Microwave tortellini in pink sauce
Cheese tortellini in a creamy tomato sauce with wilted spinach and parmesan, the cozy Italian-American bowl that’s ready in about fifteen minutes.
- 15 min total
- 7 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 1
- About $2.44 a serving
- 550 calories
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
For 1 servings.
- 1¼ cups refrigerated cheese tortellini
- ⅓ cup marinara sauce
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- ¾ cup baby spinach
- 1 tbsp grated parmesan
From your pantry
- 1½ cups water
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
Each serving has about 550 calories, 21 g protein, 61 g carbs and 24 g fat, and costs about $2.44 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the tortellini, water and salt in a large microwave-safe bowl, set it on a plate, and microwave 3 minutes.
Timer: 3 min
Stir gently, then microwave 1 to 2 minutes more, until the tortellini are plump and tender all the way through.
Timer: 1 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Bite one. The pasta edge should be soft, not leathery, and the filling hot.off the water, holding the tortellini back with the fork.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
in the marinara and cream until the sauce turns a soft pink.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Pile the spinach on top, cover with a plate, and microwave 1½ minutes, until the spinach .
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Timer: 1 min 30 sec
Stir the spinach through, then finish with the parmesan and of red pepper flakes.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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