This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more.
Three-cheese tortellini, navy beans, baby spinach, grape tomatoes, and green olives come together with a few aromatics to make a fast, crowd-pleasing weeknight dinner.
Why we love this recipe
One of Umami Girl’s most popular recipes of all time is Spinach Tortellini Soup. That’s a great, easy, super-comforting use for three-cheese tortellini and spinach, and I hope you’ll make it one day soon.
But there’s another thing I like to do with a bag of baby spinach and a package of three-cheese tortellini — and it might be even easier. This is one of those crowd-pleasing meals that you can make anytime, anywhere. I first put it together for friends in a rental house in Maine, because it works well with basic kitchen tools and doesn’t involve a lot of chopping. But I think its highest and best use is a quick weeknight dinner. It’s:
- Vegetarian
- Flexible — swap in other veggies or aromatics
- Pretty good for ya
- Comforting
I first published this recipe here in 2019. I’ve since updated the post for clarity, but the recipe remains the same.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- Start with three-cheese tortellini from the refrigerator section of the grocery store. Or swap in a pound of short pasta like rigatoni or farfalle.
- Use a nice, dry white wine that you like to drink. Any style is fine. I tend to default to one of my favorite bottles of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
- My favorite olives to use in this dish are the pitted green olives with lemon and garlic that Whole Foods makes on-site. Any briny green olive that you like will work well. You can substitute capers if you like.
- Navy beans are a nice, petite, creamy variety of white beans, but you can use cannellini or any other variety of canned white beans that makes you happy.
- A generous amount of baby spinach cooks down dramatically.
- You can use any small variety of tomatoes. I love to use multicolored grape tomatoes to make this dish rainbow-hued.
- Parmesan and pecorino work equally well. If it’s important to you that this meal is vegetarian, be sure to use a cheese made without animal rennet.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a great batch of three cheese tortellini with white beans and spinach. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- Sauté shallots, garlic, and chopped green olives or capers in a little butter or olive oil until softened. Meanwhile, cook the tortellini.
- Add some white wine, a can of navy beans, and some grape tomatoes and let them simmer away for a few minutes.
- Stir in the spinach and let it wilt.
- Add cooked tortellini and a little grated cheese and freshly ground black pepper. That’s it!
Expert tips and FAQs
You really don’t need anything at all. If you like, a glass of the wine you cooked with, a simple green salad, and some crusty bread would be great.
Three-cheese tortellini with white beans and vegetables is at its best shortly after cooking, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to make it in advance. That said, it reheats beautifully, and leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.
More quick vegetarian dinners
- 5-minute black bean taco bowls
- Naan pizza Margherita
Hungry for more?
Subscribe to Umami Girl’s email updates, and follow along on Instagram.
Three-Cheese Tortellini with White Beans and Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- 2 medium shallots, minced
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ cup (60 grams) pitted green olives, chopped
- 1 15- ounce 425-gram can navy beans, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, about 8 ounces/(227 grams)
- 5 ounces (142 grams) baby spinach
- 18 ounces (510 grams) three-cheese tortellini
- 2 tablespoons (10 grams) grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, plus more for serving
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Fill a big pot halfway with water and a teaspoon of salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic, and olives and cook, stirring frequently, for about three minutes. Aim for the shallots to be slightly translucent and garlic slightly soft, without any browning.
- Stir in wine, beans, and cherry tomatoes. Raise heat to medium-high and simmer for two to three minutes, until much of the liquid has evaporated.
- Reduce heat to medium and stir in spinach. Cook two to three minutes more, until wilted.
- Cook tortellini in boiling water according to package instructions.
- Drain tortellini and stir into to skillet along with the parmesan or pecorino. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and some salt if you like (but taste first since there are lots of salty ingredients).
- Serve with additional grated cheese.
Notes
- Start with three-cheese tortellini from the refrigerator section of the grocery store. Or swap in a pound of short pasta like rigatoni or farfalle.
- Use a nice, dry white wine that you like to drink. Any style is fine. I tend to default to one of my favorite bottles of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
- My favorite olives to use in this dish are the pitted green olives with lemon and garlic that Whole Foods makes on-site. Any briny green olive that you like will work well. You can substitute capers if you like.
- Navy beans are a nice, petite, creamy variety of white beans, but you can use cannellini or any other variety of canned white beans that makes you happy.
- You can use any small variety of tomatoes. I love to use multicolored grape tomatoes to make this dish rainbow-hued.
- Parmesan and pecorino work equally well. If it's important to you that this meal is vegetarian, be sure to use a cheese made without animal rennet.
- Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hungry for more?
Subscribe to Umami Girl’s email updates, and follow along on Instagram.
