This pesto tortellini recipe is easy to make with a handful of simple ingredients including the best homemade pesto sauce. It’s a quick & light main dish or side, ready in 20 minutes (or less)!

I’m always looking for ways to enjoy the fresh homemade pesto we make with ingredients from our garden, and this pesto tortellini is one of our favorites (along with this pesto pasta and baked pesto chicken).

I mean, what’s not to love?! Cheesy tortellini is cooked then smothered in a delicious pesto sauce and served topped with toasted pine nuts and grated parmesan cheese. Add some tomatoes for a pop of color, if desired!

Pesto Tortellini: Ingredients & Substitutions

• Pesto sauce. I always suggest making your own homemade pesto sauce. It’s so easy and worlds better than store-bought. However, in a pinch (or in the winter) when the craving strikes and you can’t find fresh basil, use jarred, store-bought varieties.
• Tortellini. I suggest using fresh, refrigerated cheese tortellini or frozen tortellini if you can find it. It only takes 3-5 minutes to cook and is so delicious. Dried tortellini works well too, it just takes about 15-20 minutes to cook, so keep that in mind.
• Baby Tomatoes. Sometimes I like to stir the tomatoes into the warm pasta or cook them until they burst in 1 tablespoon of olive oil before adding to the dish.
• Pine nuts. if making your own pesto, reserve 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts for serving. If not, I still suggest toasting 2 tablespoons pine nuts until lightly golden brown to serve with this pesto tortellini.

How to Make Pesto Tortellini

Let’s walk through this pesto tortellini recipe step-by-step. To make it easier, you can prepare the pesto sauce 1-2 days in advance. Don’t forget to watch the video.

Make the Pesto

Begin by making the pesto (if you’re going the homemade route). I have an entire post on this as well if you need further help: homemade basil pesto sauce.

Start making pesto by heating the pine nuts in a small sauté pan over medium heat until lightly browned. Then, reserve 2 tablespoons of roasted pine nuts for serving.

Next put the olive oil and basil leaves into the container of a blender or food processor. Blend/process for about 60 seconds until the ingredients are combined but not totally smooth. 

You may need to pause, scrape down the sides, and then continue blending/processing.

Then, add ¼ cup pine nuts, garlic, ½ cup parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and blend until you reach the desired consistency (about 30-60 seconds). 

Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired and pulse to combine. Then set the sauce aside.

Cook the Tortellini 

Make sure to note how long the tortellini you are using takes to cook. Fresh takes 2-4 minutes, while dried can take up to 20 minutes.

Cook tortellini according to package instructions in salted water.

Once cooked, drain the tortellini but do not rinse. This is very important, unrinsed pasta will absorb and bind to the pesto sauce much better!

Assemble the Pesto Tortellini

Then return the cooked tortellini to the dry pot and add the pesto sauce to the warm tortellini in the pot. Stir until the pesto is evenly distributed.

Sprinkle with remaining toasted pine nuts and parmesan cheese and add tomatoes if desired.

Serve

Serve warm garnished with extra parmesan cheese, toasted pine nuts, julienned basil etc. You can also serve it cold, like a pasta salad, if you prefer.

Store/freeze

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Pesto Tortellini Sauce Recipe FAQs

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