Instant Pot Tortellini is ready in just 15 minutes! Cheesy tortellini are swirled in a flavorful fire-roasted tomato cream sauce and sprinkled with parmesan and basil. Quick and delicious!
Have y’all made pasta in the Instant Pot yet?
I’ll admit I was super skeptical at first, thinking no way could this turn out edible.
Fully expecting a pot-o-mush I experimented, whipping up the most amazing Instant Pot Taco Pasta and falling head-over-noodles in love.
Now that I’m team pasta-in-the-pot, I decided it was time to tackle the Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Tortellini from my friend Stefanie’s new cookbook, Quick Prep Cooking with your Instant Pot.
(Her book is amazing – simply amazing! Grab a copy right meow!)
I didn’t have sun-dried tomatoes handy, but armed with a cup of crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, I was ready to get my tortellini on!
I used a 9 ounce package of chilled cheese tortellini but anywhere from 9-12 ounces should work great here!
You can go the vegetarian route and stick with cheese tortellini or mix things up by trying spicy sausage tortellini, chicken tortellini, or even spinach and cheese tortellini.
No Instant Pot? No problem! This dish can totally be made on the stove.
Instant Pot Tortellini with Basil and Parmesan
This IP pasta recipe couldn’t be easier! Take everything but the final three ingredients, toss it in the Instant Pot, and set to high pressure for 2 minutes.
TWO MINUTES!!! <—- cue jazz hands and basil confetti.
Once your IP beeps, release the pressure, swirl in the cream and parm and top with a sprinkling of fresh basil.
Helloooooo delicious!
From start to finish, this recipe will take about 15-20 minutes to make, making it perfect for busy weeknights!
Instant Pot Tortellini with Basil and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 cup canned crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 TBSP tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic (peeled + minced)
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1/2-1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 9 oz uncooked refrigerated tortellini any variety; I used cheese filled
- 1/4-1/3 cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- fresh topped basil for topping dried basil works in a pinch
Instructions
- In a 6-Quart Instant Pot combine the stock, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. Mix in tortellini.
- Secure the lid and place the vent in the sealing position. Set to “MANUAL” or “PRESSURE COOK” mode on “HIGH” pressure. Use the +/- button to adjust the cook time to 2 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot beeps and the countdown has finished (about 8 minutes to come to pressure and 2 minutes to cook) quick release the pressure by flipping the valve to venting position. Stand back as the steam releases. Once the pin drops and the lid unlocks, remove the lid and mix in the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese.
- Top with fresh basil and feel free to add some extra parm and/or cracked black pepper. Dive in while it’s hot!
Notes
Nutrition
If you get a chance to try this quick and easy Instant Pot Tortellini, let me know!
Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation! I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
hungry for more?
I’m dying to try Stephanie’s Bourbon Pot Roast Nachos in the Instant Pot next! I’ve basically stuffed bookmarks between every other page in her cookbook at this point. Can’t wait!
Crazy for tortellini? Try this Easy Tortellini Soup and prepare to be obsessed I have made this so many times these last few weeks!
Looking for a salad to pair with your pasta? Tomato Quinoa Salad is a healthy and delicious choice.
So… what are you waiting for? Make this Instant Pot Tortellini today!
Questions & Reviews
I tried this out and it worked really well in my 3 quart pressure cooker. I’m glad I found this instant pot recipe for the specific 9oz refrigerated bag of pasta that I picked up at the store today. For me the result was a bit too al dente so I might try again with 1 more minute or saute it in the sauce afterwords for a minute or two, but that’s just my personal preference. I did make some substitutions which I shall mention.
I had to use what I had in my pantry, so instead of heavy cream I used full fat coconut milk (from the can), tomato sauce instead of crushed tomatoes, no tomato paste so I used a vegan worcestershire sauce replacement (actually aged elderberry sauce from a business called Blue Bully Peppersauce, bought it at a farmer’s market) and for red pepper flakes I used dried ground aleppo peppers.
I did use pre-minced garlic that I had in my fridge, the kind you get in a jar from the store. The label recommending 1 tsp per clove, but as I was adding garlic it seemed like kind of a lot so I only added 2 tsp which looked like plenty for the small amount. After having tried the result, I would recommend doing only 1 tsp if using pre-minced garlic and maybe supplementing with garlic powder because they ended up being very prominent texturally in the sauce, and the grocery store stuff is kind of meh on quality. Or maybe the jar overestimated how much of their minced garlic actually equals one clove. If you’re using fresh garlic and mincing it I doubt this will be an issue at all and three cloves seems totally appropriate for this dish, so not an issue with the recipe at all.
