This One Pan Chicken and Tortellini Alfredo comes together in about 30 minutes! It’s made with simple ingredients like jar alfredo sauce, tender chicken, and cheese-filled tortellini pasta. This tortellini dish is fancy enough for Sunday dinner and quick enough for busy weeknights. We serve this with garlic bread and a side salad for a complete and easy meal.
Mindy’s Recipe Snapshot
Method: It’s cooked on the stove-top (in one skillet!).
Key Ingredients: Chicken breast, tortellini, alfredo sauce, and parmesan.
Ease: This is such an easy recipe!
Top Tip: Use refrigerated cheese tortellini and not dry tortellini.
This post was originally published in August 2017 and updated in February 2025 with a revised recipe to reflect changes in package sizes, along with fresh new photos.
Feature Comment
From Leslie: “We made this tonight for a quick dinner. Couldn’t take a picture cuz it was gone to fast I will be making this again❤️❤️.”
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I am always trying to come up with new ideas to add to our dinner rotation. Aren’t we all, right?! This one-pan meal is a winner. If I can come up with a meal that’s easy, quick and doesn’t require every pan in the house, then I have accomplished something.
It seems like when I’m trying to come up with a hearty meal the whole family will love, pasta is always a great option. Who doesn’t love a satisfying dish that has pasta in it?!
Ingredients
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Chicken: I like boneless skinless chicken breasts for this, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Tortellini: We prefer cheese tortellini but you can use any flavor.
- Alfredo Sauce: Use your favorite brand, the store brand is great too.
- Chicken Broth: We always use the low sodium variety.
- Milk: I use whole milk. We’ve never made this with non-dairy milk so not sure how it would turn out.
- Spinach: This adds nutrition to this dish, if you’re not a fan you can leave it out. Spinach is very nutritious, WebMD has a great article highlighting the health benefits it has to offer.
- Parmesan Cheese: We buy the block and grate it fresh, you can use pre-shredded.
- Olive Oil: Canola or vegetable oil can be used.
How to Make One Pan Chicken and Tortellini Alfredo
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until brown on all sides, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the sauce and milk to the skillet, pour the broth into the empty jar, put the lid back on and shake it, then pour it into skillet. Cook until sauce is hot, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Reduce to medium heat.
- Add tortellini and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.
- Stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and top with Parmesan cheese.
Pro Tip
Look for fresh cheese tortellini in the refrigerated section or deli section of the grocery store. The dry tortellini found on the pasta aisle won’t work in this recipe because it’ll absorb too much liquid. I haven’t made this with frozen tortellini but I do think it’ll work because it has a similar cooking time as refrigerated.
Storage and Reheating
- Store leftover chicken and tortellini in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until warmed through. Or, reheat on the stovetop over medium heat, adding a splash of water, chicken broth, or milk if it seems too dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven’t tried to make this with dairy free ingredients and think it would be challenging.
Gluten free tortellini is available but I haven’t tried it. In my experience gf pasta requires more liquid than regular. If you make this with gf pasta you will most likely need to add more liquid. You could also try cooking it by itself first to see if that helps.
Try these tasty pasta dishes next!
- Classico Lasagna
- Skinny Baked Chicken Spaghetti
- Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- Mixed Up Lasagna
- Baked Ravioli Lasagna Casserole
- Garlic Butter Pasta and Sautéed Spinach
- Old Fashioned Hamburger Casserole
- Chicken Parmesan with Jar Sauce
- Beef Stuffed Pasta Shells
- Cheesy Ground Beef Pasta Bake
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This dish uses basic ingredients and can be on the dinner table in less than 30 minutes!
Just as quick and easy as the popular boxed dinner but a little better for you.
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One Pan Chicken and Tortellini Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, about 12 ounces
- 1 jar Alfredo sauce, 15 ounces
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 pkg three cheese tortellini, 18 oz
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
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Instructions
- Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add chicken and cook until brown on all sides, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add sauce and milk to skillet, pour broth into empty jar, put the lid back on and shake, pour into skillet. Cook until sauce is hot, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.
- Add tortellini and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.
- Stir in spinach and cook, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and top with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
This recipe was updated because package sizes have shrunk. The tortellini is now available in an 18 ounce bag and the pasta sauce is available in a 15 ounce jar. The original recipe included a 20 ounce bag of tortellini and a 22 ounce jar of sauce. If only the price had shrunk too…
I’m thinking of making this today but all I have is dry tortollini. I’m going to cook it first in boiling water and add at the end along with fresh mushrooms.
That’s a great idea because it won’t soak up as much sauce if it’s already cooked.
Can frozen spinach be used in this recipe?
You could try it but I would thaw it and squeeze out as much water as possible. I use a cotton tea towel to wring the water out of frozen spinach, I have towels that I use for this only.
Very easy and so good! I used Rana brand Spinach & Cheese Tortellini. Thank you!
You are welcome, thanks for letting me know you like it!
Definitely need to try this one!
What brand of tortellini do you use?
I sometimes have a hard time finding it so I use what the store has. I use the kind in the refrigerated section and what I have found the most is Buitoni. I have seen it on the aisle with the dry pasta but I have never tried it.
You may want to specify type of tortellini in ingredients list as a dry pasta would need more liquid to cook properly.
We made this tonight for a quick dinner. Couldn’t take a picture cuz it was gone to fast I will be making this again❤️❤️
I made this. I cut up and cooked bacon, then browned the chicken. I also added one jalapeno. It was so yummy. My granddaughters loved it (5 & 7). Thanks for sharing.
Sounds delish, thanks!
This recipe is delicious but I wonder if adding diced tomatoes could add something to the dish.
Give it a try, it sounds yummy!
Do you remove the chicken after it’s cooked and then readd it once everything is done or keep the chicken in the pan the whole process?
I don’t take the chicken out. I just proceed with the recipe. Thanks, Mindy
Are you supposed to cut up chicken after browning it?
I have edited the recipe because I forgot to include the step to cut the chicken before you brown it. Thanks for asking so I could include this step.
You’re right, who doesn’t love a good pasta dish? Well played, worthy addition of chicken & spinach!
Thanks, Josh!
Those tortellini look so GOOD! Chicken, spinach and pasta…an absolutely delicious combo.
I thought so too. Thanks!