortellini dishes? In any of these dishes, you can either make your own tortellini and filling or use store-bought.

- Creamy Tomato Basil Tortellini

- Shrimp Scampi Tortellini

- Creamy Pesto Tortellini

- Creamy Pumpkin Tortellini

If you are looking for a fun appetizer recipe that features tortellini, why not give this Fried Tortellini a try? Tortellini are rolled in breadcrumbs and then deep-fried! You can serve them with marinara sauce or ranch.