This quick and easy 20 minute pasta bake is made with cheese tortellini in an Italian sausage ragu sauce and topped with cheesy melted mozzarella cheese. Everyone loves this easy pasta dinner made with only 5 ingredients!
Start by filling a pot with water and generously salting the water. Place it on high heat.
While that is heating up, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Italian sausage, break it up with a wooden spoon into bite-size pieces, and let cook until no longer pink and fully cooked, about 8-10 minutes.
Add in cream cheese and let it melt into the sausage. Add in marinara sauce and reduce heat to medium-low.
Cook tortellini according to package instructions. Drain.
Once the cream cheese has melted, carefully fold in the cooked tortellini so that it is covered in the sausage ragu. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed. It depends on the type of marinara sauce you use.
Sprinkle freshly grated mozzarella cheese over the tortellini. Place in the oven on the broil setting for 3-5 minutes, until melted. Watch carefully. Top with fresh basil and serve.
Notes
Substitutions and Variations:
Instead of Italian sausage, you can use ground beef. Since Italian sausage is pre-seasoned, you will need to add seasonings to the ground beef. I suggest adding salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.Instead of cheese tortellini, you can use cheese ravioli or any type of pasta.Instead of cream cheese, you can use heavy cream. It will be a slightly thinner sauce, but it will still taste the same.If you desire a thinner sauce, you may add 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream, milk, or even pasta water.