Marry Me Chicken Tortellini–tortellini pasta with bacon, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese. DEE-licious! Make it in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Marry Me Chicken Tortellini
If you want to seal the deal and get a marriage proposal you may want to make this delicious tortellini dish! Lol! Even if you don’t want a marriage proposal you can make this for yourself and family members that you love.
It’s got tortellini, parmesan cheese and to put it over the top–crispy bacon! Tortellini is just the most fun pasta out there. With its cheesy middle and pillowy texture it’s just a winner. I like to use fresh, refrigerated tortellini pasta for this particular recipe. It was actually the same cost as the frozen tortellini at my grocery store.
I decided to fry up the bacon instead of using the more convenient package of bacon crumbles. I think it was definitely worth the extra effort. Sometimes I like to fry my bacon in my air fryer instead of on the stove, oven or Instant Pot (and then just use some of the grease from the bottom of the air fryer to saute the shallot and garlic in the Instant Pot).
Fresh parmesan cheese grated off the block is best for flavor but you can also use pre-shredded cheese if you’d like. I do like actual parmesan cheese for this particular recipe instead of the powdered stuff in the green can.
I’m a huge fan of sun-dried tomatoes for their intense sweet-tart flavor. They’re stronger than than fresh tomatoes. But if you can’t find sun-dried you can use fresh or canned diced tomatoes (drained) instead.
Related: Marry Me Chicken
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Bacon–you can also use a package of bacon crumbles
- Shallot–or ½ cup diced onion
- Minced garlic
- Water
- Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
- Buitoni Tortellini–refrigerated tortellini. You can also use frozen tortellini (same cooking time)
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Chopped, cooked chicken–I use rotisserie
- Sundried tomatoes–in a pinch you can use a can of diced tomatoes instead
- Shredded parmesan cheese–or gruyere
- Heavy cream–or 4 ounces cream cheese
Steps
Fry the bacon: Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the bacon and fry until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to move the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon grease.
Saute: Add in the shallot and saute for 3 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
Deglaze the pot: Pour water into pot and scrape bottom of pot so nothing is sticking.
Add ingredients: Add in chicken base, tortellini, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and chicken.
Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When time is up move valve to venting and remove the lid.
Add final ingredients: Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan and cream. Finally stir in the bacon.
Serve: Scoop onto plates and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a side salad, roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with sundried tomatoes are Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta and Instant Pot Chicken And Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Marry Me Chicken Tortellini
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
Tortellini pasta with bacon, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese. DEE-licious! Make it in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bacon, chopped
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tbsp Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
- 1 (20 oz) package Buitoni Tortellini (refrigerated)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2–3 cups chopped, cooked chicken (I use rotisserie)
- 1 (6.7 oz) jar sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or 4 ounces cream cheese
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the bacon and fry until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to move the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon grease.
- Add in the shallot and saute for 3 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Pour water into pot and scrape bottom of pot so nothing is sticking.
- Add in chicken base, tortellini, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and chicken.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When time is up move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan and cream. Finally stir in the bacon.
- Scoop onto plates and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the bacon and fry until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to move the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon grease.
- Add in the shallot and saute for 3 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add shallot, garlic, water, chicken base, tortellini, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and chicken into slow cooker and stir.
- Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.
- Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan and cream. Finally stir in the bacon.
- Scoop onto plates and enjoy!
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
More Instant Pot Pasta Dishes You’ll Love…
Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Pasta
Spaghetti, lemon juice, garlic buttery sauce and tender bites of shrimp all tossed together to create a flavorful dinner that will impress your friends. The secret is that it doesn’t take hardly any effort at all!
Instant Pot Chicken Supreme Pasta
An easy dump and go recipe for pasta with chicken, vegetables, pepperoni cheese and a creamy yogurt sauce.
Instant Pot Chilis Copycat Cajun Chicken Pasta
An easy way to make a copycat version of Chili’s cajun chicken and penne. It tastes soooo good and costs a fraction of the price you’d pay at a restaurant.
