Quick Caprese Tortellini — Fresh, Easy Dinner in Under 20 Minutes
Boil tortellini, toss with tomatoes and mozzarella — dinner is done in 18 minutes.
When it's 6:30 PM and you want something that feels a little special without any real effort, this is it. Cheese tortellini cooks in minutes, and while it boils you just halve some tomatoes and tear up fresh mozzarella. A drizzle of good olive oil and a handful of basil finish it off. It tastes bright and summery, not heavy — so it works even when you're too tired to face a pile of dishes. Expect a light, fresh pasta dish with satisfying pasta chew. It won't keep great overnight, so plan to eat it now.
Ingredients
- 20 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini — two standard 10-oz packages
- 10 oz cherry tomatoes — halved; grape tomatoes work too
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella — torn into bite-sized pieces; ciliegine or a ball both work
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil — use the good stuff here — it's the sauce
- 2 unit garlic cloves — minced or pressed
- 0.5 cup fresh basil leaves — loosely packed; torn, not chopped
- 1 tbsp balsamic glaze — store-bought drizzle; optional but recommended
- 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes — optional, for a little heat
- 1 tsp kosher salt — plus more for pasta water
- 0.25 tsp black pepper — freshly ground preferred
Method
- 1 Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat.
- 2 While the water heats, halve the cherry tomatoes and place them in a large serving bowl. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, red pepper flakes (if using), salt, and black pepper. Toss and let sit — the tomatoes will start to release juice and marinate while the pasta cooks.
- 3 Cook the tortellini according to package directions, usually 3–5 minutes once the water returns to a boil. Taste one to check — it should be tender with no raw dough taste.
- 4 Reserve about ¼ cup of pasta water before draining. Drain the tortellini well.
- 5 Add the hot tortellini to the bowl with the tomatoes. Toss gently to coat. If the mixture looks dry, add pasta water a splash at a time until it comes together into a light, glossy sauce.
- 6 Add the torn mozzarella and most of the basil. Toss once more — the mozzarella will just begin to soften from the heat of the pasta.
- 7 Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and scatter the remaining basil on top. Serve immediately.
Variations
- Faster swap: jarred sun-dried tomatoes — Skip the fresh tomatoes and use ½ cup of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes instead — no waiting for them to marinate, and the oil they're packed in doubles as part of your dressing.
- Protein add-in: rotisserie chicken — Shred about 1 cup of store-bought rotisserie chicken and toss it in with the tortellini in step 6 to make this a heartier meal without adding any extra cook time.
- Vegan swap — Use a vegan tortellini or substitute with a small pasta like orecchiette, and replace the mozzarella with cubed ripe avocado added at the very end — it gives a similar creamy, rich contrast.
- Cheese swap — No fresh mozzarella? Use 4 oz of bocconcini from a tub, or cube up a low-moisture mozzarella block — it won't be as creamy but works fine.
Notes
The key to this dish is not overcooking the tortellini — soggy tortellini won't hold up to tossing. Refrigerated tortellini cooks much faster than frozen, so check it early. The mozzarella is meant to be just barely warmed, not fully melted — if you want it stringy and melted, that's a different (also delicious) dish. Eat this right away; the tomatoes release liquid as it sits and the tortellini absorbs it, making leftovers soft and waterlogged.
Equipment that helps
- Large pot — Tortellini needs room to move in the water or it sticks together and cooks unevenly.
- Large serving bowl — Tossing the pasta in a wide bowl (rather than the pot) lets you fold everything together without breaking the tortellini.
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