Try this Sausage Tortellini Skillet recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons italian seasoning
- 1 lb hot italian turkey or poultry sausage casings removed
- 8 oz sliced white mushrooms
- 8 oz chopped zucchini
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons sliced fresh basil
- 1 1/2 oz parmesan cheese freshly shredded (i did mine on the smallest holed side of a box grater)
- 20 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 1 cup shredded 2% mozzarella cheese
- Carbohydrate 33.3695096571823 g
- Cholesterol 27.5557364532 mg
- Fat 5.53834070313317 g
- Fiber 2.71360448624798 g
- Protein 10.684838282019 g
- Saturated Fat 2.81840854975882 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (1 cup) serving (255g)
- Sodium 492.014818390517 mg
- Sugar 30.6559051709344 g
- Trans Fat 0.763851768078818 g
- Calories 222 calories
Step-by-step
- Place the sausage in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat and cook for a few minutes, breaking apart with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown a bit.
- Once the meat starts to break apart, add the onion, mushroom, zucchini and garlic and stir together.
- Continue to cook for about 8 more minutes while breaking up meat and stirring regularly until sausage is cooked through and vegetables are softened.
- Add the tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, Parmesan and tortellini and stir until well combined.
- Cover the pan with a lid and bring heat up until you can see the sauce bubble.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 8 minutes until tortellini is cooked.
- Turn off the burner, remove the lid and sprinkle the Mozzarella over the top of the skillet.
- Place the lid back on the pan and leave it on the warm burner for about 2 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Remove the lid and serve.
Turkey sausage carries the primary responsibility for seasoning and fat content in this skillet, operating differently than standard pork variations because poultry naturally lacks the high fat percentage needed to lubricate the pan adequately. Swapping turkey for traditional pork sausage alters the moisture balance; extra virgin olive oil must be introduced at a rate of one tablespoon per pound of lean meat to prevent the garlic and diced onions from scorching during the initial eight-minute sauté phase. Mushrooms release significant cellular water when heated alongside the zucchini, meaning the heat must remain strictly at medium until that moisture evaporates, or the tomato sauce will taste watery rather than concentrated. Starch management requires equal attention when integrating refrigerated cheese tortellini directly into the simmering sauce. Uncooked pasta releases surface starches straight into the surrounding liquid, thickening the tomato puree into a glossy coating, but only if the pan lid traps enough steam at a gentle low simmer. Overcooking causes the tortellini filling to burst through the pasta walls, dissolving cheese into the sauce and turning the dish heavy. Shredding parmesan on the finest rasp grater rather than a coarse grate ensures the cheese melts smoothly into the tomato base instead of clumping. Covering the skillet with residual heat for exactly two minutes melts the mozzarella evenly without separating the dairy fats.
