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This bacon Alfredo tortellini recipe has a tangy cream cheese sauce with crispy bacon and parmesan! It’s fast, easy, and makes a fabulous main course or side dish.

If you can’t get enough Alfredo sauce, try my Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups or Easy Shrimp Alfredo next.

a bowl of cream cheese tortellini alfredo with a fork

Why you’ll love it

Alfredo sauce is simple to make, but my favorite way to take it to the next level is with the slight tanginess of cream cheese. Add in bacon, and this cream cheese tortellini is a cozy weeknight treat. Readers even love it as a birthday meal!

Store-bought cheese pasta is taken from bland to grand in this creamy tortellini recipe, and a quick from-scratch sauce is just about as effortless as opening up a jar would be but tastes so much better and still has few ingredients.

What you’ll need

  • Tortellini – we’re using cheese tortellini that’s found in the refrigerated pasta section
  • Bacon – it gives this dish an irresistible savory quality. Who doesn’t love bacon?
  • Garlic – our tasty aromatic. Use even more if you’re big into garlic.
  • Chicken broth – the base of the sauce. It gives another dimension of flavor.
  • Heavy cream – for that luxurious, rich quality in the sauce
  • Cream cheese – my top tip for improving Alfredo-style sauce and give a hint of tang. It also helps to thicken the sauce without needing flour or cornstarch! I used Philadelphia.
  • Parmesan – always use freshly grated for optimal taste, texture, and meltability
ingredients for bacon cream cheese tortellini in prep bowls and measuring cups

Tools for this recipe

Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!

How to make bacon tortellini Alfredo

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.

frying bacon in a skillet and draining tortellini in a sieve

Cut the bacon into small pieces, and fry in a skillet until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, and drain most (but not all) of the fat. Boil a pot of salted water, and cook the tortellini once the bacon is done.

making sauce for alfredo tortellini and adding in bacon

Into the skillet add the garlic, chicken broth, cream, and cream cheese. Stir over medium heat until reduced and the sauce is smooth. Add in the bacon and parmesan.

tossing tortellini with creamy alfredo sauce in a skillet

Remove from the heat, and toss with the drained tortellini, reserving some of the pasta water if needed to thin the sauce. Season generously with salt & pepper, and enjoy!

Pro tip

  • We’ve only tested this recipe as written with the heavy cream. Yes, it’s a treat meal, and that’s totally okay! You could try using half-and-half, but the sauce will be thinner and less rich. I would not recommend using milk in this one as a substitution.

What to serve with bacon cream cheese tortellini

Leftovers and storage

  • This is one of those dishes that’s best served fresh. If you have any leftovers, though, store in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container.
  • Reheat in a saucepan slowly and over a low heat so the sauce doesn’t separate. Add more liquid if needed as leftovers may dry out.
  • I don’t recommend freezing leftovers. This dish is very creamy, so the texture will definitely change when thawed.
closeup of tortellini in creamy sauce with bacon

Leave a review of this simple tortellini recipe in the comments below! Feel free to ask any questions if the blog post didn’t answer them. As always, I love to see your creations, so tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.

a bowl of cream cheese tortellini alfredo with a fork
4.79 from 38 votes

Bacon Tortellini Alfredo

This bacon Alfredo tortellini recipe has a tangy cream cheese sauce with crispy bacon and parmesan! It's fast, easy, and makes a fabulous main course or side dish.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • 2 (9 ounce) packages refrigerated cheese tortellini
  • 6 strips bacon cut into small pieces
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
  • 4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 block of Philly) softened
  • 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • Boil a large, salted pot of water for the tortellini. Start cooking the tortellini once the bacon is done (it'll only take a few minutes for the tortellini to cook).
  • Cut the bacon into small pieces (I use kitchen shears to make the job easy). Fry it in a skillet over medium-high heat until crispy (about 10 minutes).
  • Take the pan off the heat and remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Drain most of the bacon fat from the pan (keep about 1 tablespoon in there).
  • Stir in the garlic, chicken broth, cream, and cream cheese. Return the pan to the burner (medium heat), and stir until you've got a smooth sauce and it's reduced to your liking (about 5 minutes).
  • Stir in the parmesan cheese and bacon. Take the pan off the heat and toss with the drained tortellini (but if the sauce is too thick, thin it with a few spoonfuls of the hot pasta water prior to draining it). Season with salt & pepper as needed.

Notes

  • Take the cream cheese out of your fridge 30+ minutes prior to starting the recipe so it has a chance to soften up. Or, you can microwave it for about 30 seconds (microwaves vary so watch it closely) to soften it up.

Nutrition

Calories: 943kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 34g, Fat: 62g, Saturated Fat: 31g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 15g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 188mg, Sodium: 1369mg, Potassium: 211mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1484IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 472mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.

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This recipe was originally published on January 19, 2020. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!


Hi! I’m Natasha.

Salt & Lavender is a recipe blog with a focus on delicious comfort food using everyday ingredients. Beat the weekday grind with hundreds of easy-to-follow and hassle-free recipes!

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133 Comments

    1. Hi! Hmmm.. I don’t really see how… you could tinker with the recipe a bit, but it’s easy to just do it on the stove quickly.

    1. I think that would probably be fine. I would stick to around the same quantity of pasta, though, because you don’t want to run out of sauce if you make too much. The tortellini’s cheese filling does add an extra little something-something to the recipe, though, so keep that in mind.

  1. 5 stars
    Made this the other night for dinner and it was DELICIOUS. So easy for a novice cook like myself trying to experiment with new recipes during all the time at home. I didn’t have the fresh tortellini but I did have the dried barilla kind with cheese and spinach and it was to die for. Thank you for a new staple in our household! 😊

  2. 5 stars
    Our usual takeout is closed [edited] so I had to fix something for dinner in a big hurry. Tortellini, bacon, quick creamy sauce – done! And we loved it! No surprise – I’ve tried six S&L recipes in the last month and can’t wait to make them all again. Not quite sure how I’ve cooked dinner all these years without these quick and *delicious* recipes. Thank you!

    1. I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe, and I’m so glad that I’ve been a good recipe resource for you, Cindy! 🙂 XO

  3. I made this for my family the other night and they loved it! I made it as the main dish. I used 16 oz of tortellini instead of just 9 oz because I like to have left overs. I made everything else as instructed and to me there was still enough sauce. I love the tanginess of the cream cheese in this. It was a very simple and delicious dish to make. I will definitely be adding this to my main go to meals! Thank you so much for this recipe!

      1. 5 stars
        I made this with a 20 oz Tortellini and added an extra slice of bacon. It was delicious; the whole family loved it. Next time I will add more bacon and maybe some onion.