One-Pot Marry Me Tortellini with Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce and Fresh Basil

One Pot Marry Me Tortellini

Dinner is handled. This creamy sun dried tomato tortellini is cozy, a little spicy, and ready in 20 minutes flat. It takes everything you love about the viral marry me chicken and turns it into a vegetarian one pot pasta that tastes like a restaurant dish.

Here is the best part. You only need one pot and 20 minutes from start to finish. This is the kind of dinner made for busy weeknights when you want something warm and satisfying without a pile of dishes. It also scales up easily when you are feeding a larger group.

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Store bought tortellini goes straight into the pan and simmers right in the sauce. That sauce is pure comfort: creamy, rich, and studded with sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, and salty Parmesan. A little kick runs through every bite, keeping the whole dish flavorful and far from boring.

Use any tortellini or ravioli you like. Cheese filled is a classic choice, and if you love the marry me flavor family, you will also want to try my Marry Me Chicken Pasta for another night.

This recipe adapts the original recipe into a fast weeknight format, so you get the same cozy flavor with minimal effort.

So grab your biggest pot and a wooden spoon. Dinner is about 20 minutes away.

Ingredients and substitutions

Let us talk tortellini, because this is where the fun starts. The recipe uses cheese tortellini with a mozzarella filling, which melts into the sauce beautifully. Honestly, though, any tortellini or your favorite ravioli will work here. Spinach, mushroom, or meat filled tortellini are all fair game. If you go with a meat filled option, the dish will no longer be vegetarian, so plan accordingly.

• Sun dried tomatoes: Look for sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil. They are more flavorful than the dry packed kind and they soften right into the sauce as it simmers.
• Garlic and shallot: These two are the flavor builders of the whole dish. Six cloves of garlic plus one diced shallot give the sauce its savory backbone, so do not skip them.
• Unsalted butter: Butter is used to saute the garlic and shallot until soft and fragrant. If you prefer, swap it for olive oil or even the oil from the sun dried tomato jar, which adds an extra layer of tomato flavor.
• Heavy cream: This is what makes the sauce creamy and luscious. Half and half can also work if you want a slightly lighter sauce, and a dairy free alternative such as coconut cream or oat cream can step in too. Keep in mind the Parmesan is still dairy, so a full dairy free version would need more swaps.
• Tomato paste: Three tablespoons of tomato paste bring intense tomato flavor that balances the richness of the cream. Cooking it briefly in the pan helps the flavor bloom.
• Vegetable broth: The broth gives the sauce body and real flavor as the tortellini cooks in it. Chicken broth works too if that is what you have, but plain water will not deliver the same depth, so reach for broth.
• Parmesan: Grate it fresh if you can. Freshly grated Parmesan melts smoothly into the sauce and adds a salty touch that ties everything together. A fresh wedge and a grater give you the smoothest melt.
• Fresh basil: Basil adds brightness and a pop of color. Chop it and stir it in just before serving so it stays fresh and fragrant instead of wilting away in the heat.
• Seasoning: The spice mix stays simple: black pepper, dried thyme, and chili flakes. That is all you need to season the whole pot, since the sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan bring plenty of flavor on their own.

  

One quick note before you cook: get everything chopped and measured before the pan gets hot. With only 20 minutes on the clock, having your ingredients ready keeps things relaxed and fun.

Recipe tips

A note on heat: the chili flakes are more about flavor than fire. They add a subtle, tingly kick that lifts the creamy sauce without making it truly spicy. Taste as you go and adjust the amount to match your crowd. A little extra on top at serving time also looks beautiful.

This dish is completely satisfying on its own, so consider this section optional. If you want to bulk it up with more protein, rotisserie chicken, bacon, seared salmon, and shrimp all pair well with the creamy sun dried tomato sauce. Shredded rotisserie chicken is the easiest win on a busy night. For another creamy seafood idea, check out my Shrimp and Spinach Creamy Gnocchi.

