Million Dollar Tortellini Bake

Last Updated on October 14, 2025

December 16, 2024

This Million Dollar Tortellini Bake may just be my most viral pasta recipe. This is one of my kids’ favorite meals and is so simple to prepare with just a baking dish and a large skillet. With a handful of ingredients, it’s quick to prep and feeds a crowd.

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If you’ve never had Million Dollar Spaghetti, you’re in for a treat with our Million Dollar Tortellini Bake. It’s layers of noodles with a red meat sauce baked in a casserole dish and layers of creamy ingredients too. We like to use heavy cream, mozzarella cheese, and Alfredo sauce, while the classic recipe uses cottage cheese, cream cheese, and even sour cream.

Our secret ingredient to our viral recipe is using store-bought cheese tortellini. We always buy a pack to keep in the fridge or throw some in the freezer so we can make a comforting dinner in a pinch on a busy weeknight. Be sure to also try our Cheesy Chili Tortellini and BBQ Chicken Tortellini, they are some of our other favorite recipes.

I made this tonight and my super picky kids and husband loved it! – Joy

This has became one of my family’s favorite meals. My picky kids even love it! – Kami

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

Delicious for the whole family and kids love it. I serve this at so many different family and neighborhood parties and both kids and adults love it.
Minimal prep time and no fancy equipment needed. All you need is a skillet to brown the beef and a baking dish to layer and bake the casserole. It’s as simple as that.
Customize to your liking. Use your favorite jarred tomato sauce, swap the ground beef for another ground protein, use another kind of cheese, the options are endless.

Matt’s Tip: You can use fresh or frozen tortellini here. If using frozen, you may need to bake it a little longer.

Ingredients

Ground beef: The protein for the sauce in the tortellini bake. I like to use a leaner beef here, but you could also use ground turkey, chicken, or Italian sausage.
Spaghetti Sauce: Choose your favorite brand here.
Italian seasoning: Adds nice herb flavor to the bake.
Garlic powder: Infuses every bite with garlic.
Black pepper: Lots of spicy black pepper make this delicious.
Cheese tortellini: Use frozen, fresh or shelf-stable. You may need to bake for a little bit longer if using frozen or shelf-stable.
Alfredo sauce: Adds creaminess in every bite.
Heavy cream: Gives more richness and creamy flavor.
Shredded mozzarella cheese: Adds nice cheesiness.

How to Make Million Dollar Tortellini Bake

1. Brown ground beef in a large skillet.

Ground beef is broken up and browned in a skillet.

2. Add the spaghetti sauce and seasonings. Stir until combined and remove from heat.

Red sauce and spices are added to ground beef in a skillet.

3. In a 9×13 baking dish add cheese tortellini. Pour Alfredo sauce over tortellini. Fill Alfredo jar about 1/3 way up with heavy cream and pour that over tortellini as well.

Cream and alfredo sauce are added to a glass casserole dish.

4. Make sure tortellini is well coated.

Tortellini is added to the Alfredo sauce in the casserole dish.

5. Add spaghetti sauce mixture to top and smooth out.

Meat sauce is added on top of the tortellini in the glass casserole dish.

6. Add shredded mozzarella cheese.

Shredded mozzarella is added on top of the million dollar tortellini bake in the glass casserole dish.

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes covered.
8. Remove foil and bake 20 additional minutes uncovered. Enjoy!

Baked million dollar tortellini bake in a glass baking dish.

Expert Tips

No need to boil the tortellini in advance. The beauty of this pasta bake is that the pasta cooks as it bakes in the oven.
Swap the heavy cream for half and half. If you want this recipe a little bit lighter, half and half also works.
Cover with foil for the first half of the cooking, then uncover to brown. By covering with the foil, it allows the pasta to steam and cook through. Then uncover during the second half of the cooking so that the cheese can melt and become golden brown on top.
You want to brown the meat before adding to the Million Dollar Tortellini Bake. This guarantees there is lots of flavor in the sauce and that the protein is cooked all the way through.

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven for a few minutes until warmed through.

You can freeze leftover Million Dollar Tortellini as well in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat according to the instructions above.

FAQs

What is Million Dollar Spaghetti?
It’s a pasta bake recipe that has layers of spaghetti with meat sauce as well as creamy layers of cream cheese, cottage cheese, or sour cream.

Can you use another pasta shape with Million Dollar Pasta?
Spaghetti is the most common. We also like to use cheese tortellini in our version.

Why is it called Million Dollar Pasta?
It’s because the recipe is rich and decadent in flavor. Creamy thanks to the cottage cheese and cream cheese layers but rich and meaty with the ground beef red sauce.

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