Description

This hearty meal is cheesy, cozy, and comforting all in one pot. Prepared in just 35 minutes, it’s everything you could want in a skillet pasta dish. Opting for Italian-style chicken sausage and a high-quality marinara sauce ensures a burst of rich flavors. Rather than cooking the tortellini separately in boiling water, you cook them directly in the sauce, which allows them to absorb all those savory flavors, and the starches from the pasta help thicken the sauce

Directions

1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 F with a rack in the middle position.
2. Stir together 1 cup whole milk ricotta, 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil, 1 large garlic clove, grated, 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large (11- to 12-inch) oven-safe skillet over medium-high. Add 1 pound hot Italian-style chicken sausage, removed from casings, and cook, stirring occasionally to break up the sausage into bite-size crumbles, until browned, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in 1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce and 1 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium-high. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium to maintain a simmer and stir in 1 (10-ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tortellini begin to plump, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Gradually stir in 1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach, one handful at a time, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
6. Dollop the reserved ricotta mixture in heaping tablespoonfuls over the tortellini and sausage mixture in the skillet, and sprinkle 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella around the ricotta dollops.
7. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and broil until the cheese is lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot, garnished with additional fresh basil leaves.