5 from 6 votes
Prep Time : 40 minutes minutes
Cook Time : 5 minutes minutes
Preparing fresh, gluten free tortellini isn't nearly as difficult as you might think. Check out this gf tortellini recipe for an awesome dinner idea tonight.
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Get this tested recipe for fresh cheese filled gluten free tortellini pasta made from scratch—easy as can be. Have fresh pasta again!
The only gluten free tortellini recipe you need
This simple recipe for fresh gluten free tortellini makes tender, filled pasta in a few easy steps. It requires no special pasta-making or rolling equipment, and I even have some tips for how to roll the dough to the proper thickness without making yourself crazy over it.
Of course, you can use a hand-crank or automatic pasta roller if you have one. Just be sure it isn't contaminated with gluten-containing flour from earlier use, since a used pasta roller will always have bits of flour hiding in the mechanism.
The filling possibilities are endless, too. Here I've made a super easy ricotta cheese and fresh basil filling. And, of course, there are so many ways to serve your fresh homemade gf tortellini, with your favorite cooked or raw vegetables, in tomato sauce, or in a flavorful broth or stock.
Gluten free tortellini ingredients
- Gluten free flour – The gf pasta dough recipe is so simple, so the gluten free flour blend you choose is more important than ever. Here, I highly recommend using Better Batter's classic blend (or our mock Better Batter), so the dough is strong enough to roll thin and fold, and then stand up to boiling.
- Tapioca starch/flour – Tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour) is already in our flour blend, but adding extra this recipe makes the dough much easier to handle, and helps it stretch to cover the filling without tearing.
- Eggs – You'll need 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks here to hold the gf pasta dough together, and to make it rich enough for a smooth bite.
- Olive oil – I like to add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to my fresh gluten free pasta dough to make the dough retain its moisture and help it stay pliable.
- Ricotta cheese – It's classic to fill tortellini with ricotta cheese, and I like it here because it tastes fresh and delicious, and fills out the crevices of the center of your dumplings without disturbing the pasta.
- Basil – Try tearing your fresh basil into small pieces with your hands, or using a lettuce knife (usually made of plastic, rather than metal) to keep the basil from browning.
Making fresh, gluten free tortellini
Let’s be real. I don’t make fresh gluten free tortellini, or any sort of fresh pasta, every day. Who has time for such things?! But every time I do make fresh gf pasta, I have a few tips I've learned along the way that have become habits that set me up for success.
If you're feeling nervous about making fresh pasta, be sure to check out my how-to video on how to make gluten free pasta. To make fresh pasta with a pasta maker/roller, watch the video in our recipe for gluten free egg noodles.
You can make gf tortellini in stages
You don’t really want to wait too long after making the dough before you shape and cut it. But after that, you can stack it up, wrap it tightly and freeze it for months, even. Just defrost in the refrigerator before using it.
You can even shape and fill it, freeze it in a single layer on a baking sheet and then pile it into a zip top freezer bag and stick it in the freezer. Then, boil it right from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to the boiling time if necessary.
Filling and shaping tortellini is meditative
Particularly when you’re filling cheese tortellini, it’s a task you can lose yourself in quite easily, and in a very good way.
The kids can help too!
The filling part is definitely something you can train small children fingers to do. When I first began to make fresh tortellini, I had no small children at home (all 3 at sleepaway camp for a few weeks), so I did all the work myself. But when they returned home, you better believe that all those little hands were pressed into tortellini service!
Tips for making the best gluten free tortellini
Give your pasta dough time to rest
After you've made the raw gf pasta dough, cover it and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. That will allow the flours to absorb the liquid so the pasta doesn't dry out but isn't sticky to the touch.
Don't roll out the gf pasta dough too thin
Try rolling the dough a little thicker than 1/8-inch, cutting out rounds, and then rolling each round a bit thinner afterward. Then, roll the edges of each round a tiny bit thinner than the center to keep the dough from tearing, letting the filling break through.
Resist the urge to overfill the tortellini
There's more than enough filling for all 75 pieces of tortellini this recipe creates. If you overfill the rounds of raw pasta, the filling will prevent the edges from sticking together, and your tortellini will leak out during boiling.
Here's how you shape gf tortellini
I never had success creating the proper tortellini shape with a filling that stays put until I realized a critical step: after placing filling in the center of the fresh pasta round and folding the round in half, you have to pinch the shape right in the middle of the filled center before drawing the edges together.
