Herbed Cheese Tortellini is an easy dinner for crazy weeknights when you need dinner in a hurry. Frozen tortellini is topped with a tangy ranch-marinara sauce.
Frozen cheesy tortellini or ravioli is always a great backup dinner. Sometimes I forget to take something out or we are short on time for one reason or another. But regular tortellini just seem so plain, even when we coat them with olive oil, melted butter, or pasta sauce. One night I started mixing a bunch of things in with the sauce to come up with this Herbed Tortellini recipe. It can be used with ravioli, tortellini, or probably any other cheese-filled pasta shape. Those are just the only two I’ve made it with but we do love tortellini recipes here.
Mixing Ranch dressing into marinara sauce creates a unique blend of red sauce and ranch’s creaminess. Then, I add a bunch of other seasonings to really amp up the sauce’s flavor.
Part of the advantage of this meal is being able to customize your flavors. If you prefer your sauce to have more onion flavor, add more onion powder. Or if the ranch is too powerful, cut it back next time. There’s no right or wrong way to make this meal.
My boys like it because we get cheese-only tortellini or ravioli. Then the sauce is fun because they will help me pick out our seasonings for the night and add it to the pot themselves.
Normally, if my sauce is at room temperature, I don’t warm it before using it on pasta. But unless you are using a new bottle of ranch, that will be cold since it’s stored in the refrigerator. For this reason, I always warm up the sauce so it will blend well together and be warm on the pasta.
Serving Suggestions & Tips
- ​Use fresh herbs if you have them for extra flavor.Â
- Garnish with red pepper flakes to give your tortellini a kick.Â
- Mix in other Italian herbs such as oregano and thyme.Â
- Shred fresh mozzarella to garnish your pasta.Â
- Substitute your favorite pasta sauce or tomato sauce if you don’t want marinara sauce.Â
- Chop tomatoes or add cherry tomatoes to mix in some veggies.Â
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and extra basil.
Herbed Tortellini Step by Step
Ingredients
- 19 oz frozen cheese-filled tortellini
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp celery flakes
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (for garnish)
Preparation
In a large saucepan, cook the tortellini or ravioli over medium-high heat according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the marinara sauce, ranch dressing, and seasonings.
Stir to combine and warm over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes. You don’t want the sauce to start boiling.
When the pasta is done, serve it warm covered with the sauce mixture. Garnish your herbed tortellini with parmesan cheese or seasonings.
Herbed Cheese Tortellini Leftovers
Storage: Let the remaining pasta cool to room temperature then move it to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Reheating: Reheat the pasta and sauce in a saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed through, about 4-5 minutes. If the pasta is dry, mix in a little bit of cold water, extra marinara sauce, or ranch dressing.
Recipe
Originally Published On: February 8, 2017
Last Updated On: October 28, 2024
Herbed Tortellini (or Ravioli)
Ingredients
- 19 oz frozen tortellini
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp celery flakes
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (for garnish)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Cook the tortellini according to the package
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the marinara sauce, ranch dressing, and seasonings
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until mixed and warmed through
- Serve the sauce over the cooked tortellini
- Top with fresh parmesan cheese
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Marinara Sauce
- Meaty Marinara Sauce in the Slow Cooker
- Super Easy Homemade Fried Mozzarella Sticks Recipe
- Sesame Pull-Apart Rolls
- Homemade Pizza Burgers: The Best Combo of Two Recipes
- Zucchini Tots
- Herbed Tortellini (or Ravioli)
- Easy Chicken Parmesan
- Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Stromboli Ring
- Classic Stuffed Shells
- Crispy Fried Mozzarella Cakes Recipe with Fresh Cheese
Tortellini Recipes
- Zesty Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Leftover Turkey Tortellini Soup
- Skillet Tortellini and Broccoli Meal
- Tortellini Alfredo Copycat Panera Recipe
- Herbed Tortellini (or Ravioli)
- Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup
- Chicken Tortellini Skillet Dinner with Pasta Sauce
- Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Chicken Tortellini Salad with Lemon Dressing
Pasta with Red Sauce
- Chicken Tortellini Skillet Dinner with Pasta Sauce
- Pasta Sauce: Homemade in under 30 minutes
- Lobster Ravioli Sauce
- Simple Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta Recipe with Hidden Carrots
- Meaty Marinara Sauce in the Slow Cooker
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Spaghetti with Homemade Meatballs
- Baked Ziti
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Herbed Tortellini (or Ravioli)
- Easy Chicken Parmesan
- One-Pot Goulash
- Classic Stuffed Shells
Nice idea! I make a dairy free ranch dressing and I’m going to try it in this recipe.
