Cherry Tomato Basil Tortellini Pasta

Tortellini Pasta with fresh cherry tomato and basil pan pasta sauce. Cherry tomatoes create a flavorful sweet and tangy pan sauce in minutes. Touch of garlic, lemon and parmesan with lots of basil and cheese filled tortellini pasta equals an easy weeknight dinner, bursting with flavors.

This recipe has many reason to make to my dinner table. Three most important are:

1) Easy Weeknight Dinner.
2) Great for Meal-Prep Dinner or Lunch.
3) Vegetarian, perfect for meatless days with amaZing restaurant quality (but clean) flavors.

Oh, if you like this tomato Tortellini Pasta, you will enjoy my Fresh Tomato Sauce, Arrabbiata Pasta Sauce and Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta recipes too.

I love keeping a collection of easy weeknight dinners recipes which I can make at moment's notice. Specially when weekdays are rough, or super busy. I always have a bag of frozen cheese Tortellini Pasta in freezer. Often, a cup or so of cherry tomatoes are in refrigerator because we get these regular for salads. (no weeknight menu without few salads, for sure). 

So, Tortellini Pasta from freezer, cherry tomatoes in hand and few pantry staples - garlic, olive oil, seasoning and parmesan.  That's it and a delicious pasta dinner in 15 minutes. Tempting, isn't it? 

I tell you, this recipe is a keeper. You can same recipe for an kind of cheese/veggie filled pasta, tortellini, ravioli all work.

When we are not on vegetarian diet, I add some chicken or shrimp for Vishal in same pasta for serving of protein.  For more balanced meal, on veggie days I often saute some mushroom, spinach, or kale with pasta. Honestly, pasta dishes offer endless meal possibilities. Once you have flavorful pasta sauce ready.. Really any protein any kind of pasta will make a perfect meal. 

Tortellini Pasta for dinner tonight?

Okay, let me sum-up, why you should try this Tortellini Pasta for dinner tonight:

1) Serve a veggie-forward dinner for meatless Monday. 
2) Eat well, yet keep it delicious and within reach. All pantry and freezer staples get together to save day and pocket. (I often buy a big, economical pack of Tortellini Pasta and freeze it to use multiple times. If cost of cherry tomatoes bother you, use these when in season. Or use chopped roma tomatoes. Both work fine for this recipe.)
3) Quick dinner in only 15 minutes. Pasta boil in 3-5 minutes, in almost same time sauce is ready.
4) Delicious and easy pasta such as this Tortellini Pasta makes dinner worth looking forward to.

Serve a side of veggie or meat protein. And/or a salad to make meal more substantial.

To make cherry tomato basil sauce for Tortellini Pasta, I start by mincing some garlic. There are not a a lot of ingredients, so there is no need of prep. I keep cherry tomato whole. That way these don't get mushy and are really juicy and sweet when bite into.

When ready to prep, I also set a pot of water to boil. Frozen Tortellini Pasta ( I used three cheese tortellini) is ready in about 4 minutes. For best results, I always recommend checking on the package for directions. When I drop in pasta, at same time on side I heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Saute aromatics - garlic, seasoning and then add cherry tomatoes. These don't take long (2-3 minutes). In this time pasta is cooked. I drop it in cooking sauce to coat in sauce. Parmesan, and fresh basil bring everything together and dinner is ready to serve.

Note: Please don't skimp on basil. Basil adds lots of freshness and flavor to this tomato pasta sauce.

Tip: Spinach is my most frequent addition in this bowl. Add it when added pasta. It wilts in residual heat, adds flavor and green to the meal.

This recipe is good for meal-prep, lunch prep. (Kids like is as much as adults). Here is sneak-peak of my meal-prep with the pictures I clicked for this blog post.. I predict no-work scrumptious Tortellini Pasta dinner in my week. :)

Have a wonderful day.

-Savita x