Take-out Tuesday, Slow Cooker Tortellini 3 Ways

the Painted Apron

4 months ago

This recipe is perfect for these cold winter nights,

the slow cooker does all the work

and you can enjoy this 3 different ways!

Depending on the amount of tortellini you add,

this can be a hearty soup, stew or a dish like baked pasta

Using bottled marinara sauce makes this recipe a breeze to make

It also has ground pork, sweet Italian Sausage,

onions, garlic, Italian seasoning and a dash of red wine

Quickly saute the onions

Brown the ground pork and Italian sausage

Put the sauce into the slow cooker, add the onions, garlic,

browned meat and Italian seasoning

Mama Mia herself would never guess this sauce

was not made from scratch 😊

Add a dash of red wine and let this cook for 3-4 hours on high

or 5-7 hours on low

About 30-45 minutes before serving, add the tortellini~

And here’s the secret,

Depending on how much tortellini you add,

it can be a soup, a thick stew, or like baked tortellini!

PLUS

you don’t even have to cook the tortellini first before adding!

If you want it to be a soup,

just add a little tortellini and more water, wine or beef broth

If you want it to be thick like chili or stew, add a little more tortellini

If you want it to be like a baked pasta dish add a lot of tortellini

The tortellini softens as it soaks up moisture from the marinara sauce

You can even stir in a spoonful of ricotta

for creaminess like lasagna if desired

3 Way Tortellini, Soup-Stew-Pasta

Course Main Course, slow cooker, Soup

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Italian stew, Slow Cooker pasta, slow cooker soup, tomato tortellini soup, tortellini, tortellini casserole

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 7

Servings 6

Equipment

slow cooker

Ingredients

1/2 pound Italian sausage
1/2 pound ground pork
1 medium yellow onion chopped
1/2 T butter
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 jars 25 oz. each, Marinara or Tomato Sauce or 6 cups homemade sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar
6-10 ounces dry packaged cheese filled tortellini*
dash red wine, optional
ricotta cheese optional
Sprig of basil for garnish
Parmesan cheese for garnish
additional red wine, broth or water depending on desired result

Instructions

In a 12” skillet over medium heat, melt butter with olive oil and saute the onion until transparent and starting to brown. Add sausage and brown, stirring and breaking apart with wooden spoon. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
While the meat is cooking, pour the marinara sauce into the slow cooker. Add sugar and seasonings. Stir in the cooked sausage with onions and garlic. Add a dash of red wine. Set the slow cooker on high, and cook for 3-4 hours or low for 5-7 hours.
About 30-45 minutes before you are ready to serve, pour the dry packaged tortellini into the soup. Use 4-6 oz. for soup, 6-8 oz. for a thicker stew, and 8-10 oz. for a pasta dish more like baked pasta than soup.
Turn the slow cooker up to high (or leave it if it was already on high) and let the tortellini cook for 15-20 minutes. Add additional liquid as desired. Turn slow cooker back down and serve within 30 minutes. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.

Notes

*if you use refrigerated tortellini, add it almost at the very end since it requires very little cooking time. It also won’t expand as much or absorb quite as much flavor do to the shorter time in the slow cooker.