Instant Pot Fireman’s Pasta
Penne pasta with chicken, bruschetta, spinach, garlic and parmesan cheese. A simple recipe with amazing flavor!
Instant Pot Cheesecake Factory Da Vinci Pasta
Mushroom and chicken penne pasta with a tangy and creamy sauce.
*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.
I’m guessing that I have made 50 of your recipes. This one just did not work as it was so dry. Possibly I did something wrong but I follow instructions very closely. Will not be on my redo list.
Thank you for trying so many of my recipes I really appreciate that, and I’m sorry this one didn’t turn out well for you.
Can you leave out the chicken, i dont have any in the house.
Yes, you can absolutely leave the chicken out. The tortellini, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, and creamy sauce give it plenty of flavor on their own. If you want to bulk it up a bit, you could add mushrooms, spinach, or even a can of drained white beans—but it’s still delicious just as is. No other changes needed.
I typically don’t add comments – but had to for this recipe. This was delicious!! I used fresh mushrooms (sauteed) in place of the sun-dried tomatoes. Super recipe! Thanks for all your great recipes Karen!
Thank you! I’m so happy you took the time to comment and I love your swap with the sautéed mushrooms! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. 😊
Hmm, 🤔 Karen, this seems perfectly timed to use with a little switch: leftover turkey 🦃 from yesterday’s dinner. Will follow up with that 😀
Happy 🇨🇦 Thanksgiving, by the way 🤗
Yes! Leftover turkey is such a smart swap! 🦃 Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving up north!
Yes, it was a good Thanksgiving 😁. Even used the Turkey carcass to make a nice Instant Pot broth/stock. Waiting in deep freeze for future recipes 😄.
The cooked turkey meat did make a good sub for the Chicken in your “Marry Me…Tortellini recipe”😁. Used evaporated milk too, in place of heavy cream. Was in my pantry. No bacon in house, so subbed with deli pepper ham. Utilized bacon fat I save in the fridge for cooking to grease the pot for sauntering the allium veg. Didn’t have enough tortellini, so used packet of ravioli, waiting in fridge as half the pasta. Your pressure cook timing worked perfectly for both stuffed pasta ingredients ☺️. Once cook time was done, I added some peas for extra colour.
Thanks for the tasty dinner and some leftovers, last week, Karen🤩
Wow, you made it work beautifully! Love that you turned your turkey and pantry staples into something so tasty. 😍 The ham and ravioli swaps sound amazing and hooray for perfect pasta timing!
Thanks for giving me your brilliant framework to make it happen, Karen ☺️
Awesome recipe. I never use heavy cream and it’s something I just never have on hand..I always use canned evaporated milk which I always Do have on hand. It’s a good replacement for heavy cream with a lot less fat. Got to watch those coronary arteries ya know !!
Oh yeah, good tip! I always have evaporated milk. Good suggestion.
pressure cooker seems unnecessary for this recipe.
You could choose to only use the saute setting for this recipe if you’d like. Either way works fine!
Wow, this really was dee-licious! The bold flavored ingredients came together perfectly here. I made this one as written using the same ingredients in my 3 qt. IP Mini, save for using frozen tortellini and low-sodium chicken broth. Even though it seemed counterintuitive to me to pressure cook the frozen pasta for half the time of refrigerated pasta, it was just the right amount of time of course. This is one of the best and tastiest pasta recipes I’ve made here, and that’s sayin’ something. Thank you once again, Karen.
Thank you so much John! I love hearing this!
If I only have sun-dried tomatoes that are not in oil, how do I use them?
Hi Karen! This sounds great, but how would I adjust the time if I used frozen tortellini instead of fresh?
She had post to do 1 minute for frozen. It’s in the section before she actually posted the recipe and directions. It’s in the section that says you can use diced tomatoes in a pinch if you didn’t have sun dried tomatoes. Hope this helps you. Enjoy your meal! It sure looks delicious!
Thanks, Debbie — I really must learn to read better! 😉
😂 I ado the same thing!