If any kitchen appliance can boast a cult following it’s sure to be the Instant Pot. An Amazon best-selling product for three years and counting, everyone from fervent foodies to home cooks are scooping up these wonder pots with a mix of enthusiasm and trepidation.
Pressure cookers from the past have been known to blow up (often as the result of user error) and the fear of cooking with them is real. Fortunately, the modern multicookers are mostly user-friendly and have become the gateway appliance to getting a healthy, homemade dinner on the table in record time.
Saving you both time and money, an Instant Pot isn’t the only way to get a good meal on the table each night. Choosing quality ingredients – like Hunt’s Heirloom Tomatoes, which have superior rich flavour, no preservatives, artificial flavours or colours and are packed fresh from the fields in under 24 hours – helps to make the process even easier.
Making soup in a pressure cooker is a sanity saver, to be sure. The pressurized short cooking time leaves the broth tasting as though it’s been simmered for hours on the stovetop. It also allows you to start your dish with frozen meat, for those times you forget to pull something from the freezer in the morning (don’t worry, it happens to all of us!).
In addition, this particular recipe makes use of another frozen food aisle favourite: tortellini. Pasta and tomatoes make the perfect pairing, and when combined with chicken, stock and spinach, you’re left with a dinner the whole family can get excited about it.
We like the idea of passing recipes down generations, and like Hunt’s – whose propriety Heirloom seeds have been handed over through generations for more than 30 years – this one is sure to be an Instant Pot classic that will stand the test of time.
Note: One of the great things about an Instant Pot is that you can cook frozen meat in it. You can use frozen chicken breast in this recipe if desired. Just adjust the cook time to 10 minutes from 8.
This post is brought to you by Hunt’s Heirloom Tomatoes but the images and opinions are our own.
You’ll Need
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, grated or pressed
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (398 mL) can Hunt’s Heirloom Crushed or Diced Tomatoes
- 1 (540 mL) can white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 lb. (approx. 2 pieces) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 lb. frozen tortellini
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups baby spinach
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Prep and Cook
- 1Select the sauté button on your Instant Pot and add the oil and butter to the bottom of the insert. When the butter has melted swirl it around the pot, then add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds more. The burner can get a little hot in the sauté function. If that happens, turn it off for a minute to cool the pot.
- 2Stir in the chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, bay leaf and oregano. Nestle the chicken breast into the pot. Cover and secure the lid, turning the valve to the sealing position. Set the manual button to 8 minutes. When the time is up let the pot sit there for 5 minutes and then move the valve to the venting position, so the steam can escape. Remove the lid.
- 3Discard the bay leaf. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a cutting board or plate. Turn the Instant Pot off, then switch it to the sauté setting. Add the tortellini and parmesan cheese to the pot and cook until the tortellini are thawed, plump and heated through, about 5 minutes.
- 4While the tortellini are cooking, shred or chop the chicken and add it back into the pot. Stir in the spinach. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and serve at once.
