Tortellini Spinach Bake with lemon cream sauce: Our best bites

12 oz. bag Barilla Cheese and Spinach tortellini. Found on the dry pasta aisle.

6 strips of vegetarain bacon cooked and crumbled (or real if aren't cooking vegetarian)

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 Tbs flour

2 cups milk

3/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 tsp dry basil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 lemon zested. Reserve 1 tsp lemon zest, and 2 tsp lemon juice

2 cups loosely packed spinach, roughly chopped

3/4 cup mozarella cheese, divided

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

6 slices vegetarian bacon crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set a large pot of water to boil, add tortellini and cook per package instructions.

Melt 2 Tbs butter in a large skillet. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer. While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 min. then remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture. Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.