Crock Pot Ground Beef and Tortalleni

It's easy, it's cheesy, it's crock pot ground beef.

Ground beef and sausage are gently simmered with tomatoes and mushrooms, then finished with cheese tortellini and shredded mozzarella.

Once you brown the beef and sausage, everything goes into the crockpot for the next 6 to 8 hours while you go about your day. You will come home to a kitchen that smells like the best Italian restaurant!

You can experiment with the type of tortellini you use - the cheese filled ones are always moist and tender, but you can use beef, pork or whatever other type you can find.

Cook the tortellini according to package directions, leaving them just a bit al dente - they are simmered for a few minutes at the end of the cooking time in the crock pot, so they will only need to be heated through and finish cooking in the sauce.

Cheesy Italian Tortellini Crock Pot Ground Beef

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 package (9 ounces) fresh or frozen cheese tortellini, cooked
1 jar (16 ounces) marinara sauce
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1 can (14.5 ounces) Italian-style tomatoes, crushed or diced
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Crumble the Italian sausage and brown it in a large skillet.

Season the ground beef with the kosher salt and black pepper, then add it to the skillet with the sausage.

Add the quartered mushrooms and the red wine. Let the mixture reduce a few minutes, then transfer it to the crock pot.

Whisk together the marinara sauce and the canned tomatoes. Pour the mixture into the crock pot with the meat and mushrooms. Cover the pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the cooked tortellini. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the top. Cover and continue cooking for 15 minutes.

Food For Thought - A few substitutions can be made.

Use a 4 ounce jar of button mushrooms added directly to the crock pot and eliminate the red wine.

For a little spice, add crushed red chili flakes before serving. A 1 inch piece of fresh rosemary will add a definite Italian flavor, and you can use all ground beef or all Italian sausage in this recipe, just don't skimp on the tomatoes!

Similar Beef Recipes