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Instant Pot Creamy Basil Chicken and Tortellini


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5 from 20 reviews

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

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

Scale
  • 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

  1. Add chicken, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
  2. 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).
  3. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then move the valve to venting to remove any remaining pressure.
  4. Use a fork to place the chicken on a cutting board. Set aside.
  5. 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.
  6. When the timer beeps perform a quick release by moving the valve to venting.  Remove the lid.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.

  • Category: Chicken
  • Method: Instant Pot

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