If you’ve ever tried the viral TikTok pasta chip trend, you know that tossing noodles in the air fryer can be a tasty move. When they heat up in your appliance, they’ll get nice and crispy as they morph into chips perfect for dipping in a sauce like marinara. But while smaller noodle shapes like penne and farfalle are the go-to’s for this trend, there’s no reason you have to stop there. If you’re looking for a twist on air fryer pasta, try subbing in tortellini instead.
The beauty of air-fried tortellini is that, just like with many other foods tossed into this appliance, they’re super easy to whip up, so you don’t have to be an accomplished chef to make them. And after less than half an hour, you have the perfect snack or appetizer. The pasta gets golden and crunchy while the cheese inside melts into ooey-gooey perfection. Yet, despite the fact that air-fried tortellini makes for a somewhat rich snack, they’re still lighter than if you deep-fried them, as the air fryer uses little to no oil.
How to make and use air fried tortellini
As we mentioned, air fried tortellini are super easy to make. You can buy them either fresh or frozen, although the latter will require a few extra minutes of cooking time. But before you whip out the air fryer, make sure to cook your pasta in boiling water on the stove — if you omit this step, your noodles will come out tough instead of perfectly crispy. What you can do, however, is drain them a minute or two before the full cooking time listed on the package instructions, as they can finish off in the air fryer. Then you can either toss them in your device as-is or coat them with olive oil and seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, parmesan, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning first.
Your tortellini should only take about 10 minutes to crisp up in a 350-degree Fahrenheit air fryer, but make sure to shake the basket halfway through. Once they’re all nice and golden, you have a few different serving options. Aside from being a tasty finger food that you can dip into marinara, pesto, or alfredo sauce, why not toss them in a salad? They can act as a crunchy crouton replacement, and versions stuffed with prosciutto or mushroom would be especially tasty here. Ultimately, you might just decide that air-fried tortellini are so delicious that you’ll want to make them the main event of your dinner.
