Noodles & Company Is finally debuting its long-rumored stuffed tortelloni, launching the new menu item as an exclusive for rewards members until June 1, the fast casual announced Wednesday.
To boost trial of the new pasta, the chain is offering free delivery until Sept. 6 for those who order it during the exclusive period.
Tortelloni, which are stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses along with onions and garlic, make their debut in three new dishes: 3-Cheese Tortelloni Rosa with spicy tomato cream sauce, mushrooms, spinach and parmesan; 3-Cheese Tortelloni Pesto in a basil pesto cream sauce with garlic, mushrooms, tomato and Parmesan; and Roasted Garlic Cream Tortelloni in a garlic-onion cream sauce with zucchini, mushrooms and spinach, finished with MontAmore cheese and parsley.
Tortelloni are similar to tortellini, but they’re able to hold more filling.
Noodles also considered ravioli when looking to add a stuffed pasta to the menu. But it said tortelloni was a clear consumer favorite.
“Our tortelloni not only outperformed every other stuffed pasta option in test but was also our top performing test dish in the history of the company,” Nick Graff, Noodles’ vice president of culinary, said in a statement.
Noodles CEO Dave Boennighausen has previously said that stuffed pasta has long been the chain’s most-requested new menu item.
In recent years, Noodles has seen impressive results from its new menu additions. After debuting zucchini noodles, called zoodles, in May 2018, the chain recorded its best performance in six years and reported an uptick in visit frequency as well as return of lapsed users.
The following year, Noodles introduced cauliflower-infused rigatoni, called caulifloodles, to its menu. Earlier this year, it added Cauliflower Gnocchi, a low-carb option that took two years to develop.
Last month, Broomfield, Colo.-based Noodles reported record average units volumes of more than $1.35 million, a 13% increase over the same period in 2019.
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