Update - My Tortellini Primavera was so good that Taste of Home Magazine decided to publish it! Want to see for yourself, click here.

This recipe was originally published on 1/20/2014 but was updated with new photos on 8/13/2018. Can you tell which photos are old and which are new? J/K it's totally obvious.

For vegetables I chose broccoli, yellow & orange bell pepper, zucchini, asparagus and yellow squash (new photos are minus asparagus and with only one color pepper). You can switch up some of the vegetables to suit your taste. A few options I think would go well are mushrooms, grape tomatoes, carrots and snap peas. If you don't want to have a meatless meal you could also throw in some pre-cooked chicken, but I have to say, this meal is filling. Trust me on this, my husband didn't even as me where the meat was, and that is impressive!
To make this a true vegetarian meal just substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
Tortellini Primavera Notes:
- use vegetable broth to make meal vegetarian
- if you prefer not use a microwave, add the broccoli and asparagus to pan with other veggies but add a few minutes to the cook time
- use any color sweet/bell pepper
- add cooked diced chicken if you prefer a meatier meal
Printable Recipe Card
Tortellini Primavera
Ingredients
- 3 T butter
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large crown of broccoli cut into florets
- 8-10 asparagus spears
- 1 yellow or orange bell pepper cut into strips
- 1 zucchini cut into strips
- 1 yellow squash cut into strips
- 3 scallions chopped
- 1 package cheese tortellini family size, refrigerated
- 10 oz chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 T flour
- salt
- pepper
- ½ C Parmesan cheese freshly grated + more for serving
Instructions
- Steam broccoli in microwave (Place florets with ¼ C water in micro-steamer or plastic bowl covered with plastic wrap, cook 2 minutes and drain). Set aside. Do the same with asparagus except reduce water to 2 T. Set aside. (see notes for alternate instruction)
- Bring large pot of water to boil. Salt the water well, add tortellini and cook 8 minutes, drain.
- In the meantime, add 3 T butter to a large, high sided saute pan over medium heat. Once butter is melted add garlic, zucchini, yellow squash and scallions. Cook, stirring often, 4-5 minutes.
- Whisk together broth and flour. Add to vegetables and bring just to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Stir often. Add broccoli & asparagus. Add ½ C parmesan cheese. Continue to simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add tortellini to vegetables and sauce mixture. Stir together, taste for seasoning, adding salt and/or pepper as needed.
- Serve with additional grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
Mimi says
This is a really nice dish! Why are tortellini so much fun?!! And the primavera part is perfect for summer.