No-Boil Baked Tortellini with Chicken Sausage

Fast to prepare and loved by everyone, this No-Boil Baked Tortellini with Chicken Sausage is perfect for a cold night.

Having easy dinners in your freezer is an essential part to stress-free week. Frozen ravioli and tortellini are easy to keep in stock and are relatively cheap. Those fully-cooked chicken sausages freeze very well too in a freezer zipper top bag. Another way to avoid dinnertime stress is to have a stocked pantry. Pasta sauce and canned mushrooms are almost always in our pantry and freezer. 

A three-ingredient variation of this recipe is simply the frozen tortellini mixed with the marinara sauce and water. Bake as normal then top with cheese and broil until browned. This variation is perfect for those really crazy nights or when you simply don't have any other ingredients on hand.

No-Boil Baked Tortellini with Chicken Sausage
Serves 6-8

• 19 oz package frozen cheese tortellini
• 4 fully-cooked chicken italian sausage links, sliced
• 4 oz can sliced mushrooms
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup parmesan, shredded
• 4 oz ball fresh mozzarella, shredded
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 cups or 24 oz marinara sauce 
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus more for greasing pan
• chopped italian flat-leaf parsley for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease a 9x13 casserole dish with olive oil

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion, mushrooms, and cooked sliced italian sausage. Cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook a additional 30 seconds. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine marinara sauce and water. Stir in parmesan, sausage mixture and frozen tortellini. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into prepared pan and cover with foil. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until tender.

After 30 to 35 minutes, remove from oven and remove foil. Top with mozzarella cheese and place back in oven to brown on Broil for about 2-3 minutes. Serve hot.