Cubed chicken breast, refrigerated cheese tortellini, fresh spinach, and cherry tomatoes come together in a parmesan cream sauce built in a single pan. The chicken browns first, then a quick roux forms the base before broth and tortellini go directly into the pan to cook through. The dish takes 20 minutes and serves 4.
Refrigerated tortellini goes into the sauce without pre-boiling, and that choice defines the whole method. The pasta absorbs the seasoned broth as it cooks, pulling in flavor that separately boiled tortellini could never pick up. Four minutes in the pan is enough, and the sauce reduces around it at the same time.
Butter and flour cook together for one full minute before any liquid enters the pan. That minute toasts the flour slightly and removes the raw starch taste that would linger in the finished sauce. Pour the broth in early and a faint pasty flavor follows all the way through to the bowl.
Chicken Tortellini Pasta Recipe
Course: DinnerCuisine: Italian-AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
15
minutes238
kcalChicken Tortellini Pasta Recipe with refrigerated cheese tortellini, cubed chicken, fresh spinach, and cherry tomatoes in a parmesan cream sauce. Serves 4
Ingredients
- Chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Sauce and Pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2½ cups chicken broth
20 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Finish
1½ cups fresh spinach
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper, add to the pan, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Add butter to the same pan and melt. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour in chicken broth and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened.
- Add tortellini and bring to a boil. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tortellini is coated and cooked through.
- Stir in heavy cream and parmesan and cook for 1 more minute.
- Return the chicken to the pan and add the spinach. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until the spinach wilts. Fold in the cherry tomatoes, top with fresh parsley, and serve.
FAQs
Can the cherry tomatoes be left out or swapped?
Leaving them out is fine since they go in last and don’t build the sauce at all. Sun-dried tomatoes are a useful swap, adding a concentrated, tangy flavor that holds up better in the warm pan. Grape tomatoes halved the same way are also a direct substitute at the same quantity.
How should the chicken be cut for even browning?
One-inch cubes are the target size. Cutting the chicken while partially frozen, about 20 minutes in the freezer, makes uniform pieces easier to achieve. Pat the cubed chicken dry before it goes into the pan so the surface browns rather than steams.
Can a different tortellini filling replace the cheese variety?
Cheese tortellini is the most neutral choice and doesn’t compete with the parmesan cream sauce. Spinach and ricotta tortellini adds a green layer that blends well with the fresh spinach in the pan. Meat-filled tortellini works but introduces a second protein alongside the cubed chicken, and the combined richness can push the sauce into heavy territory.
What chicken pasta dish works when tomato is the preference over white cream sauce?
Tomato and cream are used together far more often than cream alone, and the pairing shifts the entire character of a pasta dish. A creamy tomato chicken pasta on this site builds around a rich tomato cream sauce in a similarly quick stovetop format. Together the two give a weekly pasta rotation one white sauce option and one red.
What chicken pasta adds bacon for a smokier bowl?
Bacon changes the character of a cream pasta completely, adding smokiness that no seasoning can replicate from scratch. A chicken bacon spinach pasta on this site builds a cream sauce with chicken and crispy bacon tossed through spinach. Together the two give a pasta rotation one clean weeknight option and one with a smoky layer.