The coconut milk had a prominent coconutty flavor, so I ended up taking the tortellini out and sautéing the sauce for 5-10 more minutes to cook some of it out. That ended up helping a lot, but I also like the taste of coconut milk so it was fine.
I used italian sausage tortellini and the recipe did great. I know I made a lot of substitutions, but I came here to make sure I had the ratios right for 9oz of uncooked pasta compared to the sauce being made in the instant pot. My instant pot is the 3 quart size, and the ratios worked just right.
How would you adjust this for a 8ct pot?
Hi Larrye! I don’t have an 8 quart to test it with so I cannot speak from experience. This post: Instant Pot Cooking Differences has some amazing tips on the differences in liquid an 8 quart will need and also extra time to come to pressure and any needed changes to know about. I’d for sure start there since all 6 quart recipes can absolutely be made in the 8 quart. xoxo
I made this last night for my vegetarian mother in law and OMG it was so yummy! My whole family loved it and it was incredibly easy! I doubled the recipe and added some spinach to it as well. This is definitely going into the easy weeknight meals rotation. Thank you!
I’m wanting to make this tonight but I only have a 12 oz bag of spinach and cheese tortellini and I think it’s dried pasta and I have 2 extra people to feed so how would that work?
Hi Heaven! The recipe will need to be reworked for dried pasta but I would have to test it to know how many minutes to add and how much extra liquid is required to cook. Let me know if you get a chance to experiment! xo
So glad y’all love the recipe! xo
I’m a stay at home dad… i could use some advice, please: I’m going to make this using pine nuts and “saute spinach. I’m new to Instant Pot. My question is: do I add the spinach AFTER the tortellini is cooked, or put the spinach in with the tortellini before?
Hi William! So excited you’ll be trying this recipe. Spinach cooks so super fast that my go-to technique is to add the spinach after the dish has cooked. You’ll stir it in, return the lid to the pot for about a minute or so, and *bam* perfectly wilted spinach and a ready to eat meal!
Thanks!
If the tortellini is frozen, do you add time?
Thank you!
Hi Kassie! You’ll want to add a little extra time (I can’t imagine too much) but I’m not sure how much to advise on until I can test it at home. Let me know if you get a chance to test it frozen before I get a chance to? xoxo
I just got an instant pot and this was the the first thing u made. I doubled the recipe (kept cook time the same) and added 4 chicken thighs that I seared on outside first. AMAZING! Thank you!
I am new to cooking and recently retired. I like to have a nice meal ready when my wife gets home from work. My question is once you add cream and cheese at the end, then what? Do you let it sit for a while?
Hi Don! That’s so sweet and I’m sure she appreciates it! We plate and enjoy it right away after adding the cream and cheese. It can sit for a little if needed and be reheated as needed as well. Hope y’all enjoy the recipe!
Hi there! Did you crush the garlic cloves?
Hi Maureen! I crushed and minced the garlic. Adding a note to the recipe card now – thanks! xoxo
Hi, Jenn:
What are your thoughts on doubling this recipe in the Instant Pot? A 9oz pkg of pasta is a little skimpy for my family of four, but I’m not sure if adjustments need to be made for pressure cooking? I haven’t had my IP that long.
Hi Kristin! Doubling recipes in the IP can be tricky, but I believe this one should be a great candidate for it! You’ll want to keep the cooking times the same, double all ingredients in the recipe, and ensure the ingredients don’t pass the max-fill line on your pot. Other than that you should be good to go!
It worked perfectly, and this is a delicious recipe! Will be saving this one to regular rotation. Thanks!
I don’t have an instant pot yet………soon! Is it messy to use quick release with pasta?
Hey Sue! So I’ve heard it can be messy with really soup-y pasta situations but this recipe hasn’t failed me yet and readers seem to be loving it too – I’d say you’re safe here!
This was delicious! Stuck with your suggestion of the crushed fire roasted tomatoes… Only thing I would change is add in all the sausage next time! Pasta was cooked just right and the tomato sauce was SPOT ON. Give me all the instant pot recipes!!!
Sooooo good right?! Thanks Cassie!