Creamy Garlic Parmesan Tortellini

5 from 1 vote

This creamy cheese tortellini recipe only uses a few ingredients and a single pot - even the pasta cooks right in the sauce!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: servings

Calories: 440kcal

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon flour
3 cups chicken broth or more as needed
½ cup cream
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
salt to taste (this will depend A LOT on your broth, and your cheese - taste the sauce before salting)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (20-oz) package cheese tortellini uncooked
⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese or more to taste
1 tablespoon cream cheese

Make sauce base: Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cloves garlic (minced) and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Take skillet off heat, whisk in 1 tablespoon flour until no lumps remain.
Make sauce: Return skillet to medium-low heat. Whisking constantly, add 3 cups chicken broth and keep whisking until smooth. Whisk in ½ cup cream, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, salt (to taste, check sauce first) and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.
Cook tortellini: Add 1 (20-oz) package cheese tortellini (uncooked) to sauce in skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook until tortellini is almost done, stirring occasionally (follow package directions, start checking after half of indicated cooking time is up). Add more broth as needed.
Finish and serve: Once tortellini is almost done, remove lid. Add ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon cream cheese, stir until sauce is smooth. Adjust seasoning and consistency to your taste (add more cream or broth if sauce is too thick, simmer a few additional minutes without a lid and/or add more cheese if sauce is too thin). Serve immediately.

Cheese tortellini: Fresh or frozen both work. Use any filling you enjoy.
Fresh garlic: Feel free to skip the fresh garlic and instead double up on the dried garlic powder.
Cream: Heavy cream creates the richest sauce. Regular half-and-half works just fine. Do not use fat free.
Parmesan: Freshly grated parmesan is more flavorful, but store-bought grated parmesan is perfectly fine!

Don’t burn the garlic: Make sure to stick to medium heat (or lower if your stove runs hot), burnt garlic can taste bitter and make the entire dish unpleasant to eat.
Whisk until no lumps remain: When you whisk in the flour, and then the broth, make sure to whisk constantly until no lumps remain. It’s not easily possible to fix a lumpy sauce later on!
Adjust sauce: Sauce that’s too thick can be thinned out with extra broth or cream. Sauce that’s too thin can be thickened with more cheese, or by simmering without the lid for a little longer.
Store leftovers in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.