Top Pizza With Tortellini For An Over-The-Top Slice

Pasta and pizza are staples of Italian cuisine, and combining them offers the best of both worlds. Perhaps that's why macaroni pizza has become so prevalent over the years, with pizzerias offering options like penne pizza, ravioli slices, and even spaghetti and meatball-topped pies. The additional grains make these pizzas as comforting as they are filling. A lesser-utilized pizza-pasta combo adds extra carbs and cheese to your pie: tortellini. These slices aren't as commonly found as those topped with penne or ziti, but tortellini as a pizza topping makes for an over-the-top approach that pasta lovers should try at least once.

Tortellini traditionally packs a blend of meat and cheese into its rounded exterior but sometimes contains only cheese. Regardless of the filling, baking tortellini on top of a pizza can make the dish heavy by adding multiple grains, cheeses, and meats to the equation. However, this also doubles — or even triples — the flavor. Plus, tortellini is surprisingly versatile when used in conjunction with other toppings. As such, it's understandable that some pizzerias have started to use this pasta in specialty pies. Tortellini pizza is also not difficult to make at home, so anyone who can't find this combo locally can still try it.

Before crafting this specialty pizza at home, we've got some handy tips. First, you'll need a package of tortellini, pizza dough, and mozzarella cheese, along with sauce and seasonings of your choosing. Like most pasta, tortellini pairs well with any sauce. Standard pizza sauce may seem obvious, but Alfredo sauce or basil pesto also works well with many pizza toppings. For example, pair spinach and cheese tortellini with pesto and Italian sausage, or go vegetarian with tomatoes, fresh basil, and roasted red peppers. Make a chicken Alfredo-inspired pie with cheese or meat tortellini, Alfredo sauce, and grilled chicken.

Usually, when making tortellini, the pasta is boiled and served with seasoning and sauce. In this case, you'll skip the latter steps. After the tortellini cooks, strain it and set it aside while you assemble your pizza. Your approach to baking the pie differs depending on whether you use raw dough or premade pizza crust. In either case, spread your sauce and cheese on the crust first, then bake it in the oven. 

Since the tortellini is already cooked, don't add it until about halfway through the baking process. Remove the pizza from the oven, arrange the tortellini on top, and return it to the oven until it's finished. However, avoid adding too much tortellini because this can weigh the pizza down. A thicker crust and a small amount of tortellini are the keys to yielding delicious results.