Read through the instructions below thoroughly, and watch the how-to video. Then get your hands on some fresh gluten free pasta—and you’ll see just what I mean.
How to store gluten free tortellini
Making fresh stuffed gf pasta of any kind takes time and effort. I always recommend making a big batch, and storing some to serve another time. Here's how to do that.
Refrigerating gluten free tortellini for later
Once your raw tortellini have been shaped and stuffed, we're no longer that concerned with them drying out as we'll boil them in water to cook them, which will rehydrate them completely. You can refrigerate the raw dumplings in a single layer on a baking sheet, covered as best you can with plastic wrap, for at least a couple of days before boiling them.
Refrigerating leftover gluten free tortellini
Once your fresh tortellini dumplings have been cooked fully, they may dry out in the refrigerator, and it's more difficult to refresh them. If your filling is meat-free, your cooked tortellini can be kept at cool room temperature in a sealed container for a couple of hours.
If you do refrigerate them, seal them tight to keep them from drying out, and then saute them in a hot skillet with some oil before serving.
Freezing gluten free tortellini
These raw, shaped and filled gf tortellini freeze really well. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer until frozen solid, then transfer to a well-sealed freezer safe zip top bag with as much air removed as possible.
Defrosting gf tortellini
You can boil frozen raw tortellini right from frozen. It may take a few more minutes to boil them, though, so be patient.
Gluten free tortellini substitutions
Gluten free, egg free tortellini
You may be able to make fresh gluten free pasta more extra virgin olive oil in place of the egg yolks—and “chia eggs” in place of the whole eggs (for each egg, combine 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water in a small bowl, and allow the mixture to gel).
Gluten free, dairy free tortellini
The only dairy in this recipe is the ricotta cheese filling, which you can easily avoid by making a no cheese tortellini. Some alternative fillings that don't contain dairy are: mashed potatoes, ground beef with dairy-free cheese alternatives, grilled or sauteed vegetables, minced.
Gluten free, vegan tortellini
If you replace both the eggs and the dairy in these gf tortellini, your filled pasta will be vegan.
FAQs
What is tortellini?
Tortellini is pasta shaped like a navel around fresh fillings, usually sold refrigerated fresh since the fillings don't lend themselves to being dried.
Is tortellini gluten free?
No! Regular tortellini is made with fresh pasta made with wheat-based flour of one kind or another. Only tortellini made with gluten free flours, like this recipe, is safely gluten free.
What are some good gluten free tortellini brands?
There are few brands of fresh gluten free tortellini that you can find for sale at some grocery stores. The most available one I've seen is Taste Republic brand “four cheese tortelloni.” The fresh gluten free pasta brand Capello's makes gluten free ravioli and gnocchi, but they don't seem to make gf tortellini.
What's the difference between gf tortellini and ravioli?
Both tortellini and ravioli are pasta dumplings, often with ricotta cheese fillings. Ravioli are shaped into squares, the edges sealed and cut so they extend beyond the filling. Tortellini are shaped more like wontons, first as a half moon, then with the ends pinched together.
Can I use this gluten free tortellini recipe to make ravioli?
Sure, you can make this same fresh gluten free pasta recipe to make gluten free ravioli. For more specific instructions on filling, shaping, and cooking gf ravioli, click through to our gluten free ravioli recipe.
Can I double this gluten free tortellini recipe?
Yes! You can easily double this recipe for fresh gluten free tortellini. Just pull the slider in the recipe card to make as many or as few dumplings as you like.
Can I use a different cheese for my gluten free cheese tortellini?
Yes! You really can fill your tortellini with whatever soft, spreadable filling you like. In place of ricotta cheese and basil, try farmer cheese, drained cottage cheese, mascarpone, or even cream cheese (in the block) for a similar texture. Try replacing some spreadable cheese with some finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, too.
What are some other ways to serve gluten tortellini?
Fresh tortellini can be boiled until nearly cooked all the way through, and then sauteed in butter and olive oil with some fresh mushrooms until the vegetables are fork tender. Top with shaved Parmesan and fresh basil.
You can also saute par-boiled fresh tortellini with some minced onions and thinly sliced garlic, then tossed with tomato sauce or extra virgin olive oil and drizzled with some melted butter.
