Instant Pot Creamy Basil Chicken and Tortellini–tender bites of chicken breast and cheesy tortellini are served in a creamy tomato basil sauce. This recipe is made in your electric pressure cooker in minutes!
(Get the recipe for SLOW COOKER Creamy Basil Chicken and Tortellini here)
Instant Pot Creamy Basil Chicken and Tortellini
Sometimes I get inspiration for new recipes at the grocery store. I saw something in the frozen aisle called creamy basil chicken with tortellini and it sounded so good. I knew that the frozen dinner version would be mediocre at best so I got to work on making a homemade version that would be a dinner delight.
Making this instant pot creamy basil chicken and tortellini in the electric pressure cooker is a bit tricky because the chicken requires a different cooking time than the tortellini. So I decided to pressure cook the chicken first and then add in the bag of frozen tortellini later and use a zero pressure cook time for the pasta. It worked perfectly. Although it is a bit of a bummer that the pot has to come to pressure twice. C’est la vie!
Three reasons you should make this recipe:
- It is family friendly. There is no spiciness. Pasta in a creamy sauce and chicken breasts is a pretty neutral food for most palettes.
- This is pretty much an all in one meal. Serve this with a green salad and dinner is done.
- The combination of the fresh basil and the tomato reminds me of caprese salad…which is delicious. The flavors also remind me of tomato basil parmesan soup.
A few notes about the ingredients:
Tortellini: I used a 19 ounce bag of frozen cheese tortellini. You can also use fresh tortellini. I’d be a little nervous about pressure cooking fresh tortellini…I’m not sure if it would hold up. You may just want to use the saute setting to cook the fresh tortellini.
Chicken breasts: I used 2 frozen chicken breast halves (12 minutes). You can also use fresh chicken breasts (10 minutes). If you choose to use chicken tenders you’ll want to cut the cooking time down to 8 minutes. If you’re a fan of boneless skinless chicken thighs you can use those too (15 minutes).
Basil: I used the squeeze tube of basil because I like how it can last for a month in my fridge. You can also use chopped fresh basil.
Half and half: half and half is just a product that has half whole milk and half cream. You can also use heavy cream or even evaporated milk.
More recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Instant Pot Chicken Margherita Pasta
Instant Pot Tortellini Soup with Chicken Sausage and Mushrooms
Instant Pot Bacon Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Creamy Basil Chicken and Tortellini I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
Instant Pot Creamy Basil Chicken and Tortellini
Description
Tender bites of chicken breast and cheesy tortellini are served in a creamy tomato basil sauce. This recipe is made in your electric pressure cooker in minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds frozen or fresh chicken breasts (this was 2 chicken breast halves for me)
- 1 or 2 (14.5 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes (if you want it more saucy then use 2 cans)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (or 1/2 cup water and 1/2 tsp better than bouillon chicken base*)
- 1 (19 oz) bag frozen cheese tortellini
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or basil stir-in paste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: halved cherry tomatoes for topping
Instructions
- Add chicken, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
- Cover and secure the lid, make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 10 minutes (fresh chicken) or 12 minutes (frozen chicken).
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then move the valve to venting to remove any remaining pressure.
- Use a fork to place the chicken on a cutting board. Set aside.
- Add the tortellini to the pot. Put the lid on the pot and move valve to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 0 (zero) minutes. While the pot cooks the tortellini, cut the chicken into bite size pieces.
- When the timer beeps perform a quick release by moving the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Add the cut up chicken into the pot. Stir in the half and half, parmesan cheese and basil. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in cherry tomatoes, if desired.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
Tortellini: I used a 19 ounce bag of frozen cheese tortellini. You can also use fresh tortellini. I’d be a little nervous about pressure cooking fresh tortellini…I’m not sure if it would hold up. You may just want to use the saute setting to cook the fresh tortellini.
Chicken breasts: I used 2 frozen chicken breast halves (12 minutes). You can also use fresh chicken breasts (10 minutes). If you choose to use chicken tenders you’ll want to cut the cooking time down to 8 minutes. If you’re a fan of boneless skinless chicken thighs you can use those too (15 minutes).
Basil: I used the squeeze tube of basil because I like how it can last for a month in my fridge. You can also use chopped fresh basil.
Half and half: half and half is just a product that has half whole milk and half cream. If you want you can use heavy cream instead or even evaporated milk would work fine.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cup serving
- Calories: 401
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 647 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Protein: 27 g
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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
