Fast, nutritious, delicious, and quick to clean up! This cheese tortellini with tomato sauce is an easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love.
Trim one end of the zucchini, then grate with a cheese grater.
1 medium yellow zucchini
Pour all of the spaghetti sauce into a large skillet, and add the grated zucchini and Parmesan cheese. Also add the optional herbs if you are using them.
48 ounces spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon oregano
Mix well and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Mix in the tortellini, bring back to a simmer, then reduce the heat, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring periodically to make sure it doesn't burn.
20 ounces refrigerated tortellini
Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top, re-cover, and cook about 5 more minutes until the tortellini is tender and the cheese is melted.
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Video
Notes
Different brands of sauce can have different consistencies, so if your sauce appears too thick, you can add a little bit of water, up to ½ cup or so.
Add about ¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes in step 2 if you like a little spiciness with your pasta.
You can use frozen tortellini. Don't thaw it, but add 15 - 20 minutes to the cook time.
Dried tortellini can be used, however it is better to cook it as directed first until almost done, then add it into the sauce/zucchini mixture afterward. In that case, you only need to heat the entire mixture until it is hot, since the pasta is already mostly cooked.