Why is my gluten free cheese tortellini taking so long to cook?
If your fresh gluten free pasta was rolled too thick, or was allowed to dry out too much before being boiled, your pasta may take much longer to cook. Just let it continue to boil until it's fork-tender; it will still be delicious!
Fresh Gluten Free Cheese Tortellini Recipe
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Fresh Gluten Free Tortellini | Easy & Delicious Recipe
Preparing fresh, gluten free tortellini isn't nearly as difficult as you might think. Check out this gf tortellini recipe for an awesome dinner idea tonight.
Course: Dinner, Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
Resting Time: 10 minutes minutes
Yield: 75 tortellini
Author: Nicole Hunn
Equipment
2 Rolling pins one large, one small
Ingredients
For the fresh pasta
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend plus more for dusting (I prefer Better Batter here; please click thru for full details on appropriate blends)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 6 tablespoons (45 g) tapioca starch/flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 2 (50 g) egg yolks at room temperature, beaten
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ (2 ⅔ fluid ounces) warm water plus more as necessary (up to 1/3 cup more)
For the filling
- 8 ounces low moisture ricotta cheese
- 10 leaves fresh basil chopped fine
For serving
- 2 medium fresh zucchini
- 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Coarse salt to taste
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
Make the pasta dough.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum and tapioca starch/flour, and whisk to combine well with a separate handheld whisk.
Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, egg yolks, olive oil and 1/3 cupwarm water, and mix to combine. The dough should come together.
If there are any crumbly bits, add moreremaining warm water by the quarter-teaspoonful until the dough holds together well when squeezed with your hands.
Knead together until the pasta dough is smooth and pliable. If it feels stiff, add a few more drops of water and mix in until pliable. It should be, at most, slightly sticky but mostly just smooth.
Shape the pasta dough.
Transfer the pasta dough to a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it tightly and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. The dough will absorb more water and any remaining stickiness should dissipate.
Unwrap the dough, divide it in half and return half of it to the plastic wrap and wrap tightly to prevent it from drying out.
Place the remaining half of the pasta dough on a very lightly floured surface, sprinkle very lightly with more flour and roll into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. (See Recipe Notes.)
Flip and shift the dough often to prevent it from sticking, sprinkling only very lightly with more flour as necessary to allow movement.
Continue to roll out the dough until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 2.5-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough. Place shaped rounds in a loose stack, and wrap them in plastic wrap or a moist tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
Remove and gather the trimmings, and reroll them as possible. If you sprinkle the dough with too much flour during shaping, you won’t be able to reroll the trimmings. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Fill and shape the pasta
Place the filling ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well to combine. Set the bowl aside.
To make shaping and sealing the tortellini easier, using a small rolling pin or just your fingers, flatten the very edges of each round (about 1/4-inch) all around the perimeter.
Place the shaped rounds in a single layer on a clean, flat, dry work surface, working with about 6 at a time until you begin to move more quickly. Place about 1/4-teaspoon of filling in the center of each round.
Moisten the edges of each round with water in your fingertips, and fold each round in half, sealing in the filling, and making sure to squeeze out any air that might get trapped.
Using your pointer finger, gently pinch the filled pasta half moon in the middle, right in the center of the filling, and bring together the opposite edges of the moon, forcing the filled center to further pucker.
Moisten and press the edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and filling.
To store the shaped, raw tortellini.
Place all the shaped, raw tortellini in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until solid.
Transfer to a zip top freezer bag, and squeeze out as much air as possible. The tortellini can be boiled from frozen, but they'll take a bit longer to cook particularly since they'll stop the water from boiling at first.
To cook the pasta and prepare for serving.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil.
Place the filled and shaped tortellini pasta in the pot and stir to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Depending upon the size of your pot, you may have to cook the tortellini in batches to prevent crowding.
Boil for about 3 minutes, or until the tortellini float in the pasta water and have become more yellow in color.
Using a slotted spoon or spider strainer, remove the cooked tortellini from the pasta water, drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss to coat.
To serve over zucchini, trim the zucchini ends and cut into ribbons using a vegetable peeler, and toss the zucchini ribbons with olive oil and coarse salt to taste.
Also using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into ribbons, and toss with the zucchini.
Place the cooked tortellini on top of the zucchini and serve immediately.
Notes
For instructions on how to roll out the dough using a pasta machine, please see this post on making gluten free egg noodles.
