Instant Pot Cranky Mom Dinner–when you’re too tired, overwhelmed, busy or cranky to make dinner make this EASY dump and go pasta recipe in your Instant Pot. It’s only got 6 ingredients and a 1 minute pressure cooking time and all your kids will like it!
Instant Pot Cranky Mom Dinner
Okay it’s that time of year when there is tons of stuff on the calendar every single night for moms and dads! End of year performances, soccer and baseball games, concerts, graduations, etc. all take up time and make us parents overtired and stretched thin. I often get cranky when I have too much stuff going on. It’s not my favorite thing to be busy. I like to keep my calendar very blank if I can…lol! So if you’re like me and you can feel yourself getting tense and cranky and you realize that people in your house still need dinner tonight then make this dinner. It’s super fast, easy and it tastes great. Throw stuff in the pot and walk away!
With chicken, pasta and spaghetti sauce you know most kids will like this dinner. There is a little twist with the addition of cream cheese. The cream cheese turns the sauce a little pink-orange and it kind of creates a marinara-alfredo type of taste.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Cooked chicken–I used frozen Rotisserie chicken. I buy the chicken at Costco and remove the meat and store it in ziplock bags in my freezer in 2-3 cup increments. It comes in handy for recipes like this one!
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon
- Egg noodles–or another type or pasta like penne (4 minutes) or rotini (3 minutes)
- Marinara sauce–use your favorite brand of spaghetti sauce
- Cream cheese–or you can stir in a half cup of tempered sour cream after the pressure cooking time is over
- Shredded cheese–I used a cheddar, mozzarella and provolone blend that I bought at Sam’s Club
Steps
Add chicken and broth into Instant Pot. I used frozen rotisserie chicken and 1 Tbsp Better than Bouillon chicken base with 3 cups water.
Sprinkle in the the egg noodles. The broth won’t cover the noodles and that’s okay.
Dump marinara sauce evenly over the noodles. Add the cream cheese on top. We are layering the dish so we don’t get the burn error message.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute for egg noodles (other types of pasta will need more time). When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Stir. Sprinkle cheese on top and let melt or stir it in.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- If you’d like you can serve a green salad and some garlic bread alongside this dinner.
- You can use any other type of short cut pasta that you like. To figure out pressure cooking time you will just take the stove top time on the back of the box and divide by two and then subtract 1 minute.
- If you want to make this dairy-free leave out the cream cheese and the cheese.
- If you want to make this meat-free then use veggie broth and leave out the chicken.
- 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 rotisserie chicken: 30+ Ways To Use A Costco Chicken
More EASY Instant Pot Recipes…
Instant Pot Cheater Beef Stew
If you’re looking for the easiest beef stew recipe you may have found it! This recipe is made quickly in your Instant Pot and requires little to no prep and only 5 ingredients. No sauteing, chopping or browning. And best of all it tastes great!
Instant Pot Busy Day Soup
Meatball, macaroni and veggie soup made in just a few minutes!
Instant Pot Tired Mom Soup
A shockingly easy and tasty ground beef and potato soup. It’s made in minutes in your Instant Pot and is perfect for a day you just don’t feel like exerting lots of effort into cooking dinner!
Instant Pot Lazy Wife’s Dinner
Instant Pot Lazy Wife’s Dinner could also be called “busy day dinner” because whether you feel like being lazy or you’re too busy to make an involved dinner this easy recipe has got you covered. Start with a pound of ground beef and end with a hot dinner that your family will love.
Instant Pot Lazy Girl’s Enchilada Casserole
For those days that you just don’t want to make dinner! Try this flavorful, fast and easy enchilada casserole with smoked sausage, salsa, green chiles, tortillas and pepper jack cheese.
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 Cranky Mom Dinner
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 11 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
When you’re too tired, overwhelmed, busy or cranky to make dinner make this EASY dump and go pasta recipe in your Instant Pot. It’s only got 6 ingredients and a 1 minute pressure cooking time and all your kids will like it!
Ingredients
- 2–3 cups rotisserie chicken, chopped
- 3 cups broth
- 1 (12 oz) package egg noodles (or 12 ounces of another type of pasta)
- 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheese (I used a cheddar, mozzarella and provolone blend)
Instructions
- Add chicken and broth into Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the the egg noodles. Dump marinara sauce evenly over the noodles. Add 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 1 minute for egg noodles (other types of pasta will need more time). When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir. Sprinkle cheese on top and let melt. Serve and enjoy!
- 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.
I just made this mostly according to the recipe. I used the whole rotisserie chicken and the whole cream cheese. OMG, it was so good!
so glad you loved it! Thanks Angela 🙂
Hie! Excited to make this! How long for uncooked chicken?
you’ll want to cut the chicken into small 1/2 inch pieces and then pressure cook for 2 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.
Can I use a crock pot instead and if so how long should I cook it for? Can I use raw chicken?
This was DELICIOUS!!! I did not have rotisserie chicken, I used one and a half pounds of fresh chicken tenderloins each cut up into3 pieces and I used about 3/4 of the bag of pasta just because I was unsure how it would’ve cooked, probably could use the whole bag, but 3/4 was OK, I love cream cheese and used the block of 8oz And I cooked it for two minutes came out perfect !!! I totally want to make this again!!!
Good job! Your version sounds like it was perfect!
What if using in cooked chicken tenderloins about 1 pound?
I might just cook for 1 minute longer and place them in the bottom of the pot so they are closest to the heating element.
Sounds yummy. 😋
How long to pressure cook if I use uncooked, cubed, BLSL chicken thighs?
I would cut them small and do 2 minutes.
I made this last night…..was a little unsure, but it was really good! I used Costco rotisserie chicken and egg noodles. instead of marinara I used 2 cans of tomato sauce and added oregano, garlic, salt and pepper to it. After I released it, I added shredded mozzarella and colby jack. it turned out perfect and delicious. Easy and quick!
So glad you liked it Meagan! And way to use what you had at your house!
How many minutes cooking time if using pasta, such as elbow macaroni?
I’d do 3 minutes
Are there any adjustments if you use cooked non-frozen chicken? Or if the chicken is shredded?
nope…keep the recipe the same!
Could spaghetti sauce be used in place of marinara sauce?
yes!