During my time as a restaurant chef, Tortellini and Broccoli with an Alfredo Sauce was always one of the popular dishes on the menu. The cost was lower because it was basically a pasta dish and everyone kind of fooled themselves into thinking it was healthy because it had broccoli in it! Hey, whatever works for you is ok with me.
The truth about most restaurant-style dishes is the majority of them are pretty easy to make and can be on your dinner table in a relatively short time. The trick to most dishes I made during my restaurant days was having the ingredients on hand and ready to use. Once you’ve got that taken care of most of the work is done.
That’s when the magic happens in the kitchen and you start having fun cooking up delicious dishes for your friends and family! And trust me the happier you are in the kitchen the better the food will taste. You’ll also enjoy spending time in the kitchen and before long you’ll be making dinner all the time and saving a lot of money along the way!
Save those restaurant visits for special occasions and as treat, for those days you just don’t feel like cooking. That what we do.
What do I need to make Tortellini and Broccoli?
Start by gathering the ingredients you’ll need to make Tortellini and Broccoli. In chef speak we call this the mise en place which loosely translates to everything in its place.
The broccoli and tortellini need to be par-cooked so you could prep your ingredients earlier in the day or the day before making the cooking process quick and easy.
Do I have to use Heavy Cream to make Tortellini and Broccoli?
No, you don’t. You can use light cream and even low-fat Greek yogurt.
*FYI, you can’t heat Greek yogurt, it turns to liquid. If you want to use yogurt heat the tortellini and broccoli in a little milk with the seasonings. Then toss the mixture with Romano cheese and low-fat yogurt.
You can also make a version of this dish using chicken stock or vegetable stock instead of cream. My wife can’t tolerate too much cream so she had a small portion of the alfredo version and a larger portion of the broth version.
What can I use instead of Cheese Tortellini in this dish?
There are a lot of choices in the fresh pasta department of your supermarket. You can also find more choices in the freezer section. You’ll find many different fillings to choose from so use what you enjoy eating. Recipes are guidelines!
- Mini-ravioli
- Tortelloni
- Gnocchi
- Dry pasta shapes of your choice
Let’s start making our dish. The first step is to saute the mushrooms. If you have any white wine on hand, deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine.
*Deglazing the pan helps release the bits of deliciousness that have stuck to the pan. You don’t have to use wine, you can also use sparkling water.
Add the heavy cream, grated Romano cheese and spices to the pan. Bring the cream to a low boil, and let it continue to cook for about 5 minutes. The sauce will reduce and thicken.
Once the cream mixture has thickened, add the broccoli florets, tortellini and carrots to the pan. Mix them together with the alfredo sauce and heat the mixture over medium heat until the broccoli and tortellini are fully heated. Then serve and enjoy!
*If the mixture gets to thick add milk, water, stock or more cream to thin out the sauce.
Do I have to use mushrooms?
No, you don’t. In fact, you don’t have to use broccoli if you don’t like broccoli. You can use any of your favorite veggies in this dish. I always tell my friends that recipes are guidelines and to cook with ingredients that you like to eat.
Serve the Tortellini and Broccoli immediately and garnish with chopped parsley and more shredded carrots if you like.
If you like this recipe you may also like these:
- Grilled Chicken Alfredo
- Fettuccini Alfredo
- Pasta alla Caponata
- Pasta Aioli with Broccoli Rabe
- Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs
Tortellini and Broccoli Alfredo
Ingredients
- 2 cups cheese tortellini par cooked
- 2 cups broccoli florets par cooked
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- ¼ cup carrots shredded
- ½ cup Romano cheese *more if you like it extra cheesy
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp granulated onion
- parsley finely minced for garnish
Instructions
- The first step is to saute the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms cook over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes. If you have any white wine on hand, deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine at the end of the cooking process.
- Add the heavy cream, grated Romano cheese and spices to the pan. Bring the cream to a low boil, and let it continue to cook for about 5 minutes. The sauce will reduce and thicken.
