This chicken tortellini Alfredo recipe is a hearty, cheesy, and comforting weeknight meal! It's easy to make and ready in about 25 minutes.
This is another tasty recipe to add to your "how do I use up leftover chicken?" arsenal. Don't have leftover chicken? Buy a rotisserie chicken. They're so useful for making quick meals, and we buy them fairly often.
Alfredo sauce is simply a mix of butter, cream, and parmesan cheese. I always like to liven it up a bit so I add in a bit of garlic and some lemon juice just to prevent it from being too rich or one-dimensional.
Love Alfredo sauce? Try my Lemon Parmesan Chicken Alfredo Recipe, this 15 Minute Creamy Garlic Pasta Recipe, this Easy Shrimp Alfredo, or my 15 Minute Creamy Alfredo Gnocchi (a great side dish!).
How to make Alfredo tortellini with chicken
- Cook the tortellini and drain them once they're done.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce in a skillet. Make a quick roux with the butter and flour. Whisk in the chicken broth, lemon juice, cream, and garlic. Let the sauce thicken up.
- Stir in the parmesan and season with salt & pepper.
- Toss the chicken and tortellini with the sauce.
A few recipe notes:
- I chose garlic powder instead of a garlic clove (or two) since it dissolves nicely and I didn't want the garlic taste to be too overpowering. With that said, feel free to use fresh garlic if you want to!
- Just a note on the serving size: this dish is fairly rich, so it does make four reasonable portions, but then I would serve them with a side salad or garlic bread or something else. If you've got super hungry people who eat a lot, it's more like two portions.
- I don't recommend subbing the cream for something else e.g. milk or half-and-half unless you're confident in your abilities to thicken up the sauce/make adjustments as needed. Also, it will taste a bit different if you don't use heavy cream.
More cheese tortellini recipes you may like:
- Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup
- Cheese Tortellini with Butter, Mushrooms, and Crispy Sage
- Creamy Spinach Tortellini Soup with Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Spinach Tortellini Salad
- Tomato Tortellini Soup
Chicken Tortellini Alfredo
This chicken tortellini Alfredo recipe is a hearty, cheesy, and comforting weeknight meal! It's easy to make and ready in about 25 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1.5 cups cooked chicken (I used rotisserie) shredded
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
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Boil a salted pot of water and cook tortellini according to package directions.
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Meanwhile, when the tortellini is not too far away from being cooked, start the sauce. Add the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once it's hot, sprinkle in the flour and let it cook for about a minute (stir it).
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Reduce the heat to medium. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice to the pan and start whisking it to dissolve the flour (do this for about 30 seconds or so).
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Pour the cream in and add the garlic powder. Continue whisking until you've got a smooth sauce. Let it reduce for a minute or two or until desired thickness is reached. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a bit more cream or chicken broth.
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Stir in the parmesan. Season with salt & pepper as needed. Add in the chicken and drained pasta. Toss to let it heat through, then serve and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
- Feeds 4 if you serve it with other things (e.g. salad or garlic bread) or it makes 2 rather large portions.
Jerilyn says
I have made this several times and my family loves it. I add sautéed mushrooms and fresh spinach it is so good. Thank you!
Natasha says
Wonderful! 🙂 Love adding the mushrooms and spinach.
Sue Stockman says
I started by sauteing onion, red bell pepper and garlic............then follow the recipe... but then I used chicken and mozzarella ravioli.......... awesome!!
Awesome!
Natasha says
Sounds great to me, Sue!
Colleen says
I made this tonight as I was looking for some recipes to use up my leftover turkey. Loved the addition of the lemon juice, I might have added more than the recipe called for! I sent the recipe to my college daughter. I know she’ll love it. Love all the recipes on this blog.
Natasha says
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Colleen!! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Megan says
Making now! Can I sub butter with olive oil? Have everything else and hope I don't need to run to the store ?!
Natasha says
Hi Megan, I got your message on IG, but I will approve this one so others can see. Yes, olive oil will work in a pinch. 🙂
Megan says
Thank you for responding! Olive oil worked really well and this was so delicious. Honestly my fiance said this is one of his new favorite meals. I used the sauce with linguine + peppers, spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes with a side of grilled chicken. Will be making this more for now on! Thank you for sharing. Excited to try some more of your recipes.
Natasha says
You're very welcome! 🙂
Matt - Total Feasts says
I love recipes that help me use up leftovers. I could easily see my family picking up a roast chicken from Costco and using the leftovers for this dish! Great idea!
Natasha says
Thanks so much!