Cheese Tortellini with Peas and Pancetta is my idea of the perfect kind of comfort food!
Recently my freezer and I have been having a moment which works out perfectly as it’s officially Frozen Food Month and I’m kicking off my second year working with the NFRA! I don’t know if it’s like this for you guys, but my Januarys are always cool, calm and collected and then come February and March I feel like I’m living in the middle of a tornado. There are so many moving parts of my life right now, sometimes I just need a little bit of easy, comfort food to end the day. This Cheese Tortellini with Peas and Pancetta is exactly that!! Riffed from a dish my mom used to make us (ham + cheese pasta – may not sound like much, but it’s a game changer) it uses frozen Celentano Cheese Tortellini that’s topped with peas, pancetta and a cheese sauce to end all cheese sauces!
It’s one of those meals that takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish and it’s exactly what you need at the end of a crazy day! The lemon juice gives it an extra zip of flavor and viola – dinner is ready!
Cheese Tortellini with Peas and Pancetta
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen Celentano Tortellini cheese tortellini
- 4 ounces chopped pancetta
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 2/3 cups milk
- 1 cup frozen Green Giant peas thawed
- ÂĽ cup grated pecorino cheese plus more for sprinkling
- ÂĽ cup grated fontina
- Lemon wedges as needed
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add the frozen peas to the boiling water for 30 seconds, just until warmed through. Remove and set aside. Add the tortellini to the same water and cook according to the package directions. Once cooked to al dente, drain and set aside.
- Place the pancetta in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Cook the pancetta, rendering the fat, until the pancetta is crispy. Remove the pancetta to small plate leaving the fat in the skillet.
- Add the butter to the same skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 30-45 seconds before adding the flour and stirring to combine. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the sauce thickens, season with salt and pepper and stir the tortellini, peas and the grated cheese into the sauce, stir to combine. Add half of the cooked pancetta back into the sauce.
- Add a squeeze or two of lemon juice and serve with the remaining pancetta as garnish.
For more frozen food recipes and inspiration, check out EasyHomeMeals.com!
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Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What’s Gaby Cooking
OMG- I so totally know what you are talking about- February is always nuts for me. March ends up being the same . . . and after that the year seems to zoom by quickly.
So if you can get me through some crazy days with fast and easy comfort meals (frozen or not) – keep them coming. Please!!!
Gaby, this is so springy and yummy! Thanks for another great recipe!
this looks absolutely delicious. Like I want to crawl onto the couch in my sweats and eat the whole pot 🙂
I’m not sure how it could possibly be March already…this year is zooming by at warp speed. But I would slow everything down to eat a bowlful of this gorgeous pasta!
Looks delicious! Love how comforting this is!
Too funny when I met Lenny the one thing he said he could make was frozen cheese tortellini, as well as tortellini soup (putting the frozen guys into a pot of stock). The other thing he always had in his freezer was his beloved green peas! I will have to make this for him before March is over as well!
Many times I just need a quick meal and this one looks like it has all the bases covered! We LOVE pasta!!
I love quick meals like this one. Frozen foods are a total timesaver!
I love peas in my pasta! This looks wonderful!
Looks like a great meal that I can throw into my weeknight meal rotation! Love the use of fontina…hardly anyone uses that great cheese.
March got here quick this year it seems! But time flies, right?!
This pasta looks amazing and I am seriously hungry for it for lunch! Pasta dishes are always such a fave!
Yum!
I LOVE frozen food for the quick and easy meal-age that it provides. Sometimes this girl just does not have time to cook! Love this tortellini! Pinned!
This looks like perfect comfort food! I love how easy this is. After cooking all day, I usually end up eating the most pathetic dinners because I have no energy left to make something nice. But I’m going to change that, starting right here!! Thanks for sharing, Gaby!
We love pasta!! This looks amazing~ Thank you!
Love this quick and simple dinner idea!
Such a delightful quick and easy meal. The pancetta is on point.
that looks SO simple and SOOOO good. yum!
You had me at cheese and pancetta and peas okay you had me all along.
I’m with you – this is my kind of comfort food too!
Had this at LaScalla’s Italian restaurant in Philadelphia PA (or it was similar). It looks the same…we’re having this for dinner tonite..following your delicious sounding recipe…I” let you know.
please do!!
This is exactly the kind of dish I need these days I think my friends would love these for our dinner tomorrow