How long to cook dried tortellini? (2 ways to cook tortellini)

By TheWholePortion
Page last updated: 07/08/2022 | Next review date: 07/08/2024
close

Author bio

The Whole Portion is your go-to source for reliable nutrition, health, and wellness information. We are a team of passionate and experienced nutritionists, dietitians, and food science writers dedicated to providing high-quality content that helps you make informed decisions about your health. You can view our writers and review board here. Our articles are reviewed by PhD Food scientists and we only cite from Government or Scientific publications. We are owned and funded by PressPublish.


TheWholePortion
View More north_east

In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “How long to cook dried tortellini?”, discuss answers to other related questions like how do you know when dried tortellini is cooked, and can you eat undercooked tortellini.

How long to cook dried tortellini?

Dried tortellini takes about 10 to 11 minutes to cook while the other forms of tortellini are cooked in a relatively shorter time. For instance, you can cook fresh tortellini only in 2 to 3 minutes only because it is a bit soft whereas, frozen tortellini takes only 3 to 5 minutes to cook.

How do you know when dried tortellini is cooked?

It is very easy but a bit tricky to know when dried tortellini is cooked. It is a general rule of thumb that tortellini is cooked when it starts floating on the surface of the water, at that time the internal temperature of dried tortellini is approximately 165 degrees.

To be more cautious, it is better to take off the tortellini from the stove when it is Al dente to the tooth or it is slightly firm. You may also seem that it is undercooked but keep in mind that it will continue to cook while it drains and in the sauce. Therefore, it is better to take tortellini off the stove before 1 to 2 minutes of cooking, otherwise, it will get overcooked (it will form limps and turn gummy).

Can you eat undercooked tortellini?

As you know, tortellini contains cheese, pork or beef, and raw eggs as its basic ingredients. Therefore, eating undercooked tortellini is way too risky like any other undercooked food. The cheese may contain listeria, meat may contain E.coli, and eggs contain Salmonella.

Eating undercooked tortellini can welcome food-borne illness in many ways:

Listeria can cause listeriosis with symptoms of fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and diarrhea.

E.coli can cause serious disease due to its toxin, known as Shiga toxin. The symptoms of an infection resulting from this toxin vary from person to person but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), vomiting, and fever.

Salmonella causes food poisoning with symptoms that may range from mild to severe and include a high fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. 

How do you know if tortellini has gone bad?

Eating bad tortellini can cause you to be a victim of severe foodborne illness. Therefore, it is better to discard tortellini that has gone bad rather than eating it. To discard bad tortellini, you need to know how you can tell if tortellini has gone bad. Following are some telltale signs that may help you determine if tortellini has gone bad:

Smell:

First of all, you need to conduct a sniff test. If you notice any off-odor from the tortellini, discard it right away. 

Flavor:

You can also taste a few tortellini if the smell is not helping you enough to make a decision. Your taste buds never lie. So, if you notice any deviation of the taste from the original taste of tortellini, toss it into the bin.

Appearance: 

If you notice any slimy appearance or any powdery substance on tortellini, never consume it. The slimy appearance indicates the growth of secondary bacteria along with molds that appear powdery.

Other FAQs about Pasta which you may be interested in.

How to tell If pasta is al dente?

How long does cooked pasta last?

How to drain pasta without a strainer?

2 ways to cook tortellini

Tortellini is a classic and versatile Italian noodle that tastes great in a variety of dishes. You can enjoy it either by boiling or baking it. Whether you want to boil the tortellini or bake it in the oven, it is relatively simple and quick to prepare.

Boiling tortellini

To boil tortellini, take a large pot and fill it with about 1.9 liters of water. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to boil. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of salt to the water. With the help of a slotted spoon, lowe the tortellini into boiling water. Cook tortellini for a few minutes until it starts floating. Scoop the tortellini out of the water with the slotted spoon to serve. Serve the tortellini with a broth or sauce.

Cheesy baked tortellini

To bake cheesy tortellini in the microwave, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, Spread 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of a greased baking dish. Add half of the tortellini to the dish and cover it with an even layer of sauce. 

Cover the tortellini with half of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Layer the rest of the tortellini and sauce on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake it for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake the dish for 10 additional minutes. Scoop the tortellini out of the dish to serve.

Conclusion:

In this brief guide, we answered the question “How long to cook dried tortellini?”, discussed answers to other related questions like how do you know when dried tortellini is cooked, and can you eat undercooked tortellini.

References: 

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!