- Once the cream mixture has thickened, add the broccoli florets, tortellini and carrots to the pan. Mix them together with the alfredo sauce and heat the mixture over medium heat until the broccoli and tortellini are fully heated.
- Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Heidy
I love an excellent American-Italian pasta dish— this one was so perfectly creamy and delicious I will be making it again. Thank you for the beautiful instructions and tips. We will be making this recipe again.
Kacey Perez
I love mixing vegetables in with pasta for my kids and this recipe was the perfect way to do that! It’s always nice to mix things up a bit and the tortellini is always a nice change from regular pasta!
Jo
The richness of the sauce along with tortellini and broccoli is simply the best tasting dish. How delicious it looks! The flavors are so amazing!
Natalie
I love creamy pasta. And this looks fantastic. Love the flavors and all ingredients. Will make this soon.
Mikayla
Simple, tasty, and lots of really great tips for customizing it for what I had in my pantry. Thanks for sharing this recipe for us to make at home!
tara
I’m always a sucker for creamy sauces and a dinner that is table ready in 30 minutes! Definitely adding to the dinner rotation this week!
Paige
Yum,. this looks easy and really delicious Dennis! One I would make for sure!
Amy | Two Healthy Kitchens
Wow, I can’t believe how fast this dish comes together! It totally seems like a fancy, work-intensive dinner, but it’s actually so quick and easy — perfect to impress my guests! 😉
Alena
As someone who misses going out to eat, I’m so excited about this recipe! It’s perfect for date night!
Swathi
This looks not only delicious but also complete meal I love creamy Alfredo sauce with tortellini and broccoli and carrots makes it more delicious.
Rika Livingston
That looks fantastic. I love alfredo and tortellini! I’d love to try this soon.
Bohemian Babushka
Babushka will be looking up the definition of “par cooked” porque she plans to make this dish as is! And then she plans to try the broth version too.
Chef Dennis Littley
par-cooked just means to partially cook the ingredient so the final step of heating it will finish the cooking process.
Lizzie Lau
While I love the richness of an Alfredo sauce, I find that the older I get the less dairy agrees with me. The chicken broth version is fantastic!
Kita Bryant
That recipe looks so good. Broccoli and Alfredo go together so well. Would love to try this!
Catalina
Tortellini, broccoli and Alfredo sauce – all in one dish – is exactly what I want! The best ever!
Kathy
I love Alfredo, but I’ve never had it like this before. I am definitely interested in trying this recipe. I love tortellini, so I’m sure this is amazing.
Fiona
Love a creamy pasta so will defo be making this during lockdown
Jenn @ EngineerMommy
This alfredo recipe sounds absolutely delicious to me. I would love to make this over the weekend. I’ve been doing more cooking now than I ever have in the past.
Lynndee
I haven’t had this dish before. I did have a tortellini dish before and I had alfredo too. I must try this.
Pinay Mommy
I am not good with cooking but I would definitely love to eat Tortellini and Broccoli with an Alfredo Sauce! Craving something like this lately.
Marysa
This sounds delicious! I love tortellini, broccoli and alfredo, and this combination looks so tasty.
Rena
This looks amazing and I will definitely be trying to make it this weekend if I can find fresh veggies!
Beth
This is a perfect recipe for my family. My youngest is a vegetarian, and we eat pasta about once a week. I’m excited to make this!
cait
my husband is a huge broccoli alfredo fan so id love to try and make this for him and the rest of the family
Heather
This looks so delicious. I love tortellini and love alfredo sauce. We have definitely been experimenting with pasta lately.
Tasheena
I’ve actually never have the combination of these flavors together before. Looking forward to giving this recipe a try. I know my family is going to love it.
Amber Myers
Oooo we love tortellini so this would be a tasty dinner. I’d have to leave our the mushrooms though. I think they taste like slimy feet. But everything else looks fabulous.
melissa chapman
In these days of quarentine it is nice to see a dish like this to brighten up the day. I know so many people would love a dish like this while in their homes.