Boomer Casserole–chicken and pasta casserole with peas and a crunchy potato chip topping made fast in the Instant Pot.
Boomer Casserole
Today’s recipe is adapted from baby boomer tuna casserole on Food.com. The author states, “I have had this recipe practically forever; I even remember my grandmother making it in the 1960s. Pure nostalgia.” My family is not a fan of tuna so I used chicken instead. I also loved using my Instant Pot for this recipe because the clean-up was a breeze and it was a dump and go recipe (my favorite!).
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Onion powder
- Poultry seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Kosher salt
- Bowtie pasta–or macaroni
- Cream cheese
- Chopped cooked chicken–I used rotisserie chicken. You can also use a can of drained tuna
- Frozen peas–or another vegetable you like (warm beforehand)
- Milk
- Paprika
- Potato chips
Steps
Pour broth into Instant Pot. Add in the onion powder, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, salt pasta, cream cheese and chicken. Don’t stir.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Stir in the peas, milk and paprika.
Sprinkle the potato chips on top and serve.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with green salad or caesar salad.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with cream cheese are chicken bacon ranch pasta and never forget casserole.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Boomer Casserole
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 19 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Chicken and pasta casserole with peas and a crunchy potato chip topping made fast in the Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 8 ounces bowtie pasta (or macaroni)
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 2 heaping cups of chopped cooked chicken (or a can of drained tuna)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup milk
- Pinch of paprika
- 1/2 cup crushed potato chips
Instructions
- Pour broth into Instant Pot. Add in the onion powder, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, salt pasta, cream cheese and chicken. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the peas, milk and paprika.
- Sprinkle the potato chips on top and serve.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot
More recipes mom used to make…
Instant Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff
A creamy mushroom sauce with ground beef served over egg noodles. An easy recipe to make that uses common ingredients and it’s delicious to eat.
Instant Pot Mom’s Goulash
Not an authentic version of “goulash” but what my mom would call goulash when I was growing up! Whatever you call it, it tastes amazing.
Instant Pot Tuna Casserole
A twist on good old fashioned tuna casserole. Flavors from Mom’s tuna casserole but made easier, faster and without cream of soups.
Instant Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper
With just a little more effort than making a boxed meal you can have a homemade creamy tomato basil beef pasta meal. And with the help of your Instant Pot it takes just a few minutes.
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Quick tasty dinner. I used rotisserie chicken yet it tasted like tuna noodle casserole from when I was a kid. Good to keep in the back pocket!
THANKS Donna! 🤩
I used a can of tuna because that’s what I had. It was a great, quick nostalgic tuna casserole. Easy with pantry staples. Thanks!
Thanks Donna! Glad you liked it 🙂
I made this for dinner last night. I omitted the peas as I didn’t have them. I thought the recipe was good. It was a quick meal to make and had dinner on the table in under a half hour. I would have preferred it to be a bit more creamy. I will make it again and double the cream cheese and milk.
Creamier is a good idea!!
What size tuna would you use
I would probably use 2 (4 ounce) cans