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On a chilly night when you’re craving a cozy and easy dinner recipe, this Sausage and Kale Tortellini Bake is sure to be a family favorite.
I am all about a simple skillet dinner, especially during busy school weeknights. On nights when I need to get dinner on the table quickly, I love turning to this recipe that is not only simple to make but also requires only a few fresh ingredients. It uses my favorite shortcut ingredient — fresh cheese tortellini — which adds heft and creaminess to the skillet. I also love to use Italian sausage, which has so much flavor, but you could use any type of ground meat such as beef, pork, or turkey. The whole thing comes together in a little over 30 minutes and with such easy clean-up, you can spend more time with your family or getting things done around the house!
ingredients:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Italian Sausage
- Yellow Onion
- Lacinato Kale
- Marinara Sauce
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Lemon Zest
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Fresh Cheese Tortellini
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Fresh Basil
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
step-by-step:
Step one: preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 375℉.
step two: Brown the Sausage and Sauté the Kale
Heat the oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onions and cook, breaking up the meat with the edge of a wooden spoon, until cooked through and no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain off any excess fat.
step three: add the kale
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the kale and cook, stirring, until it has slightly wilted, about 2 minutes.
step four: simmer the sauce
Add the marinara sauce, broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined. Bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes.
step five: cover with cheese and bake
Once simmering, remove from the heat and add the tortellini. Gently stir to combine and spread into an even layer in the skillet. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake until the tortellini is tender and the cheese is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
step six: rest, garnish, and serve!
Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil and serve with crushed red pepper flakes, if desired. Enjoy!
recipe faqs:
A 10- to 12-inch cast-iron skillet or a similar heavy-bottomed skillet that is oven-safe, like stainless steel! Just be sure to avoid nonstick since most nonstick surfaces aren’t safe at high temperatures.
Taste Republic makes my favorite gluten-free tortellini. If you need a dairy-free option, Kite Hill is great!
I can’t wait to hear what you and your families think of this Sausage and Kale Tortellini Bake! Tag me on social @thedefineddish so I can see your final dish!
want more cozy pasta recipes? try these!
One-Pan Italian Sausage and Orzo
Sausage and Kale Tortellini Bake
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 4 cups roughly chopped lacinato kale (from about 1/2 bunch)
- 1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 16 ounces fresh cheese tortellini
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
For Serving:
- fresh basil
- crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
- Heat the oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion and cook, breaking up the meat with the edge of a wooden spoon, until cooked through and no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain off excess fat. any
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the kale and cook, stirring, until it has slightly wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Add the marinara sauce, broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and stir until well combined. Bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes.
- Once simmering, remove from the heat and add the tortellini. Gently stir to combine and spread into an even layer in the skillet. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake until the tortellini is tender and the cheese is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil and serve with crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
This was so good, hubby and I loved it!! Don’t happen to have the nutritional info for this one? I didn’t see it at the end of the recipe like I normally do… thank you!!
Hi, Catrina! Thanks for bringing this to my attention! The blog has been updated and now includes nutritional information!
My husband and I absolutely loved this dish! The kale adds such a good texture and the lemon really (pleasantly) surprised me. I love lemon anything but would have never thought to put it in this type of recipe. So good. We will definitely add this to our roatation.
Happy it was a hit!
I’ve tried several of your recipes now and loved them! Want to try this one but we don’t eat a lot of sausage in our family….if I used ground turkey instead (or what other meat would you suggest?) do you think I would just need to up the spices a little? Thanks!
You could use ground turkey or ground beef here instead if preferred! To flavor it, I would add 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional).
New family favorite! This meal was a hit for all of us, including my 4 year old. Followed the recipe exactly and wouldn’t change a thing!
So glad you loved it, Leah!
Hi Alex/anyone! Has anyone tried spinach instead of kale in this? I want to use spinach but am worried because sometimes it is more watery than kale? Would that apply here?
I use spinach every time and it taste so good!
Extremely tasty!!!! Loving it!!!! It has conquered or taste buds in a tsunami!!! Such a deep diverse flavor… does not need any changes
The flavor here is amazing! I used all hot italian sausage. Alex is completely right (as per usual ;-)) that the lemon just sends it!
I do agree with other commenters about being careful about the tortellini not being completely covered. I think next time, I am going leave the cheese off when I first put it in the oven, take it out after 5 mins, give another really good stir and get all that tortellini saucy. Then add the cheese, and then pop it back into the oven for the remaining 15 mins.
Is this in one of your cookbooks? I printed out a copy but I always lose papers.
This is not in a book!
Alex always coming in with a win – used Rao’s (because Rao’s is life), tiny chopped the kale so my family couldn’t pick it out (pro tip), used gluten free tortellini with no issues (be sure to bury in the sauce, we had a few get some hard spots during baking). Leftovers reheated well.
So easy, fast and delicious!! Used frozen tortellini instead of fresh and it still turned out great!!