This is a recipe that my friends love and ask for again and again! I serve it with a crusty loaf of bread and salad. All ingredients are approximate and you should vary according to your own individual tastes!
One word, awesome! I added some red bell pepper, some basil, and topped with sharp provolone cheese instead of the parmasean. There were no leftovers even though it was just me and my husband - - - it was that good!
Read MoreIt was good, but not amazing. Pancetta Bacon: It will be very difficult for most people to find at the local grocery store. It is a fancy style of bacon that is made from the same cuts as standard bacon but is generally more expensive and curred over a longer period of time using salt. Regular bacon will suffice. This recipe was interesting and had good flavor but lacked the kick I usually look for. I DO recommend everyone trying this at least once. This will not be a part of my regular rotation.
Read MoreOne word, awesome! I added some red bell pepper, some basil, and topped with sharp provolone cheese instead of the parmasean. There were no leftovers even though it was just me and my husband - - - it was that good!
It was good, but not amazing. Pancetta Bacon: It will be very difficult for most people to find at the local grocery store. It is a fancy style of bacon that is made from the same cuts as standard bacon but is generally more expensive and curred over a longer period of time using salt. Regular bacon will suffice. This recipe was interesting and had good flavor but lacked the kick I usually look for. I DO recommend everyone trying this at least once. This will not be a part of my regular rotation.
My husband and I LOVED THIS. I'm a very inexperienced cook, and my new year's resolution was to cook a lot more. This couldn't have been easier, and the taste seems sophisticated, to my inexperienced palate. I would even serve this to my mother in law, if she weren't a heartless hag!
I used 4 cheese tortellini & I didn't have pancetta so I subbed some diced prosciutto instead. I'm pretty sure that the reviewers who said that the 2 tbp. olive oil was a typo & that balsamic vinegar should be used instaed are correct but I love browned butter & took the suggestion to add 2 tbp. of that (in addition to the balsamic vinegar.) I also added some minced garlic & some italian seasoning. This was far from bland...even my 3 year old grandson liked it. But he has a sophisticated palate for his age & he is very appreciative of anything we cook together. All in all, it was a nice change of pace for lunch.
This was really fast and easy. We probably waited too long after sprinkling on the balsamic vinegar to eat it. The vinegar had soaked into the pasta and wasn't very strong. But this was a great way to cut out the fattening alfredo sauce I usually serve with tortellini. I will make this again.
This recipe is SO easy! I doubled it and served it to friends, one evening, for a last-minute dinner party. I couldn't find the pancetta bacon at my local grocery store and didn't have the time to go to the Italian grocer so I substituted proscuitto ham for the bacon. Everyone raved over the recipe. It's definitely one I'll use again and again...next time with the bacon, though!
This recipe is so quick and easy - and was met with rave reviews from my husband and three boys (5 years old and younger). I varied from the recipe by tossing the pasta with browned butter instead of olive oil. Yum!
I can't say enough good things about this recipe. It is so delicious and I make it all the time. A real winner.
I cannot say enough good things about this. I have no idea what pancetta bacon tastes like, but regular bacon seems to work fine...I would give 20 stars if I could. I used Schwan's 6-Cheese tortellini and added the tiniest dash of garlic powder; everything else (bar the bacon) was as stated. Also it was super fast, I walked in the door and 35 minutes later I was sitting down with a plate! Awesome. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! :) UPDATE: I made this again for a friend, this time I added a chopped roma tomato and some corn. Great addition to make this a complete lunch, with a side of fresh baked bread.
I think part of the recipe is wrong. At the bottom, when she recommends two more TBL of olive oil, it should be balsamic vinegar. I also used proscuitto and was very good that way. Nice change from Alfredo. Double to make more than 2 servings.
I substituted bacon, but recently spied pancetta in the grocery store, so will try that. This got rave reviews from the guests I served it to. I was sad there were no leftovers.
