This easy cheesy baked pasta dish comes together quickly and is super easy to customize for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.
Yield: 6
Ingredients
1poundrefrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini
2cups[url href="https://www.kitchentreaty.com/italian-tomato-sauce/"]Italian tomato sauce[/url] or marinara sauce
1/3cupmascarpone cheese
1/4cupchopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2teaspoonschopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1cupshredded mozzarella8 ounces
1/4cupfreshly grated Parmesan
If adding ground beef to half:
1/2poundlean ground beef
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease one 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish or, if making a vegetarian version and a meaty version, grease two approximately 4-inch by 8-inch baking dishes.
Cook the tortellini to al dente, according to package directions. Drain.
Add the sauce to a large bowl and stir in the mascarpone cheese, parsley, and thyme.
If NOT adding beef to half, gently toss the cooked tortellini with the sauce and pour into the 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Proceed to step 6.
If adding ground beef to half, brown the ground beef and drain. Add about 1 1/2 cups of sauce to the beef and stir. Add just under half of the tortellini to the sauce with the beef and add the rest of the tortellini to the remaining sauce in the bowl. Toss both gently until coated. Pour meaty version into one 4-inch by 8-inch baking dish and the vegetarian version into another.
Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top(s).
Bake until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese melts, 25 - 30 minutes. Serve.