Instant Pot Fireman’s Pasta–penne pasta with chicken, bruschetta, spinach, garlic and parmesan cheese. A simple recipe with amazing flavor!

Instant Pot Fireman’s Pasta
With plenty of seasonings and the use of a jar of bruschetta you’re going to have the most flavorful pasta dish ever! This fireman’s pasta is going to be a recipe you’ll want to print off and use often. It’s practically a dump and go recipe (besides sauteeing the garlic) so it doesn’t take hardly any effort to make.
For convenience sake I dumped in a bag of frozen rotisserie chicken. I like to buy 2 rotisserie chickens each time I go to Costco (can’t beat that $4.99 price!). Then I take the meat off of the bones and store about 2-3 cups of chicken in Ziplock bagg in the freezer. When I need a quick meal I just grab a bag out of the freezer and use it in recipes like fireman’s pasta. I don’t even thaw the chicken…I just throw it in frozen. If you’d like you can use a pound of ground turkey or ground beef that has been browned instead of the chicken.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Olive oil
- Minced garlic–fresh or jarred
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
- Penne–or ziti
- Cooked, chopped chicken–I used rotisserie chicken. You can also use raw chicken (about 1 ½ pounds) that has been cut into small, bite size pieces. It will cook along with the pasta in 4 minutes.
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Italian seasoning
- Smoked paprika
- Red pepper flakes
- Spinach
- Delallo tomato bruschetta–I found this next to the pasta and pasta sauces on the top shelf
- Parmesan cheese–shredded or grated
Steps
- Saute the garlic: Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Pour in the broth so that garlic doesn’t burn.
- Layer in the ingredients: Turn off Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the penne. Dump in the chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, red pepper flakes. Add in plenty of spinach, about 2 big handfuls. Dump in the bruschetta. Don’t stir.
- Pressure cook: 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.
- Serve: Stir well. Scoop onto plates and sprinkle each serving with a tablespoon of parmesan cheese.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with garlic bread and a green salad.
- What can I use besides chicken? Try using a pound of cooked ground turkey or ground beef or ground Italian sausage (cut out most of salt and seasonings if you use sausage).
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- This recipe can be doubled in the 8 quart pot or 1.5x in the 6 quart pot. Reduce cooking time to 2 minutes if you are doubling the recipe and to 3 minutes if you are 1.5x-ing the recipe.
- 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 spinach are Instant Pot Creamy Tortellini, Spinach And Chicken Soup and Instant Pot Spinach Artichoke Dip.
- Recipe loosely adapted from Happily from Scratch.

More Instant Pot Penne Recipes
Instant Pot Creamy Turkey Spinach Penne
Saucy penne pasta with ground turkey, tomatoes, green chiles, cumin, cream cheese and spinach. Make it fast in the electric pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Penne in Cajun Mustard Cream Sauce
Make this Instant Pot Penne in Cajun Mustard Cream Sauce for a quick and easy weeknight meal. With options to prepare it with andouille sausage or meatless you can make everyone happy.
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.Print

Instant Pot Fireman’s Pasta
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 19 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Penne pasta with chicken, bruschetta, spinach, garlic and parmesan cheese. A simple recipe with amazing flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces penne
- 3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- Spinach
- 1 (9.88 oz) jar Delallo tomato bruschetta
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Pour in the broth so that garlic doesn’t burn.
- Turn off Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the penne. Dump in the chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, red pepper flakes. Add in plenty of spinach, about 2 big handfuls. Dump in the bruschetta. 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 well. Scoop onto plates and sprinkle each serving with a tablespoon of parmesan cheese.
- 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.
This came out really well! We doubled the recipe for our 8 quart Instant Pot using your notes, and we used a rotisserie chicken. We didn’t have the bruschetta, so we substituted 2 10-oz cans of tomatoes with green chilies. And we only had frozen spinach, so we used a 12-oz package of “steam-in-bag” frozen spinach. It was delicious, and my husband asked for seconds. Thank you, Karen, for this wonderful recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad it worked with what you had on hand!
Hanaford has Delallo Tomato Bruschetta
I can’t find the bruschetta. What could I substitute? Can I make fresh as a substitute?
You could make fresh. But stir it in after the pressure cooking time is up
How do you make the bruschetta, do you have a recipe?
I don’t have a recipe, I’ve never made it. But maybe the old google machine would help? This looks good: https://www.cookingclassy.com/bruschetta-recipe/
Can I use olive tapenade?
I think that may be a little strong. So if you do use it only add a little and then add more to taste.
can I use Cavatappi?
yes! it will be great with either.