This delicious Instant Pot Tortellini is an easy weeknight dinner that the whole family will love. Packed with flavor and ready in a flash, you’ll find yourself making this pressure cooker pasta every week!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This Instant Pot Tortellini is the kind of one-pot dinner that will make you wonder where it has been all your life! If you’re trying to streamline your meal planning and/or get kids involved in cooking, this Instant Pot pasta is the perfect dish.
The best-kept secret of this dish is that it is BETTER the next day. So write this at the top of your meal prep list and get ready to crush dinner.
If you are new to pressure cooking and the Instant Pot, check out this post on recipes for Instant Pot beginners.
What’s in this Instant Pot Pasta?
- Tortellini – either refrigerated or frozen works
- Water or broth (related: how to make chicken bone broth)
- Marinara – you can use prepared or homemade (related: Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce and Instant Pot Pasta Sauce)
We have tested this recipe with both fresh/refrigerated and frozen pasta. While we prefer fresh, frozen is infinitely more affordable (at least half the price!), and still works great. Frozen tortellini is easy to keep on hand and is a low-cost freezer essential. Just a head’s up that the final texture will be a bit softer. Have extras? Try this Instant Pot Tortellini Soup another night.
I do not recommend that you adjust the water that is called for in the recipe. Any less and you risk a “burn notice” with your pressure cooker. If the sauce you use is on the watery-side, you can thicken the dish after it cooks with a bit of tomato paste.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Do not defrost frozen tortellini prior to adding it to the Instant Pot.
- If you’d like to add meat to your sauce, it needs to be cooked ahead of time (we use this Whole30 Breakfast Sausage recipe). You can cook in the Instant pot on saute until cooked through. Just make sure to deglaze (aka scrape) any stuck-on food from the insert prior to cooking. The cooking time for the rest of the dish remains the same.
- Stir in 1/3 cup of warmed heavy cream to the cooked tortellini just prior to serving for a “pink sauce”. Warming the cream will prevent it from curdling when it hits the hot pasta sauce.
- This dish will thicken overnight in the fridge.
More One-Pot Dishes You’ll Love
- Instant Pot Ravioli
- Fried Gnocchi and Veggies
- Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie
- Ravioli Bake
- Green Beans in Tomato Sauce
- Whole30 Bruschetta Chicken
- Asian Pork Meatballs
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Beef
- Paleo Salmon Cakes
- Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies
- Whole30 Pot Roast
- Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Instant Pot Tortellini
Ingredients
- 15 oz tortellini {4 cups}
- 2 cups water {or broth}
- 24 oz prepared marinara {3 cups}
Instructions
- Combine water and tortellini in the Instant Pot insert. Stir.2 cups water, 15 oz tortellini
- Add marinara sauce, and stir to combine.24 oz prepared marinara
- Lock the lid into place and set the steam release handle (valve on top) to “Sealing”. Press Manual>High Pressure>2 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot has finished cooking, it will beep and switch to ”keep warm". Allow it to sit with the lid on for 1 minute and then do a manual release with the nozzle set to venting.
- Stir and serve.
Notes
What To Serve With Instant Pot Pasta
This is a carb-forward dish, so I like to pair it with something that is veggie-centered! A side of Kale Chopped Salad, Frozen Roasted Broccoli, Air Fryer Roasted Beets, Roasted Frozen Vegetables, Air Fryer Green Bean Fries, or Cucumber and Onion Salad.
Shop this Post:
(may include affiliate links)
Made this it was really good unfortunately got a burn notice in my 8QT instant pot. How would I adjust it so I don’t get burn notice. Luckily my tortellini on top still cooked. I also added sliced zucchini inside other then burn notice came out really good. Any idea how to adjust recipe for 8QT?
Larrye, I use an 8 quart so the sizing shouldn’t be a problem.
Possible burn notice issues: some models are persnickety with tomato products touching the bottom of the insert. You could add the marinara and NOT stir it into the water/noodles. Cook with it just poured on top.
I absolutely love this easy recipe! I just moved and I don’t have time to do elaborate dinners so do just throw everything in a pot is great.
Do you have this recipe but with an Alfredo sauce?
Congrats on the move and I’m so glad I can be part of your new space!
I don’t have a version of this with alfredo sauce. Tell me more (so I can think if it needs a separate post…), like a soup or more just like one pot tortellini in alfredo?