Baked Chicken Tortellini

To make baked Chicken Tortellini, grab your favorite cheese tortellini, leftover rotisserie chicken, a head of broccoli, toss it in an easy cream parmesan sauce, top it with a generous amount of mozzarella and bake until bubbly. It is easy, cozy, hearty, tasty and fits perfectly into your lazy weekday meal recipe repertoire.

What is better than cheese stuffed tortellini? It has to be tortellini baked in a cheese cream sauce. Digging into this cheesy pasta bake is a real joy. Perfect to make with leftover chicken, veggies of your choice, and with basic pantry staples, everything baked together. It’s one of those dishes that makes your kitchen smell amazing and instantly warms you up after a long day.

One thing that I love the most about this recipe is though there is cheese inside and out, it’s not overly rich and it has the right amount of creaminess.

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Baked Chicken Tortellini – A quick and easy meal

So, let me tell you why Baked Chicken Tortellini is a recipe which should go into your “Weekly meal rotation” list.

Covenient: Tortellini is a distinctively shaped pasta that comes in dried, refrigerated or frozen forms. You can buy a packet and store it for days when you want to make the usual.
Versatile: I have used some rotisserie chicken. You could also season and pan fry some chicken breasts as an alternative . You can add your daily dose of veggies, take your pick.
The sauce comes together in a pinch and uses your regular pantry ingredients like chicken stock, cream, cheese, and seasonings.
The beautiful cheese pull after baking will excite the kids and ensure that they don’t see those little veggies that you have hidden inside. I know, you have been there and done that, but it works sometimes, doesn’t it?
Prep Ahead: Often times I prep this the morning we’re planning to enjoy and simply pop it in the oven when we are ready to eat!

So, lets get cracking on this super easy recipe and don’t forget to make the “Quick meals” list and save this recipe!

Ingredients

Tortellini – I used refrigerated cheese tortellini. If you have dried tortellini handy, then do follow the instructions mentioned in the recipe card below.
Cooked chicken – Any leftover rotisserie chicken works best here. Chop it into bite sized pieces. Alternatively, season and pan fry two large chicken breasts.
Vegetables – I used a head of broccoli. You can add veggies of your choice.
Chicken Stock – A good quality chicken stock makes a good base for the sauce.
Garlic – I have used garlic fried in butter as the aromatic for this dish.
Seasonings – Salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
Nutmeg – For a little added warmth
Parmesan – I like to add parmesan because it imparts a lovely silky texture to the sauce when it melts. It also adds a distinctive umami flavor to the dish.
Cream – I add it for the creamy texture and rich mouth feel.
Mozzarella – A generous amount heaped on top before baking makes for a delicious cheese pull.

Let’s prepare Baked Chicken Tortellini

Stir up the sauce

Use an oven proof skillet, that can go directly into the oven for the final bake. Chop up the chicken into bite-sized pieces and the broccoli into little florets.

First, saute the garlic in butter until aromatic. Then add the stock, cream, parmesan, nutmeg and seasonings. Stir gently until the sauce thickens.

“Hey Subha, the last time I made a similar sauce, the cream split and the sauce looked grainy. Help!”
This is a very common issue and one that can be easily remedied.

When you are adding the cream, make sure that the heat is as low as possible. High heat can break up the emulsification and make the sauce grainy.
Secondly, unless specified, always use heavy cream, the high fat content will prevent the cream from splitting.
At this stage, keep stirring until the sauce comes together. Do not leave the cream on the stove for too long.

1. Saute garlic with butter.
2. Add cream, parmesan, chicken stock, nutmeg and seasonings.

Load up the chicken, broccoli and cheese

Turn the heat off at this point. Add the chicken, the broccoli florets, half of the cheese and give it a good mix. Load up the rest of the mozzarella on top and place it in the oven for baking.

1. Mix in the chicken pieces and broccoli florets.
2. Load up with mozzarella cheese.

Bake, broil and enjoy

After about 15 minutes of baking time, broil the dish for a few minutes for the cheesy top layer to develop a golden, brown color. And before you know it a delicious homemade pasta bake is ready to be served and savored.

Baked chicken Tortellini served in a bowl.

Serving Suggestions

This simple, cheesy pasta bake is a meal all on it’s own. To cut the cheesy overload, you can pair it with some fresh salads, or some sauteed or steamed vegetables. Garlic bread on the side can help to mop up any leftover sauce.

Storing Suggestions

Any leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat them in a microwave until warmed through. These pastas generally absorb moisture from the sauce and tend to run dry when stored. I recommend adding some warm stock or water to the dish before reheating.