This tortellini Alfredo recipe is super quick, simple, and delicious! It combines a homemade cashew Alfredo sauce with fresh vegetables and your favorite tortellini. It’s simply perfect for an easy and tasty weeknight dinner!
This tortellini Alfredo is another delicious and fun way to use my favorite homemade cashew Alfredo sauce! The sauce is creamy, cheesy (with no actual cheese added), and super delicious.
Combined with your favorite vegetables and tortellini, it makes for the perfect meal that is super effortless and easy to whip up.
What is tortellini Alfredo?
Tortellini Alfredo is a dish that is made with fresh tortellini and a classic Alfredo sauce that combines heavy cream, butter, and parmesan cheese. The tortellini are typically filled with spinach, basil, cheese, mushrooms, or a combination of these ingredients.
Compared to other tortellini Alfredo recipes, this recipe uses a cashew-based Alfredo sauce that is light, dairy-free, and vegan.
Instead of cheese, nutritional yeast is added to achieve that cheesy and delicious flavor. Garlic and onion give an additional flavor boost and make this sauce just as delicious as classic Alfredo sauce!
Tortellini Alfredo Ingredients
To make these tortellini Alfredo, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Homemade cashew Alfredo sauce: You’ll need cashews, nutritional yeast, water, garlic, onion, and lemon juice to make a homemade Alfredo sauce in your blender. Preparing the sauce is super simple, just be sure to have all the ingredients at hand!
- Fresh tortellini: I used fresh spinach ricotta tortellini, but you can use any other type of tortellini!
- Vegetables: Mushrooms and baby spinach go really well with this dish. But feel free to use other vegetables if you don’t like the ones I chose for this recipe.
- Liquid: You can use water, almond milk, or cashew milk to thin the sauce when needed.
- Seasonings: A pinch of ground nutmeg and Italian seasoning add a little extra flavor to the sauce. Great alternatives are dried thyme or rosemary.
- Toppings: Fresh parsley and grated parmesan go super well with this creamy tortellini recipe, so add as much as you want to make everything extra delicious!
How to make tortellini Alfredo
Making these garlic Alfredo tortellini is super simple! Just follow these steps:
- Prepare the sauce: Prepare the sauce by blending all ingredients until the sauce is smooth and creamy. You can follow the instructions in this vegan Alfredo sauce recipe.
- Sauté the mushrooms: Next, preheat some olive oil over medium heat. Then sauté the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes.
- Cook the tortellini: In the meantime, cook the tortellini in boiling water. Check the package instructions for the accurate cook time.
- Add the sauce, liquid, seasonings, and baby spinach: Now add the sauce, some extra liquid, nutmeg, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and baby spinach to the pan. Stir until everything is combined and the spinach wilts.
- Transfer the tortellini: Add the cooked tortellini to the pan. Toss until everything is combined.
- Garnish: Garnish with chopped parsley and grated parmesan. Enjoy!
Tips & Notes
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you try this easy tortellini recipe for the first time.
- Don’t forget to soak the cashew. This makes the cashews soft enough so your blender can turn them into a deliciously creamy sauce. If you forgot to soak them, boil them for 5-10 minutes.
- Lower the heat before adding the sauce to the pan. The sauce can thicken very quickly if the pan is too hot, so lower the heat and let the sauce warm up slowly.
- Add more liquid as needed. The amount of extra liquid you’ll need varies, so just use as much extra liquid as you need. I like to use almond milk or cashew milk (make sure they are unsweetened), but water works, too!
What to serve with tortellini Alfredo?
This dish is already a full meal and can be served as is, but here are some additional ideas for serving these tortellini Alfredo.
- Chicken: If you don’t need this dish to be vegan or vegetarian, you can serve some juicy baked chicken breast alongside these creamy tortellini. Spices like paprika powder, cayenne pepper, or Cajun seasoning go really well with chicken and these tortellini!
- Shrimp: Another idea is searing some shrimp in a pan. Season them as you like and serve them with these tortellini Alfredo.
- Side salad: If you want to add more vegetables to your meal, consider making this arugula lemon salad. It’s super delicious and healthy!
- Vegetable add-ins: You could also add more vegetables to the sauce. Green peas, asparagus, and broccoli go really well with the sauce and the tortellini!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t use cheese tortellini and omit the grated parmesan cheese, this creamy tortellini Alfredo recipe is vegan!
If you prefer dry tortellini, you can absolutely use them. I just like fresh tortellini, so I used them for this recipe. Just be sure to adjust the amount of dry tortellini you use.
You will barely be able to tell the difference! My family absolutely loves the sauce and nobody in our household is vegan. The sauce is just super creamy, delicious, and perfect for anyone who can’t eat dairy or who wants to eat a little healthier.
I recommend storing leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can reheat the tortellini in a pan or microwave with some additional water to make the sauce creamier.
More simple and delicious pasta recipes
If you love pasta recipes, you’ve come to the right place! I absolutely love simple, healthy, and incredibly flavorful pasta dishes. Here are some of my favorites you might want to check out.
Tortellini Alfredo
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegan Cashew Alfredo sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 10 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1 pound fresh tortellini of choice
- liquid as needed, e.g. water, almond milk, cashew milk
- pinch ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning alternatives: dried thyme or rosemary
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 handfuls baby spinach roughly chopped
- chopped parsley and grated parmesan for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the cashew Alfredo sauce according to the recipe instructions and set the sauce aside.
- Next, preheat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes.
- In the meantime, cook the tortellini according to the package instructions. The cook time is usually 3-5 minutes.
- Now lower the heat. Then add the sauce, more liquid, nutmeg, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and baby spinach to the pan. Stir until the spinach starts to wilt.
- Transfer the tortellini to the pan and toss until everything is combined.
- Garnish with parsley and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
- I used spinach ricotta tortellini for the recipe. Feel free to use your favorite tortellini to make this dish!
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