Chicken Tortellini Alfredo (Panera Copycat)

4.91 from 22 votes

Chicken Tortellini Alfredo (Panera Copycat)

This homemade chicken alfredo tortellini tastes just like (if not even better than!) the now discontinued Panera Bread version. Made with a creamy from-scratch alfredo sauce, comfort food is done right with my easy weeknight recipe!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Kid Friendly

Cuisine: Italian American

Servings: servings

Calories: 1343kcal

Author: Eden Westbrook

Ingredients

2 tablespoon high heat oil like vegetable oil
3 boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced
2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic minced
Zest of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups heavy cream at least 36% butterfat
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
20 ounces refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh basil and thyme for garnish
Freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

Set a large pot to boil with about 2 tablespoon of salt.
As the water is coming to boil: heat oil in a separate large saute pan or braiser over medium-high heat, then season the diced chicken thighs and cook them. Don't overcrowd the pan, we want the chicken to gain brown color and get flavorful. Cook for 5 minutes, until the diced chicken is fully cooked, then remove from the pan onto a plate. Set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium under the braiser pan, and melt in the butter. Add the minced garlic, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. Stir it around a little bit and sauté for about 2 minutes, or until the garlic is really fragrant. Don't let it burn!
Pour in the heavy cream and whisk to really get the garlic off of the bottom of the pan. Whisking to make sure the cream doesn't scorch at the bottom, bring the cream to a simmer for about 5-7 minutes, thickening it up. Around this time, your pot of water should be boiling. Add the tortellini pasta to the boiling water and cook til al dente.
Once the cream is thickened, turn the heat to low and add the parmesan cheese. Whisk it in well until fully incorporated. Give the sauce a taste and season as needed with kosher salt and black pepper.
Add the cooked chicken and cooked tortellini pasta to the sauce, tossing gently. The tortellini will absorb some of the sauce, which is why we didn't want to overcook it in the pot.
Serve hot with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese as garnish!

Notes

Storage and Reheating

Store your leftover panera chicken tortellini alfredo in an airtight container in the fridge. Refrigerate for 3-4 days.
Reheat: you can reheat the chicken alfredo tortellini in the microwave in a covered microwave-safe dish, heat your serving up in 30 second intervals and give a stir after each one so the alfredo doesn't get too hot in one part and start acting funky (curdling, splitting, etc).

Pro Tips

You can pan sear the chicken in a separate pan while you make the alfredo sauce and make tortellini at the same time in other pots. You will have an extra pan to clean but this cuts the time down to about 15 minutes!
Save some of the pasta water - Reserved pasta water can help both thin and/or thicken a pasta sauce. Save about ½ cup of the pasta water, and if the alfredo is looking a little too thick, add a little in! If it doesn't look thick enough, add some of that starchy goodness and let simmer until the sauce thickens up.
Taste before seasoning - Cheese is naturally salty, and if you use salted butter that also counts. Taste the sauce before adding more salt, it's always easier to add than to take away in a recipe.
Alfredo must avoid high heat - heat can really mess up a creamy or cheesy sauce. We want to keep the sauce, from the melting of butter and sautéing garlic to adding the cheese, around medium low. Nothing bad will happen at medium low!
If you ran out of fresh garlic, garlic powder does work in this recipe.

Nutrition