Tortellini alla Panna with Peas

cover image of Tortellini Alla Panna Recipe with Peas

5 from 1 vote

Tortellini alla Panna with Peas

Tortellini alla panna with peas is made with a few simple ingredients, and you can whip this up in 15 minutes! Tortellini alla panna, or "tortellini with cream", is an essential Italian comfort food dish that your whole family will love.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: tortellini alla panna, tortellini with cream

Servings: servings

Author: Elena Davis

Ingredients

1 pound fresh or frozen cheese tortellini pasta or tortellini of choice
1 cup fresh or frozen petite peas
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter if you prefer
2 cloves garlic minced
1½ cups heavy cream
1½ cups Parmigiano cheese Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pour 4 quarts of water into a large pot and bring to a boil. Stir in 2 tablespoons of salt,, then add the tortellini and peas. Cook until al dente according to the package directions
While pasta and peas cook prepare the easy cream sauce. Place a pan over medium heat, and add extra virgin olive oil (you can substitute it with butter if you prefer). Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add heavy cream and stir. When bubbles form, reduce the heat to low and add nutmeg and a bit of pepper. Stir again. Cook until the sauce has slightly reduced but is still liquid; about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of Parmigiano and stir to combine, then remove from the heat.
Once tortellini and peas are ready, reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Drain the tortellini and add to the pan with the cream sauce. If the sauce looks dry, add a bit of the reserved pasta cooking water.
Turn on the heat to low and toss everything in the pan until the sauce has coated the tortellini, for 1 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining Parmigiano cheese, stir until the tortellini are well covered with the creamy sauce. Serve hot and top with a sprinkle of extra cheese. Enjoy!

Notes

Use good quality cream, Parmigiano, and tortellini. This recipe doesn't have many ingredients, so it is worth it to get the best of the best to create a meal the entire family will love!
Be sure to use real Parmigiano cheese (the kind with the dotted rind) and grate it yourself. It melts effortlessly and creates a perfectly creamy sauce. Using pre-grated cheese will make your sauce clumpy, dry, and even rubbery. Here's why you should grate your own cheese.
No matter what type of pasta you use, make sure to cook it properly! Make sure to salt the water to flavor the pasta from the inside out. Here's my tips for Cooking Pasta Perfectly Every Time.
Cook the tortellini pasta al dente, since they are tossed in the pan with the sauce at the end. Tortellini makes it easy to know when it is done; since it's a stuffed pasta, it puffs up and floats to the top of the pot when it is done. Check out my guide on how to cook frozen ravioli; ravioli and tortellini cook very similarly!

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