Description
Indulge in a creamy, rich Beef Bacon Cream Cheese Tortellini that combines smoky beef bacon with silky cream cheese sauce. This dish is not only easy to prepare but also a delightful comfort food that will impress your dinner guests.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 ounces beef bacon, sliced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (optional)
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups beef broth (non-alcoholic alternative)
- 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 12 ounces fresh cheese tortellini
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Place a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add your sliced beef bacon.
- Cook the beef bacon, flipping occasionally, until it's beautifully crispy and has rendered its fat, about 8-10 minutes depending on thickness.
- Once crispy, use a slotted spoon to transfer the beef bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Set aside.
- Pour off most of the rendered beef bacon fat from the skillet, leaving about 1-2 tablespoons in the pan.
- Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the finely diced onion to the remaining beef bacon fat (or olive oil).
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened and become translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic to the skillet and cook for another 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the beef broth into the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring it to a gentle simmer.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the softened cream cheese, cut into chunks, to the skillet.
- Whisk continuously until the cream cheese has fully melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy, without any lumps.
- Season the sauce with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
- While the sauce is coming together, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
- Add the cheese tortellini to the boiling water and cook according to package directions, usually 3-5 minutes for fresh tortellini.
- Before draining, reserve about 1/2 to 1 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water.
- Drain the tortellini well.
- Add the drained tortellini directly into the skillet with the cream cheese sauce.
- Toss gently to coat all the tortellini thoroughly in the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, add a tablespoon or two of the reserved pasta water at a time.
- Crumble or chop the crispy beef bacon into smaller pieces. Stir most of the chopped beef bacon into the tortellini and sauce, reserving some for garnish.
- Serve immediately. Garnish each plate with the remaining crispy beef bacon and a generous sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 550
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
Keywords: For the best results, ensure the cream cheese is at room temperature before adding it to the sauce. If you want to add greens, stir in fresh baby spinach or kale during the last minute of cooking.