Instant Pot Chicken Florentine Pasta—flavorful orecchiette pasta, chicken and spinach in a parmesan cheese sauce made quickly with only a handful of ingredients and all in one pot.
Instant Pot Chicken Florentine Pasta
This is such as easy recipe and I quite loved the flavor. I also loved the little orecchiette pasta as a fun change of pace from the normal shapes of pasta I usually use. The spinach gives the dish a pop of color and some added nutrition. Another choice would be to add in steamed broccoli for the same effect. Try out this Instant Pot chicken Florentine pasta for dinner this week!
What kind of pasta can I use?
I used orecchiette pasta which is just so fun! It’s name comes from their shape, which resembles a small ear. I found the DeLallo brand at my local Smiths (Kroger). Some other choices that would work well are penne, rigatoni, cavatappi, rotini or macaroni noodles. I did try this with orzo and the orzo burned to the bottom of the pot, so stay away from that.
What cut of chicken can I use?
I used chicken tenderloins which is a strip of breast meat. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are cut into the size of tenderloins. The reason you want the chicken to be smaller is so that it can cook at the same rate as the pasta. Another good choice would be to use boneless, skinless thighs and cut them into bite size pieces. They stay so moist and tender in the Instant Pot and taste amazing.
Use thawed meat (not frozen) so that it will cook at the same rate as the pasta. If you want to use frozen bite size chunks of chicken that would work also. You can use cooked rotisserie chicken or canned chicken if you prefer. But skip sauteing it with the onions.
What kind of parmesan cheese can I use?
You can grate your own parmesan cheese off the block or you can buy the pre-shredded stuff in a bag. You can even use the stuff in a green can.
What spinach should I use?
I buy the big bag of fresh spinach from Costco and just coarsely chop it up for this recipe. You can also use frozen spinach. Although I would try to squeeze as much moisture from it as possible before adding it into the pot.
Can I make this without pasta for the keto diet?
If you decide to make this without pasta there will be a lot of extra liquid since the pasta soaks it all up. Reduce the broth amount down to ½ cup for a 3 or 6 quart pot and 1 cup for an 8 quart pot. Add mushrooms as a great low carb filler. Or perhaps serve it over riced cauliflower.
More Recipes You will Love…
Instant Pot Ziti and Meatballs
Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Pasta
Instant Pot Alfredo Sausage Pasta
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Instant Pot Chicken Florentine Pasta
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Flavorful orecchiette pasta, chicken and spinach in a parmesan cheese sauce made quickly with only a handful of ingredients and all in one pot.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
- 1/4–1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 pound (8 oz) uncooked orecchiette pasta
- 2–3 cups loosely packed spinach, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says hot add in the butter and swirl it around to melt. Add in the onion. Add in the chicken and sprinkle it with kosher salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Stir often until onions are soft, about 4-5 minutes. Then add in the garlic and saute for 20 seconds.
- Pour in the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pot. Add in the pasta and press it down so it’s covered by liquid as much as possible.
- Cover the pot and lock the lid into place. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When the time is up let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the chopped spinach and the parmesan cheese. Scoop into bowls and enjoy.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can use an 8 quart pot or 3 quart pot with no changes to the recipe.
- Category: Chicken
- 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.
You have so many great recipes, but this one is definitely a family favorite! I’ve made it several times before, and I made it again tonight. Gave it a bit of a Greek spin by using Greek seasoning instead of Italian seasoning and adding chopped sun-dried tomatoes and sliced kalamata olives when I added in the spinach. SO good!
★★★★★
your version sounds sooooo amazing!!!!
Is 8 ounces enough for 5 servings?
4 large servings or 5-6 smallish servings
Just found this recipe, which sounds delicious. Question: the recipe states 1 lb pasta, yet it then says (8 oz). Since a pound is 16 oz, I’m wondering which is correct. TYIA
It is 8 oz or .5 pounds
Another winner! Good thing I doubled the recipe!!!!!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Karin!
Reduced the pasta a bit and increased the spinach. Def a keeper in our house as well as in my son’s family.
★★★★★
Great! I love spinach and more is a good thing 🙂
I added some sliced fresh mushrooms after the chicken and onions had sauteed for a bit, and sauteed it for another minute or so. Also added a couple of shakes of nutmeg in with the spinach. Topped it off with hot pepper flakes. Good!
★★★★★
Sounds like a winner!
Wondering if ditalini pasta could be substituted. Love searching for recipes on your 365days website.
yes but I think they cook pretty quickly. Cut up chicken into bite size pieces and use a 3 minute cooking time.
Thank you for quick response
Excited to try tonight
Made this last night and the family loved it! When would you recommend adding the garlic, with the onion to sauté or with the rest of the spices? Thank you!
★★★★★
Sorry just added that bit of info to the recipe card. I added it in after the chicken so it wouldn’t burn.
Can this be made with gluten free pasta?
I haven’t tried that Michael. Have you had success with gluten free pasta in the Instant Pot? If so I would say yes you could do that.
Did you ever try this with gluten free pasta?
Can you tell me what a serving size is on this dish? I am diabetic and need to watch my carb load. BTW, I have really enjoyed your recipes.
If I want to add sun dried tomatoes to this, when would I do that? Thanks in advance!
WONDERFUL idea! I would add them in drained and chopped after the pressure cooking cycle is up when you add in the spinach and parmesan.
Thank you for the info. I love that you respond to questions because often, your answers help me to tweak recipes for our family. Greatly appreciated!
You’re welcome!
What other kind of pastas will work? In rural Canada there isn’t much to choose from besides the basics.
Do they have macaroni? What options do you have there?
I’ve made this with penne (one of our fav pastas). I didn’t have parmesan so I use mozzarella.
It was amazing
Good to know! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Hi Karen, the 5 stars are for the wow factor of this dish, but I want to ask something before I have my way with this. Could the chicken go in without sauteing first? It seems like it would fully cook under the 5 minutes pressure, but your answer will be what I listen to. Thank you.
★★★★★
Yes it for sure can! I just did it to give it some color and flavor with the onions and seasonings.
Now I can officially give huge thanks for your recipe, as well as responding to my query of not sauteing the chicken first. We had this last night, and it was fantastic. I did add the un-cooked chicken with the orecchiette, and it came out perfectly…..that was a big understatement! I used the equivalent weight of boneless/skinless thighs that I had cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces. I opted to allow the full 10 minutes of natural release due to using dark meat chicken. Thank you again Karen for all that you do for the Instant Pot community. Your site is cherished.
★★★★★
Oh wow this is so nice to hear Jeff! Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
I too am a huge fan of your recipes Karen! Never had one we didn’t like!
I want to make this recipe and I think I will need to double it. What’ should I do for cooking time? Thanks!
Same cooking time! https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/