An easy, delicious recipe for Cheese Tortellini in a simple garlic butter sauce with basil. Keep it warm in a crockpot for a party appetizer, or serve up in a big bowl for a comforting weeknight meal in 15 minutes or less.

This recipe is absolutely delicious but you must season it properly. I love low-sodium chicken broth as much as the next person, but it doesn’t work well here. Use homemade chicken broth if you have it or mix up a batch from the “Better than Bouillon”.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken broth: Do not use low-sodium chicken broth or the sauce may be bland. Homemade chicken broth is fine or you could mix up a batch with Better than Bouillon chicken base (Culinary Hill may earn money if you buy through this link). For a vegetarian version, substitute vegetable broth.
- Cornstarch: All-purpose flour can be substituted for cornstarch. However, you may have to cook the sauce an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Cheese tortellini: The cooking times in this recipe are based on frozen cheese tortellini. To substitute fresh or refrigerated tortellini, cook it for 2 to 3 minutes (it should be floating). To substitute dried tortellini, follow the instructions on the package (should be about 10 to 11 minutes).
- Butter: Do not substitute unsalted butter or your sauce may be bland.
Step-by-step instructions
- Set aside 1 ½ cups of broth in a small bowl and whisk the cornstarch into it. Heat the remaining broth in a saucepan until boiling. Add tortellini and cook until the tortellini floats to the top of the water and the internal temperature of a tortellini is 165 degrees. Gently drain and set aside.

- In a non-stick skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat until it foams. Add the garlic and dried basil and stir for 2 minutes to sauté the garlic.

- Then add the broth and cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until the mixture thickens, only 1 or 2 minutes.

- Stir in the al dente tortellini and toss in the garlic butter mixture to coat every piece. Garnish with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe will make 4 hearty main course servings. Or, feed 8 as an appetizer or first course. If serving as part of a buffet, keep warm in a slow cooker.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Tortelloni vs tortellini: Both types of stuffed pasta have the same basic shape. However, tortellini are smaller (generally about 2 grams each) and tortelloni are larger (generally about 5 grams each).
- Tortellini cooking times: 2 to 3 minutes for refrigerated (soft) tortellini, 3 to 5 minutes for frozen tortellini, and 10 to 11 minutes for dried tortellini. Signs of doneness are when the pasta floats to the surface of the water, and has an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

How to Make Chicken Broth
For the best, most delicious homemade chicken broth, start with a whole raw chicken or chicken pieces and simple vegetables and herbs. At the end of it, you’ll have 4 cups of delicious cooked chicken and…
View RecipeMore easy weeknight dinners
30 Minute Meals
Easy Goulash
30 Minute Meals
The Best Turkey Tacos
30 Minute Meals
Pesto Cavatappi (Noodles & Company Copycat)
30 Minute Meals
Balsamic Chicken and Tomatoes


Cheese Tortellini in Garlic Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 32 ounces chicken broth or vegetable broth, divided (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (see note 2)
- 1 (16 ounce) package frozen cheese tortellini (see note 3)
- 4 tablespoons butter (see note 4)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Fresh basil chiffonade, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring 2 ½ cups broth to a boil. Add cheese tortellini. Return to a boil and cook until the tortellini float to the top of the water, about 3 minutes. The internal temperature of a tortellini should be 165ºF. Drain completely.
- Meanwhile, whisk together remaining 1 ½ cups broth with corn starch. In a large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Stir in garlic and basil and cook 2 minutes.
- Add broth-cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil; simmer until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes longer. Add the cooked tortellini to the skillet and toss to coat.
- Pour into a serving dish and garnish with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Chicken broth: Do not use low-sodium chicken broth or the sauce may be bland. Homemade chicken broth is fine or you could mix up a batch with Better than Bouillon chicken base (Culinary Hill may earn money if you buy through this link). For a vegetarian version, substitute vegetable broth.
- Cornstarch: All-purpose flour can be substituted for cornstarch. However, you may have to cook the sauce an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Cheese tortellini: The cooking times in this recipe are based on frozen cheese tortellini. To substitute fresh or refrigerated tortellini, cook it for 2 to 3 minutes (it should be floating). To substitute dried tortellini, follow the instructions on the package (should be about 10 to 11 minutes).
- Butter: Do not substitute unsalted butter or your sauce may be bland.
- Yield: This recipe will make 4 hearty main course servings. Or, feed 8 as an appetizer or first course. If serving as part of a buffet, keep warm in a slow cooker.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
A bit surprised by all the negative reviews……. though I did need more broth/water for the tortellini boiling, I thought it tasted great! So easy to do, even with the added pressure of cooking for your MIL for the first time! Thanks :)
My family and I really enjoyed this! I do wonder if the broth measurement is off for cooking the tortellini. 2.5 cups of broth barely covered 16 ounces of tortellini–I had to greatly increase the amount. But aside from that, this was delicious and my husband and stepson LOVED it from the first bite. Don’t believe the bad reviews. Just follow the directions (but I would say do 3x as much broth for cooking the tortellini) and you’ll have a winner on your hands. This was great because it was so easy to do & I got so many compliments.
It is hard to rate this recipe, as you appear to have missed off the qualities for each ingredient. I know we all tweak recipes to suit our personal tastes but without a guide, there is nothing to start with. A photo of ingredients isn’t very helpful, especially for corn starch where the quantity is so important to get the correct thickness.
Hi Jane, did you scroll down to the recipe card? All quantities are listed there. – Meggan
its was good and yummy but its hard to read but its really good
Not sure how this got such good reviews. Gelatinous mess. It’s like it’s trying to be a cream sauce with no cream. Garlic butter it is not. Trash.
Hi Andy, I’m so sorry you didn’t like this dish. I think cream would be a wonderful addition to the tortellini. If it came out gelatinous, I wonder if some of the fillings of your tortellini escaped. I’m sorry about that. – Meggan
+1, it was like butter garlic gravy.