Originally published on the blog in 2014. In 2022, pasta recipe tweaked slightly, many photos, video, and much text added.
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Fresh Gluten Free Tortellini | Easy & Delicious Recipe
Preparing fresh, gluten free tortellini isn't nearly as difficult as you might think. Check out this gf tortellini recipe for an awesome dinner idea tonight.
Course: Dinner, Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
Resting Time: 10 minutes minutes
Yield: 75 tortellini
Author: Nicole Hunn
Equipment
2 Rolling pins one large, one small
Ingredients
For the fresh pasta
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend plus more for dusting (I prefer Better Batter here; please click thru for full details on appropriate blends)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 6 tablespoons (45 g) tapioca starch/flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 2 (50 g) egg yolks at room temperature, beaten
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ (2 ⅔ fluid ounces) warm water plus more as necessary (up to 1/3 cup more)
For the filling
- 8 ounces low moisture ricotta cheese
- 10 leaves fresh basil chopped fine
For serving
- 2 medium fresh zucchini
- 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Coarse salt to taste
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
Make the pasta dough.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum and tapioca starch/flour, and whisk to combine well with a separate handheld whisk.
Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, egg yolks, olive oil and 1/3 cupwarm water, and mix to combine. The dough should come together.
If there are any crumbly bits, add moreremaining warm water by the quarter-teaspoonful until the dough holds together well when squeezed with your hands.
Knead together until the pasta dough is smooth and pliable. If it feels stiff, add a few more drops of water and mix in until pliable. It should be, at most, slightly sticky but mostly just smooth.
Shape the pasta dough.
Transfer the pasta dough to a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it tightly and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. The dough will absorb more water and any remaining stickiness should dissipate.
Unwrap the dough, divide it in half and return half of it to the plastic wrap and wrap tightly to prevent it from drying out.
Place the remaining half of the pasta dough on a very lightly floured surface, sprinkle very lightly with more flour and roll into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. (See Recipe Notes.)
Flip and shift the dough often to prevent it from sticking, sprinkling only very lightly with more flour as necessary to allow movement.
Continue to roll out the dough until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 2.5-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough. Place shaped rounds in a loose stack, and wrap them in plastic wrap or a moist tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
Remove and gather the trimmings, and reroll them as possible. If you sprinkle the dough with too much flour during shaping, you won’t be able to reroll the trimmings. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Fill and shape the pasta
Place the filling ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well to combine. Set the bowl aside.
To make shaping and sealing the tortellini easier, using a small rolling pin or just your fingers, flatten the very edges of each round (about 1/4-inch) all around the perimeter.
Place the shaped rounds in a single layer on a clean, flat, dry work surface, working with about 6 at a time until you begin to move more quickly. Place about 1/4-teaspoon of filling in the center of each round.
Moisten the edges of each round with water in your fingertips, and fold each round in half, sealing in the filling, and making sure to squeeze out any air that might get trapped.
Using your pointer finger, gently pinch the filled pasta half moon in the middle, right in the center of the filling, and bring together the opposite edges of the moon, forcing the filled center to further pucker.
Moisten and press the edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and filling.
To store the shaped, raw tortellini.
Place all the shaped, raw tortellini in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until solid.
Transfer to a zip top freezer bag, and squeeze out as much air as possible. The tortellini can be boiled from frozen, but they'll take a bit longer to cook particularly since they'll stop the water from boiling at first.
To cook the pasta and prepare for serving.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil.
Place the filled and shaped tortellini pasta in the pot and stir to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Depending upon the size of your pot, you may have to cook the tortellini in batches to prevent crowding.
Boil for about 3 minutes, or until the tortellini float in the pasta water and have become more yellow in color.
Using a slotted spoon or spider strainer, remove the cooked tortellini from the pasta water, drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss to coat.
To serve over zucchini, trim the zucchini ends and cut into ribbons using a vegetable peeler, and toss the zucchini ribbons with olive oil and coarse salt to taste.
Also using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into ribbons, and toss with the zucchini.
Place the cooked tortellini on top of the zucchini and serve immediately.
Notes
For instructions on how to roll out the dough using a pasta machine, please see this post on making gluten free egg noodles.
Originally published on the blog in 2014. In 2022, pasta recipe tweaked slightly, many photos, video, and much text added.
