Instant Pot Henny Penny Chicken–penne pasta and chicken in a creamy white sauce…better than alfredo!

Instant Pot Henny Penny Chicken
This recipe is super fast and easy and the results were superb! We scraped the pot clean on this one. This was a better version of chicken alfredo pasta and an easier version too…win-win!
I love this recipe because it is a dump and go recipe. Help yourself out and keep cooked, chopped chicken ready to go in the freezer. My go-to is buying a couple rotisserie chickens from Costco each time I go, removing the meat and storing in 2 cups increments in the freezer. It’s the perfect help to get dinner going in a hurry.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Water
- Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Chopped, cooked chicken–I used rotisserie chicken
- Penne pasta–or another short cut pasta like Rigatoni, Farfalle, Orecchiette, Cavatappi
- Garlic powder–or granulated garlic
- Black pepper
- Kosher salt
- Cream cheese–or Neufchâtel cheese
- Sour cream–or Greek yogurt
- Parmesan cheese
Steps
Pour water into Instant Pot. Stir in the bouillon. Add in the chicken. Sprinkle in the pasta, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Place the cream cheese on top.

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 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.

Stir in the sour cream.

Scoop onto plates, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

Notes/Tips
- Serve with a side of roasted or steamed broccoli and garlic bread.
- 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 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with the other half of the brick of cream cheese are It Ain’t Happening Casserole and Loaded Million Dollar Casserole.
- If you use another type of pasta you may need to adjust the cooking time. Here is the formula: look at the back of the box of pasta and see how many minutes it says to boil the pasta. If it’s 10 minutes you divide that number by 2 (=5) and then subtract 2 minutes. So you would pressure cook for 3 minutes.
- This recipe was adapted from Food.com.

More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes You’ll Love…
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Meatballs
Chicken meatballs are served alongside pasta with an easy, homemade alfredo sauce. Pasta, meatballs and sauce are all cooked in one pot–your Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup
A creamy tortellini soup with chicken, vegetables and parmesan cheese. If you love chicken alfredo you’ll love this soup!
Instant Pot Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pasta
A creamy parmesan garlic sauce envelopes penne pasta and bites of chicken. A quick family dinner made in your electric pressure cooker.
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.


Instant Pot Henny Penny Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 14 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Penne pasta and chicken in a creamy white sauce…better than alfredo!
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tbsp Better than Bouillon chicken base
- 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (I used rotisserie chicken)
- 8 ounces penne pasta
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Parmesan cheese, for topping
Instructions
- Pour water into Instant Pot. Stir in the bouillon. Add in the chicken. Sprinkle in the pasta, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Place the cream cheese on top.
- 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 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the sour cream.
- Scoop onto plates, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot

*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.
How about using a slow cooker? This does look and sound delicious!
I haven’t tried it in the slow cooker yet. But I think it could work okay. I would add all ingredients except sour cream and parmesan into the slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low 4 hours. Stir in the sour cream and parmesan.
Do you have to use an Instant Pot? Can I use a regular cooking pot? This recipe sounds so delicious! I really want to make it, but I don’t have an. Instant Pot.
Thanks!
Kathy
I haven’t tried this on the stove but you could try it. I would cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta. Then add in the remaining ingredients and heat through until the cream cheese melts and everything is combined.
Tasty! I didn’t have cream cheese, so substituted Boursin garlic spread. It was delicious & definitely will make again!
Yum that sounds amazing!
Thank you for all the delicious recipes you post on your website. This was an easy, quick recipe to prepare. My husband, who is a picky eater, had seconds. The next time I make this, I will be putting in a couple of frozen spinach pucks.
★★★★★
GREAT idea!
wow, this was really good and I spent very little time putting it together. I did substitute cooked turkey breast that I had on hand and I knew the guys wouldn’t use it for their sandwiches as they like dark meat. Everyone gobbled (pun intended) this up and said to make it again.. Awesome dinner to take out to the field during harvest.
Good idea on using the turkey!