Tortellini Mac and Cheese is a delicious pasta recipe combining tortellini with a decadent cream sauce and then baked with breadcrumbs.
There are two things my family requests often for dinner: tortellini and homemade mac and cheese. So when I spotted this recipe for tortellini mac and cheese, I simply had to try it out on my family. The result: a big win. This mac and cheese has both cheese tortellini and shell pasta in it. And it’s combined with cheddar cheese, fontina cheese and cream cheese. Yep, it’s a total splurge for dinner, but it’s totally worth it!
This recipe comes from the cookbook: Southern Living 2021 Annual Recipes. I am a huge fan of Southern Living recipes. I ordered their magazine for many years, and I always buy their annual cookbooks. If you’ve never bought a Southern Living cookbook, you simply must give it a try. Their recipes are really well-tested, and they are all my kind of recipes- delicious, unique and a wide variety of options.
Here are some recipes from 2021’s book that I am so excited to make!
- Salmon with Pineapple Pepper Salsa and Coconut Cauliflower Rice
- Carrot Cake Quick Bread with Buttermilk Glaze
- Cucumber Mint Mojitos
- Blueberry Citrus Rolls with Orange Glaze
- Fried Chicken Salad with Basil-Buttermilk Dressing
- Hash Brown Frittata
- Fresh Mint Chocolate Pie
- Beef Sliders with Bacon Jam
- Raspberry Almond Muffins with Honey Butter
- Marinated Feta with Cherry Tomatoes
- Blackberry Lime Drop Biscuits
- Watermelon Sangria
- I could go on and on and on— great recipes!
Ingredients needed for mac and cheese:
- medium shell pasta
- cheese tortellini
- unsalted butter
- all purpose flour
- whole milk
- cream cheese
- Dijon mustard
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- white cheddar cheese
- fontina cheese
- panko breadcrumbs
- chives
How to make Tortellini Mac and Cheese:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
Sprinkle with chives before serving.
This is one creamy and amazing pot of pasta. It’s the kind of pasta that you want to make only once in a while because it is quite rich. But it’s the kind of pasta you’re going to crave more than once.
You don’t want to eat a giant bowl of this tortellini mac and cheese for dinner. That might be a little too much. So plan on smaller servings along with your favorite salad to balance it all out. Enjoy!
The Best Tortellini Recipes:
- Greek Tortellini Salad
- Sundried Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Tortellini Pomodoro with Burrata
- Tortellini, Peas and Asparagus with Creamy Tarragon Sauce
Tortellini Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked medium shell pasta
- 20 ounces uncooked cheese tortellini
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspooon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup (4 ounces) white cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 ounces (1 cup) fontina cheese, shredded
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over medium-high heat. Add the shell pasta, and then return to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 9 minutes. Add the tortellini. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shells and tortellini are al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain; set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a broiler-safe Dutch oven over medium high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter smells nutty, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the flour, and cook until toasted and light brown, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium; gradually whisk in the milk. Cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until the mixture can coat the back of a wooden spoon, 5 minutes. Add the cream cheese, mustard, salt and pepper. Cook, whisking constantly, until smooth- 1 minute. Gradually add the two cheeses, whisking in between additions, until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir the drained pasta into the sauce in the Dutch oven. Toss to coat. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to broil with the rack about 8 inches from the heat source. Microwave the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a small bowl (until melted- about 30 seconds). Add the panko to the melted butter; toss to coat. Sprinkle the buttered panko cumbs evenly over the pasta mixture. Broil until brown and crispy, about 3 minutes- watching closely to make sure it does not burn! Sprinkle with chives before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