Wow! I have been making this dish for years so it's nice to see a recipe for it. I first made it when I didn't know what to do with some odd ingredients I had but when I put it all together it worked. Variations I have made: As others have said I think the pancetta is the best but you can use bacon or prosciutto. Olive oil or butter can be used to brown the onion. For more flavor: Add garlic salt (or powder), pepper, and whatever other spices you want to the onion/pancetta mixture! For a mild kick paprika is a nice addition. ... my boyfriend often likes to add hot sauce on occasion. **You can also add some of the balsamic vinegar so the onion mixture near the end of cooking to reduce it a little which makes it sweater
We loved this recipe. I made a few changes. Someone else pointed out that there might be a mistake at the end, instead of 2 tablespoons of olive oil, I added balsamic vinaigrette. I did not have any bacon, so I used real bacon, bacon bits in a jar. I added a little more olive oil at the end to make it less dry. Delicious!!
Sooo good! As suggested by the creator I didn't measure anything, just someof this and some of that. It was so good.
Very delicious! Relatively easy to make with changes. Next time I'll cook the panceta first. It seemed to take forever and the onions were done long before it was. Also, the adding the tortellini's back to the fry pan is completely unnecessary and messy. They stick the bottom and everything is already warm anyway. Lastly, I won't add the parmasean. It didn't really add anything to the recipe and wouldn't be missed.
YUM! We really loved this! I love tortellini - and it's easy, another big plus in my opinion :) I had to use prosciutto in place of the pancetta bacon so I don't know how that compares, but we thought it tasted great. We'll have this again. I might like to try adding spinach next time, the flavor would work well with spinach.
This is a wonderful recipe. I fry up regular bacon, chopped into small pieces, along with the onion. I add the olive oil again once I put the tortellini and the bacon/onion mixture together, then toss with the vinegar and top with shredded parmesan. I serve each time with crusty french bread. I love this recipe. Thank you so much for this!!! 3/6/04- I am a vegetarian now and used the meatless bacon and it was just as good! The bacon tastes verys simliar to the real thing-I added a bit more balsalmic to add more flavor- happy I can keep using this recipe with my new lifestyle.
I added an extra tablespoon of vinegar and cheese and it was wonderful but what the heck is panetta bacon? I used regular thick bacon and it was very good.
I made this but added to it. I have a simliar recipe that calls for ground italian sausage, sweet red pepper and broccoli. It's awesome. You have to like the Balsamic vinegar to truly appreciate. The broccoli florets hold the flavor and are the best part.
My family REALLY enjoyed this recipe! It was quick and very tasty. We're huge balsamic vinegar fans so we really enjoyed the tang of it and will be making again! The directions were a tad confusing with the 2Tof oil in #3, I just used a sprinkle to "coat" the tortellinis and then added the balsamic. I also subbed bacon for the pancetta. My toddler LOVED it, I was uncertain so gave him some without the balsamic and some with and to my surprise he wouldn't eat the plain ones but devoured the ones with balsamic vinegar. Thanks for an excellent recipe!!
I made this using turkey bacon as I am on a diet. I liked it it was low fat, easy and fast. I also used garlic.I will make it again.
Yum! We really enjoyed this. It was very tasty and very easy to make, which made it that much better. I did add some garlic to it too.
I think the 9oz bag tortellini is a typo? The 19 oz bag lists as being for 4 servings on the bag. Anyways, I used the 19 oz bag and it turned out wonderful. Didn't have any bacon so left that out. Added a little garlic and Italian seasoning for something extra. Good recipe that you can play with.
I have tried this recipe several different times and ways and everyone has always loved it. I can't have onions so I substituted with a little garlic salt and garnished with fresh chopped plum tomatoes at the end. I also use just regular bacon. One of the best dishes I have tried yet!
I just made this the other night and we loved it!! We are big fans of Balsamic vinegar so I knew it would be good. We like our bacon crunchy so I ended up microwaving it with the onion (and garlic that I added) after I had already fried it to get the right "crunch". I didn't have cheese tortellini so I used some that was stuffed with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. It was very good. Will definitely make this again soon!
