Creamy pesto tortellini with smoked turkey sauce gets dinner on the table in 20 minutes any night of the week! It’s sure to be a family favorite.
I am all for quick dinners. Weeknights are crazy. And when you have teenagers that add to that, the schedule just gets even crazier.
So if I can get dinner on the table in under 20 minutes I am happy, and so is my family.

I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen making dinner, but I also don’t want to have takeout or fast food every night either.
I love doing make your own take out like Chicken Lo Mein for quick dinners as well. On the table in the same amount of time it would take for delivery.
I am a sucker for pesto and will incorporate it any time I can. This creamy pesto sauce would go with just about anything but works really well with cheese tortellini.

I added some smoked turkey sausage to make it a full meal. It is super creamy, full of all the herbs and deliciousness of pesto and a great weeknight dinner.
This is almost like tortellini alfredo that just has a little bit of pesto stirred in at the end. You don’t want to heat the pesto too much, or it starts to separate and ruins the sauce. But stirred in right at the end, it is creamy and delicious!

If you want to skip the sausage you could use a different flavor tortellini and it would be wonderful as well.
If you have a homemade pesto that you like it is great to use in this recipe. This Spinach Pesto gives you all the flavor you need and works great. Or you can use store bought.
Whatever you have on hand is fine, definitely not something to stress over.

To make this tortellini alfredo I used a mix of heavy cream and regular milk. That is just so I could cut some of the fat and calories, but still have it creamy.
If you want to go all out, feel free to use heavy cream for the entire thing. I wouldn’t go less than half though, or your sauce will be runny.

This creamy pesto sauce is going to be a staple in my house. I can see it tossed with spaghetti with grilled chicken served on top. Or even a shrimp pasta.
It comes together in minutes. From start to finish you can have dinner on the table in 20 minutes, so it is great for any night of the week.
Serve with a side salad or go crazy and have garlic bread. Whatever you do your family is going to love this dinner.
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Creamy Pesto Tortellini Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 13 ounces Smoked Turkey Sausage such as kielbasa, sliced
- 20 ounces Fresh Cheese Tortellini
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
- 3/4 cup Skim Milk
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 cup Pesto
Instructions
- Boil tortellini according to package directions.
- In a large skillet melt butter. Add sausage and sauté over medium high heat until browned.
- Mix cream, milk, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper together. Pour over cooked sausage.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes until it starts to thicken. Add in cooked tortellini, tossing to coat.
- Stir in pesto until everything is blended. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.