This recipe has received plenty of great feedback over at Emily Bites! Let’s have a look at what all the lovely readers have said about it:
This looks amazing!!! I LOVE tortellini, but I can’t remember the last time I ate them. I’ll plan on using turkey bacon since the boyfriend doesn’t eat pork.
Thanks for sharing!I made this last night and it was SO GOOD. I’m pretty excited to heat up my leftovers for lunch today. I did modify a few things, since my husband is vegetarian- I upped the spinach and added tomatoes and mushrooms.
Incredible. I have now eaten this 3 times. I made it just as written and loved it.
INGREDIENTS:
- 12 oz package of dry Cheese & Spinach Tortellini (I used Barilla – find in the dry pasta aisle)
- 2 slices center cut bacon
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups skim milk
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 cups fresh spinach, loose, not packed
- 1 ½ oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 2/3 cup reduced fat 2% shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly coat an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray. Cook the tortellini according to package directions.
Place bacon in a large skillet and bring over medium-high heat. Cook for 7-9 minutes until crisp. Remove from the pan and place on paper towels to dry. Leave one tablespoon of bacon grease in the pan. Add the garlic to the bacon grease and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour to the pan and whisk into grease. Add the milk slowly and continue to whisk until combined. Add the salt, pepper, basil and red pepper flakes and stir. Bring to a simmer.
Once simmering, add lemon juice and lemon zest to sauce. Stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes and remove from heat.
Drain the tortellini and place back into the pot. Crumble the bacon and set aside. Add the spinach along with most of the Parmesan and the Mozzarella (reserve some of each to sprinkle on top). Add the sauce and stir everything together. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese and bacon over the top.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake uncovered for 5-10 more minutes.
USE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW
Quick Tip: Use your favorite pasta for this dish.
Thanks to Emily Bites for this weeknight meal the whole family will love!