This was much better than I anticipated. Will even serve to guests as a special dinner option. I used regular bacon as I didn't have pancetta. I added a cube of my homemade pesto, fresh garlic and sliced fresh mushrooms with a little hit of chilli flakes. YUM, YUM.
I had a horrible time with this recipe. I followed the instructions carefully and ended up with an oily, gooey mess. I am not going to try this again.
Half my family liked the recipe and the other half didn't! This was quick and easy and I followed the recipe exacly.
I made some enhancements to this recipe that served very well. First of all, I doubled it-my hubby is a big eater! I also added a can of diced tomatoes and a teaspoon each of oregano, basil and garlic powder. These additions added great flavor and texture and worked really well with the balsamic vinegar and bacon.
This is a simple but great recipe. My whole family enjoyed it, and I thought the vinegar was perfect for a 20 oz bag of tortellini.
We enjoyed this, although felt it was a little dry for our taste. It's just enough for two people, assuming you have bread or something else on the side - next time I'll double the recipe and probably have leftovers.
I used plain diced bacon in this, and still gave it 5 stars. Very easy and very tasty.
Guests were coming over for dinner. Pulled up this recipes for a last minute dish with tortellini. Didn't have the pancetta but had pepper bacon and all other ingredients. My guests were so impressed with this recipe and I was too. This is definitely a keeper.
easy to prepare and a great taste. I personally recommend cooking the pancetta as little as possible.
I thought this recipe was excellent. I made a few changes, though. First, I made it vegetarian by cutting out the bacon. Instead, I fried some red pepper next to the onion, and put some balsamic vinegar on the pepper as it was cooking. I put the balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese on to taste, rather than following the amounts. And finally, I used fresh parmesan cheese, which I think really makes anything tastier. It was great. I'd definitely make it again.
This recipe is excellent!!! I used prosciutto instead of pancetta also and it was awesome. I used a half a pound and a 20 ounce package of tortellini. I also made some additions which enhanced the recipe and it was so good. Here they are: I added minced garlic I added sun-dried tomatoes I added fresh sliced mushrooms It really makes it a meal when you add the extra ingredients and I have been letting my family add their own balsamic vinegar so that it suits their taste. Excellent recipe...I have already made twice in the last 2 weeks. Thank you for sharing it.
yummy! i had some frozen beef ravioli that i used and prosciutto. it was really good! i will make this regularly! thanks!
So good!!! I made this as a side dish to chicken. it was wonderful. I didn't measure the balsamic though, I just kept adding to taste. Even my husband loved it and he isn't crazy about tortellini. Thanks for this!
This recipe was okay. My husband and I ate it, but it seemed to be missing something. He asked me to not make it again. If I try this recipe again, I think I might add mushrooms or, garlic or, pinenuts.
I did this with steak instead of bacon, because that's what I had on hand and it was still pretty tasty, and a quick and filling meal. We used a high quality, aged balsamic vinegar which was the star in this - don't go cheap on the vinegar, as it makes the dish!
I made this for my mother for her birthday and she loved it! It was so good! I used a 20oz package of tortellini and adjusted the ingredients accordingly, except I did add a little extra balsamic vinegar just because my family likes really flavorful dishes. I also wasn't able to get my hands on pancetta so I used a thick-cut regular bacon instead. My parents ate this up and my mom asks for it every week--definitely give it a try!
This is a fast and flavorful dish. However, I think that either using a basic pasta OR using some of the pasta water to make it more moist is the way to go. Tortellini tends to be a dryer pasta and this "sauce" is also dry. Next time I would use bow-ties AND add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water in.
Did not care for this at all. maybe if the Balsalmic Vinegar was cut in half, it may have been better, but instead it was very overpowering!!
I didn't use any bacon, but I did add a chopped up red bell pepper. In the future, I'll probably omit that, since the sweetness of the pepper didn't contrast well with the balsamic vinegar. Overall though, it was good -- my two year old ate two helpings!
We modified the recipe by using regular bacon. What an excellent meal; very easy to make. My husband and I loved it. For an extra kick, dress it with pasta sauce and enjoy with slice of buttered honey wheat or pumpernickel bread.
