This cheese tortellini recipe idea without red sauce is one of my favorite easy dinners for kids.
And we made it out of need on one very, very cold night. (And then kept making it and making it!)
There was an ice storm.
Way before the cheese tortellini recipe idea came in.
I don’t have a lot of experience in the extreme weather department but this storm came on quickly and thoroughly.
Overnight, every single tree in our part of North Carolina was neatly encased in ice. Then they started splitting, falling, and grabbing power lines as they went down.
It was cold. Freezing actually.
We spent two gray days and nights without power and here’s what I learned: these houses aren’t designed to be run without electricity.
We made the best of it though, breaking out flashlights, headlamps, candles and mercifully our gas fireplace still worked. So we all snuggled in sleeping bags in front of the fire and started reading through the Chronicles of Narnia.
Then something wonderful happened.
The sun came out.
In 24 hours, temperatures soared nearly 40 degrees. The ice melted away, the kids ran around on our patio, begging to take off their layers just to soak up the newfound sun. I couldn’t argue.
It wasn’t so cold anymore, but the power still wasn’t on. And that wasn’t great. Out of water, our dishwasher was overflowing with crusty plates in desperate need of a good bath. Our days of cooking on the gas range were done.
We resorted to takeout. One pizza, one Chinese dinner and a Waffle House breakfast later…we saw the trucks coming down our road.
I’m so very thrilled to say it’s all back on now. School is open again. And best of all the sun is out again today. What blessings are these.
In the days since our power returned, we had friends over whose hadn’t. Searching for something comforting and soothing, I made this dinner for them.
To be honest not every preschooler at our table was enamored with this cheese tortellini recipe, but that’s how it goes with a house full of kids. Whenever I have two or more kiddos standing on their chairs with arms stretched high in thumbs up, I know it’s a good one.
How to make my favorite cheese tortellini recipe idea
It takes a few simple ingredients to make this easy cheese tortellini recipe:
- bacon
- white wine
- cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen)
- spinach (fresh or frozen)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Tools to make this easy cheese tortellini recipe idea
You’ll need a big pasta pot. I like the kind with an insert like this one.
Plus a nice saute pan. If you invest in one that’s high quality, you’ll truly have it for MANY years. Mine’s been around for about 15.
Large serving spoon. I have tons of these because I use them at least once every day.
Recipe: My favorite cheese tortellini idea
cheese tortellini with spinach and bacon
Use any shape of pasta you like! It works with both ravioli, tortellini, even spaghetti.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 package fresh (or frozen) cheese tortellini (or ravioli)
- 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
- 1/2 teaspoon salt & 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Optional: freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Put a big pot of water on to boil.
- In a large saute pan, cook bacon pieces until crispy. Don’t drain the grease.
- Cook pasta according to directions, MINUS 1 minute (if it’s fresh this may only mean cooking for 3 minutes).
- While the pasta cooks, add wine to the bacon pan and deglaze the bottom by stirring with a spoon, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Those are going to be delicious.
- Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup of cooking water. Add your hot pasta to the bacon pan.
- Pour in frozen spinach (no need to thaw because it’ll thaw quickly and you don’t want to over cook). Stir gently.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper and oil (plus Parmesan cheese if using) and serve.
The best news about this cheese tortellini recipe idea? It works for any shape of pasta. Ravioli. Even spaghetti.
Got reluctant eaters? For kids, I like to serve new ideas like this one with two strategies:
- Small portions. Three bites is about right. It’s not overwhelming to kids AND if they want more, they can ask for more. Control is on their side, right where they like it.
- Special plates. Little dipping bowls like these have come in handy 1 zillion times. Are they breakable? Yes. But they’re also inexpensive for a set and I’ve had ours for years.
Want more easy dinner ideas for kids?
- Chili-Roni: The One-Pot Pasta that’s the Best of Both Worlds
- Hearty Tomato Soup with a Surprising Source of Protein
- Best Grilled Salmon Kids Will Eat (3 Ingredients!)
My kids (2 & 5) LOVE this!! My 2yo will even make sure she has spinach on her fork for every bite.
Hooray! It’s so good. I make it all the time and all four of my kids eat it happily. How many meals can we say that about? 🙂