Once the cream goes in, keep the heat gentle. A soft simmer is all the sauce needs.

Planning for a crowd? The recipe scales up easily for a larger group, so double it in your biggest pot when friends come over. Leftovers are a bonus: they keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

Warm them gently in a skillet over medium heat with a splash of cream, milk, or broth to loosen the sauce, stirring until heated through. Skip the boil so the sauce stays smooth.

Ingredients

Here is everything you need to make this one pot wonder. Measure it all out before you start, since the cooking moves fast.

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes, plus more for serving
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1.1 pounds cheese filled tortellini
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 cup basil leaves, roughly chopped

That is the whole list. Nothing fancy, nothing hard to find.

A quick shopping note: any refrigerated or frozen tortellini or ravioli works. Beyond cheese, spinach, mushroom, butternut squash, and pesto stuffed tortellini are all good picks. Lobster or sausage filled ravioli turn it into a protein packed twist.

Instructions

Five steps and you are done. Everything happens in one pot, so the order matters more than any complicated technique.

Read through the steps once before you start. This recipe moves quickly, and having everything chopped and measured means you can flow from one step to the next without stopping.

1. Get your prep done before you start cooking: grate the Parmesan, mince the garlic cloves, and dice the shallot. Chop the basil and the sun dried tomatoes, too. With a 20 minute recipe, there is no time to chop between steps.
2. Heat the butter over medium low heat, add the garlic and shallot, and saute for 3 minutes until soft. Stir in the black pepper, chili flakes, thyme, and tomato paste, then cook for 2 minutes so the paste darkens and sweetens a little.
3. Add the tortellini and pour in the vegetable broth. Bring everything to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes. The pasta cooks right in the flavorful broth, which is what makes this a true one pot meal.
4. Pour in the cream and simmer for 1 minute. Next, stir in the Parmesan until it melts into the sauce, then add the sun dried tomatoes and basil and stir to combine.
5. Finish with freshly ground black pepper and an extra pinch of chili flakes, then serve right away while the sauce is silky and the basil is bright.

Recipe details

• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 10 minutes
• Total: 20 minutes
• Servings: 4

Ten minutes of prep and ten minutes of cooking gets dinner on the table fast, and the recipe serves four. It scales up easily for a larger group, which makes it a handy pick for casual entertaining.

Nutrition information per serving, based on 4 servings per recipe.

Treat these values as a helpful estimate for planning your week, since they come straight from the source recipe.

See the additional source.

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One-Pot Marry Me Tortellini

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One Pot Marry Me Tortellini Dinner is handled. This creamy sun dried tomato tortellini is cozy, a little spicy, and ready in 20 minutes flat.

• Total Time: 20 min
• Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

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1 tbsp unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, diced
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp chili flakes, more for serving
3 tbsp tomato paste
1.1 pounds tortellini, cheese filling
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
½ cup heavy cream
¾ cup Parmesan, grated
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained, roughly chopped
1 cup basil leaves, roughly chopped

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Instructions

1-Get your prep done before you start: Get your prep done before you start cooking: Grate the Parmesan, mince the garlic cloves and dice the shallot. Chop the basil and sun-dried tomatoes.
2-Heat butter over medium low, add garlic: Heat butter over medium low, add garlic and shallot. Sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in pepper, chili flakes, thyme and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes.
3-Add tortellini and pour in vegetable broth,: Add tortellini and pour in vegetable broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
4-Pour in cream and simmer for 1: Pour in cream and simmer for 1 minute. Next stir in Parmesan, then add sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Stir to combine.
5-Finish off with freshly ground black pepper: Finish off with freshly ground black pepper and chili flakes. Enjoy!

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 10 min
• Method: stovetop

Nutrition

• Calories: 657kcal
• Sugar: 12g
• Sodium: 1346mg
• Fat: 30g
• Saturated Fat: 15g
• Carbohydrates: 72g
• Fiber: 8g
• Protein: 28g
• Cholesterol: 105mg