My husband and I both enjoyed this. It was very quick and easy. I used regular bacon instead of the pancetta. I will definately make this again!
This was pretty good for a change. I doubled the amount of pasta, pancetta (regular bacon would work just as well), olive oil and vinegar. I added a clove of garlic and some spinach. Could've cut back on a little of the olive oil and vinegar in my opinion.
Delicious! I will probably add some more veggies and herbs next time (peppers, asparagus, basil) just to add some variety.
DELISH!! I've made this twice now. I doubled the recipe for my husband and I was we're pigs when it comes to pasta. I used cheese ravioli and a 1/2 c. prosciutto and 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar. Flavors meld together nicely. Will definitely make this again and again as it's easy, delicious and fast!
It was a nice change - I thought the flavor was good. Family liked it, but didn't love it. I didn't use bacon at all. I knew my family would not like that, but followed all other ingredients.
This dish is okay, but I agree with other reviewers that it needs something else to add flavor. Maybe the garlic or red pepper would help. Is it two more tablespoons of oil later or is it vinegar?
This was a great recipe - I'm always looking for pasta without tomato sauce and this is a great go-to for me. I also added peas because I think they go well with tortellini.
This recipe is awesome!! I always subsitute bacon, but that's my preference. I have added peas to the mix and it's a great way to get your vegitable in. I cannot get enough of this recipe. Tonight I am going to add some artichoke hearts instead of peas and see how it goes. Thanks for the recipe.
I loved this yummy recipe my boyfriend and co-workers too! This is absolutely delish!
I was a little skeptical with the balsamic, but it was great! I left out the bacon (didn't want to run to the store) and added a tomato, spinach, garlic, and a little dried basil. Perfect! Some people said they thought the 2T of olive oil in the directions was an error and it should be vinegar, so I did 1T of each.
This recipie is so easy and tasty! I used frozen torellini and mixed in parm cheese before serving. My husband loved it...he told me it's a keeper :)
This was really good! I chopped 8 slices of pancetta instead of just 5 though, because I couldn't help myself. It was really good! My 3 year old and 1 year old even liked it!
Yuck. I love balsamic vinegar & use it quite often in my dishes, but I couldn't eat this. I really, really wanted to like this... :(
Absolutely delicious. My sons loved it. Although I only had meat tortellini on hand and turkey bacon (health conscious), but it tasted great just the same. Definitely will make again and again. This time with the cheese tortellini.
This is a very good base recipe, although a 9 oz package of tortellini is a very small serving size for 4 people. I used a 20 oz family pack and roughly doubled the other ingredients. I also added minced garlic, dried basil, & a can of drained chopped tomatoes. The results were fabulous!
I added regular bacon, and more than the recipe called for. I also threw in some sun-dried tomatoes, because they make EVERYTHING taste better. This was very good and I would probably make it again.
Delicious! Even my two young sons enjoyed this and my husband loved it! Just remember, eat right away, if it sits too long, it gets soggy.
What a great recipe! I loved the different flavors. I omitted the onions for personal preference and used regular bacon and it still came out wonderful! I will be making this again.
I had not made this in a while and decided to serve it for guests last week. Once again - RAVE reviews. They are still asking for the recipe! I made a few changes - used turkey bacon (one guest is on a low-fat diet). Microwaved it and added to the onions after sauteing. Added @ 1/4 Cup of wine and reduced it some. Took skillet off burner and tossed tortellini with other ing. - adding balsamic vinegar at that time. Pour into big pasta bowl and add more vinegar and cheese and toss. Was great re-heated next day!!
Awesome, easy recipe. Great with guests. I added a red pepper for some colour and a bit of feta cheese on top with the parmesan...its also nice with rainbow coloured tortellini and procuitto instead of bacon. Delicous!
