Air Fryer Tortellini
Whether you're searching for a simple game day appetizer or a delicious kid-friendly dinner, this air fryer tortellini recipe is perfect! Everyone will love the crispy outside and cheesy filling in these crunchy pasta bites. And since you can use your air fryer to cook them, there's no need for messy oil at all!
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What Do I Need to Make Air Fryer Tortellini?
This delicious recipe is so easy to make! And that's because you only need a few simple ingredients to prepare it. To make crispy air fryer tortellini chips, you'll need:
- Dry cheese tortellini
- Cornstarch
- Eggs
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Finely grated fresh parmesan cheese
- Cooking Spray
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How Do I Make Air Fryer Tortellini?
With the help of your air fryer, you can heat up these delicious fried pasta bites in a matter of minutes! Just follow these four simple steps to make your own air fryer tortellini at home today:
Step One: Cook the Pasta
Before you can fry your tortellini in the air fryer, you need to take a few minutes to prepare the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the tortellini. Cook until the pasta is al dente, which usually takes around four minutes. When the pasta is cooked, immediately transfer the tortellini to a colander to drain, then pour the cooked pasta into a bowl.
Step Two: Prepare the Breading
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the ingredients for the crispy breading. In one medium-sized bowl, add the cornstarch. Season the cornstarch with garlic powder and onion powder, then set those ingredients aside. In a separate medium bowl, add the eggs. Whisk the eggs until they're smooth and well mixed. In a third bowl, stir together the panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning.
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Step Three: Coat the Tortellini in Breading
Add a few pieces of the cooked tortellini to the bowl with the cornstarch and toss to coat each piece of pasta. Then, transfer the coated tortellini to the egg mixture, flipping the pasta pieces to coat both sides. After that, dip the tortellini into the breadcrumb mixture. Press the breadcrumbs into the pasta until they stick.
Step Four: Air Fry the Tortellini Chips
Place the breaded tortellini pieces in the basket of your air fryer and coat both sides of the pasta with cooking spray. Continue adding tortellini to the basket until you have added one layer of pasta. Cook the tortellini at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, removing the basket every three minutes and shake to toss the chips. Continue cooking the pasta in batches until all your tortellini have been fried.
Air Fryer Tortellini Recipe Tips & Tricks
Everyone will love snacking on these crispy, cheesy fried tortellini. And since the recipe is so easy to make, you can adjust the ingredients to suit your needs. Try these air fryer tortellini recipe ideas to adapt this appetizer for your next get-together.
- Serve with your favorite sauce. Once you have your air fryer tortellini prepared, there's one more step you can add to the cooking process. Serving your fried pasta with a dipping sauce is a great way to add even more flavor to your dish. And there are a variety of sauces that will pair well with these chips. Go with a classic Italian sauce option like marinara or alfredo, or give your guests some unique dips, like ranch or blue cheese.
- Try using frozen or refrigerated tortellini. Dried cheese tortellini are a great option for this recipe, but it can also be made with frozen or refrigerated pasta. Just make sure to cook the pasta to al dente according the package instructions. After the pasta is cooked, follow the recipe instructions for coating the tortellini in breading and frying the past in the air fryer.
- Don't overcrowd the basket. To ensure your fried tortellini is nice and crispy, it's important not to overcrowd the air fryer basket. That's because the air inside the air fryer won't circulate properly when the basket is too full. Keep the pasta from touching each other inside the basket to avoid parts of your fried tortellini from becoming soggy as it cooks.
Can You Put Frozen Tortellini in the Air Fryer?
While you can use frozen tortellini in this recipe, it's not a good idea to cook the tortellini in the air fryer directly from the freezer. Before adding your pasta to the air fryer, follow the instructions on the bag for boiling the tortellini. Once the pasta is cooked to al dente, you can add the breading and prepare these tortellini chips in the air fryer.
Can You Make Tortellini Chips in the Oven?
This quick and easy recipe is perfect for snacking because the breaded tortellini get nice and crispy in the air fryer. But if you don't have an air fryer, you may be wondering if you can prepare this appetizer recipe in the oven instead.
While the fried tortellini won't get as crispy when cooked in the oven, you can adjust this air fryer recipe to be oven-friendly. After coating your tortellini in breading, spray the pasta with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the pasta in an even layer over a baking sheet and bake them at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping the tortellini halfway through the cook time.
Air Fryer Tortellini
Equipment
Ingredients
- 9 ounce cheese tortellini dry
- ⅔ cup cornstarch
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese fresh and finely grated
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Boil the tortellini until al dente, about 4 minutes. Immediately drain so it doesn’t continue to cook. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the cornstarch, garlic and onion seasoning to a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- Add the eggs to a separate medium sized bowl. Whisk the eggs and set aside.
- In a third medium sized bowl, mix together panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
- Add the tortellini to the cornstarch mixture a handful at a time and coat well.
- Transfer the coated tortellini to the egg mixture and coat well.
- Dredge the egg coated tortellini in the panko mixture and coat well.
- Transfer your tortellini to the air fryer in one layer, leaving some space between them. They may need to be cooked in batches.
- Coat with cooking spray.
- Cook on 350 Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, shake basket every 3 minutes.