I bet that would work, too! But, if you need everything dairy-free make sure you aren’t getting cheese-filled pasta like I used.
Oooh looks good. I have a lot of days coming up where I’ll need quick meals, may add this to the list.
This one is definitely quick! And since the tortellini is frozen you don’t have to plan ahead for this one, either.
This looks so good! I am always looking for new, quick meals to try! My toddler loves both pasta and ranch, so I’m sure this would be a hit.
Yes, sounds like a perfect combination for your little one!
What a clever idea, Stephanie! I never would have thought to add ranch seasoning mix to a red sauce, but I bet it’s delish – will give this a try sometime! 🙂
I used ranch dressing, not the mix in this, but the mix would probably work well, too!
Ooh this looks delicious! I’m not very good at coming up with my own sauces, but this looks like something i’d love to try!
I saw the idea somewhere, to mix ranch with marinara and thought it sounded odd, but I like both! Then it was a matter of finding the right seasonings.
Oh my, I am a HUGE fan of tortellini anything! And who would’ve thought to add some ranch in your sauce! That is something I’ll have to try when my husband isn’t home lol, he hates ranch.
Tortellini is one of my favorite kinds of pasta, too! Definitely try the ranch when you are making a meal for yourself, it’s delicious with the red sauce.
This looks so good! Mixing red sauce and ranch dressing is such a good idea!
It seemed like a strange combination at first, but it works so well together!
How curious to put ranch dressing into your tomato sauce for tortellini, you definitely have the most original ideas!
I was so unsure at first, but I read something somewhere about it and gave it a try. It’s definitely a different taste and great for mixing up a plain sauce.
OMG! I love tortellini! What a great combination with the herbs!
The herbs help give a whole new taste to plain tortellini!
I love tortellini… and your marinara sauce sounds yummy! I will have to try this as we have so many busy evenings in the week where I need something quick and filling to make!
Tortellini is so quick and easy, but we like adding a few extra things to the sauce to make it a bit more interesting.
Mixing ranch and marinara is such a brilliant idea. I would have never thought of that for a twist on regular pasta sauce!
It’s so good together! It adds a different flavor to make plain tortellini a bit more interesting.
Will be making it this week, thanks for sharing the recipe. Looks yummy!
Awesome, I hope you enjoy it, Rania!
We always buy frozen tortellini from Costco and this sauce would be perfect! Easy to make and looks delicious!
I love having frozen tortellini in the freezer in case we need it for a quick meal. I hope you like the sauce with it!
When I could eat them, I LOVEEEEDDDDDDD tortellini or ravioli – OR BOTH together! SO SO SO good, especially the ones filled with cheese!
I’ve never tried them both together, I bet that’s fun and my boys would love seeing which one they get as they eat.
I never thought to add ranch dressing… Brilliant! I like my sauces to be a bit zesty and creamy.
It works surprisingly well together! From what you say, I think you would really like the combination.
I never tried these and they seem delicious. I like how quick they can be cooked and it’s what I’m looking for. Definitely, will give it a try, thank you for sharing it.
Tortellini are so easy to make. You can usually find them with other frozen pasta, sometimes near the frozen bread, in the grocery store.
Oh this mixture sounds delicious. I love that you added extra spices to it as well, totally something I would try.
I just kept adding things until we liked it 🙂 That’s how I end up with a lot of my recipes.
Nothing like a yummy meal that doesn’t take ages to prepare. Is there an option if one isn’t eating pasta?
Well, if you take out the pasta you’ve pretty much got just the sauce. In that case, I would go for a tomato soup like this one: https://www.sonshinekitchen.com/tomato-soup-vegan-dairy-free/