I really liked this, and even more important, my husband liked it more! I used 4 slices thick-sliced bacon (too lazy to go to grocery store for pancetta), no onion, and added peas & fresh basil to the "sauce." I should have used more vinegar, but that was my own fault. Will make again & again! Thanks Kimber! 6/21/11 update - Husband does the grocery shopping, and I goofed by asking for 5 ounces of pancetta, rather than 5 slices. Well, you can never have too much pork product, so I went ahead and used it all. Still left out the onion, but stuck to the recipe otherwise. Delish!
Quite tasty, and I will definitely make again. Though I did make some alterations. Since I have a small skillet, I cooked the bacon by itself instead of with the onion. When it was done, I removed the bacon to let it dry, and used the bacon grease to cook the onions in (also added red bell pepper and two cloves of garlic). Other alterations include adding a small amount of mustard and basil to the balsamic vinegar and adding minced black olives.
VERY good! VERY simple to make also! I used regular bacon and added some fresh basil to the mix. Mmmm..mmmm..mmmm! Everyone that had it, LOVED it!
I made the recipe with 4 slices of chopped bacon (I had a 20oz packet of tortellini) instead of the pancetta and it was wonderful! I also added 4 chopped cloves of garlic with the onions and bacon.
I just made this for me and hubby and we both loved it! the only thing I did different is use turkey bacon instead. Thanks for the great recipe!
I changed this a bit, like using regular bacon and plain red wine vinegar (OK, that defeats that "balsamic" thing but I didn't have any), and I added a little Italian seasoning. It was very easy, and it's always nice to find recipes using tortellini, and it was a decent little meal, but not the most exciting thing I've made... I agree with other comments that it tends toward bland and I think just adding the It. seasoning helped.
I'm not making this one again. Although it was really very easy, I felt like it was totally tasteless. It was definitely missing something, if not missing everything. I don't recommend this one, I was expecting something with more taste, and ended up with a very bland dish.
My hubby really enjoyed this. I added a can of tomatoes and fresh spinach to the saute. Forgot to add vinegar and it still was great.
There were mixed reviews around the table. We did add fresh spinach to the final saute and a little garlic which added to the flavors. If you like balsamic vinegar (I prefer balsamic vinagrette for a slight sweeter taste) but overall, the members with a more developed palate found it delicious!
This is a keeper. It is a great twist on plain ole cheese tortellini. The only changes I made were to saute the onion in the bacon drippings. I also added more balsamic than it called for to give it a bit more flavor since I used a larger pack of pasta. It was a hit with my husband and 10 year old daughter who both had two helpings. Very yummy!
Very good! Love the flavour of the bacon (I used regular bacon), onion and balsamic vinegar. Made it for a quick lunch. Loved it! Very easy and great taste.
This is one of my favorite recipes! It's so easy to throw together, especially for company. I usually use a little extra pancetta--LOVE the flavor! Experiment with more/less ingredients based on your likes/dislikes-you can't go wrong, however, I do suggest going by the orig. receipe to get the fullest flavor otherwise you will be disappointed. Thank you so much for a wonderful dish!
What a great change from the regulat mundane pasta sauces. My whole family enjoyed it...
This is a uniques tasting recipe, you know not sure if you like it by the furst bite! But then it turns great. I use regular bacon instead of the pancetta, and it still come sout great!
The best pasta recipe I've ever had. My staff was having a Christmas Party and this recipe got the best reviews. This recipe is a winner!!!!
Pretty good. I didn't have pancetta and mistakenly put in 5 slices of regular bacon instead. Too much bacon and too much onion for the 9 oz package. I'll make again but use less bacon and onion. Great side dish!
A little greasy, but fantastic flavor. I did finish the bacon in the micro since I was having a little trouble getting it to crisp up.
must be an aquirred taste. My picky kids turned thier noses up. Not our usual thing, but I wanted to try something diferrent. I thought it was..OK.
I liked this, but will have to try it again, as mine seemed a bit on the dry side. But, overall it was good.
Didn't change a thing, and oh my gosh! Wonderful flavors. Great for something different.
This was a decent, light meal. My husband and I thought it needed more "sauce" as it was a little dry. Very simple to put together though.
very good and easy to make. the kids loved it
