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.
Instant Pot Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Sometimes my husband works from home. When I made this instant pot garlic chicken alfredo pasta he happened to be home and we both scarfed it down before the kids got home from school. 🙂 It is so creamy and delicious. I would totally make this weekly!
Notes about the recipe:
- This makes only 4 servings, maybe 3 if you have bigger eaters. So you may want to double the recipe. Just double the ingredients but not the cooking time.
- The chicken cooks in the 3 minute pressure cook time because it’s cut into bite size pieces. This means you won’t be able to use frozen chicken for this recipe.
- You can make this without the chicken and it will be still be delicious!
- You can use other types of pasta besides penne. I would suggest cavatappi, rotini or ziti.
More Instant Pot Alfredo recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Meatballs and Pasta
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Salsa Pasta
Instant Pot Bacon Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Squash
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pasta I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
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Instant Pot Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pasta
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A creamy parmesan garlic sauce envelopes penne pasta and bites of chicken. A quick family dinner made in your electric pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 packed Tbsp of minced garlic
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 8 ounces uncooked penne rigate
- 1 cup half and half
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
- Optional: parsley for garnish and red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting and when it says HOT add in the butter. Swirl the pot around until butter is melted. Add in the chicken and salt and pepper and garlic. And just lightly saute for only about 30-60 seconds. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
- Add chicken broth and penne.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When the time is up let the pot sit there for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting. Stir in the half and half and parmesan cheese. To thicken the sauce stir 1 Tbsp cornstarch together with 1 Tbsp of cold water and then stir the mixture into the pot. The sauce will thicken up fairly quickly.
- Give a couple shakes of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper into the pot. Scoop onto plates and enjoy! If desired top with a little parsley and red pepper flakes.
Notes
This recipe makes no more than 4 servings. You can easily double this recipe. Just double all the ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
I prefer thighs for this recipe because they stay more tender than breasts. You can also leave out the chicken! Just saute the garlic by itself and add in the rest of the ingredients.
To make gluten free: Double check the chicken broth to be sure it does not contain gluten. Substitute noodles for GF noodles and decrease cook time by 1 minute.
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: pasta, alfredo, 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.
It was excellent. Used thighs this time but will try with breasts next time.
★★★★★
Thanks Sharon! I think both would work great!
Awesome! I used whole wheat penne and added a minute to the cook time. When finished with the pasta and chicken, I added broccoli and set to pressure cook for zero minutes. Everything came out perfect. Great recipe – thanks.
★★★★★
Good idea on the broccoli! 👏👏👏
I had no 1/2 and 1/2 so I googled a substitution and used 4 1/2 teaspoons of melted butter and milk to 1 cup. This is so delicious!!!!!! Thank goodness I doubled it!! Next time I will triple it!! I have the big IP.
★★★★★
Good call!!
Would you still recommend cutting the recipe in half for the 3 qt Instapot given the smaller serving size?
I am dairy free. Can I use coconut milk or cream in stead of half and half?
I am dairy free. Can coconut milk or cream be used instead of half and half?
Sure that would work.
Made this tonight. Very tasty! I used minced garlic from a jar. I use fresh garlic with other cooking methods, but I think jarred is perfect for the instant pot. I followed the directions other than being very generous with the parmesan, using 1 tsp cornstarch & water at the end instead of 1 Tbsp, and omitting the last step because it didn’t need extra seasoning in my opinion.
★★★★★
I like using the jarred garlic too! It is so convenient.
Could we use Garlic Base Better than Bouillon instead of chicken broth. I think it could add some additional flavor?
Yes that stuff is great! I think it would be amazing. Good call 🙂
Hi Karen,
I have a question before I try this recipe, please. My husband is not a big fan of pasta, but since we got our instant pot, he’s pretty much eating whatever I put in front of him. The problem he has is that he has difficulty chewing, so al dente pasta won’t work for him. What is the consistency of the pasta in this dish? If it’s al dente, then how much longer would I need to cook it to assure that it’s soft?
Thanks,
Phyllis
It’s pretty soft! You may just want to cook on the stove to get it perfect though.
Would the cooking time be different with linguine noodles and how would I put them in my instant pot? Thank you
I would break them in half. And look at the back of the box. Divide that number by 2 and subtract 1. Usually it will be about 5 minutes.
I’ve already made this 2x! I used linguine noodles instead, and it’s the best chicken Alfredo I’ve ever eaten!
★★★★★
Very bland. Followed the recipe exactly.
★★★
Could we add broccoli or peas or some other vegetable? If so when and do I change cooking times?
You could add them in. I wouldn’t pressure cook broccoli or peas though since they will get to mushy. I’d just stir them in afterwards.
I can’t wait to try this! Just got our Instant Pot for Christmas and look forward to looking up more of your recipes! I do have an 8 quart, does that affect cooking times/measurements in the recipes? We tried a different recipe that I think was for a 6 quart and we got the burn message our first time trying to use it 🙁 Thanks in advance and I so look forward to making this recipe!
I bet it will be fine since it has 1 3/4 cup broth plus the liquid that comes off the chicken. This only serves 4 though so you may want to double it.
This recipe taste like something from a restaurant. My kids are picky eaters and it always makes me so happy when they asked for seconds. They all did with this meal. Thank you for sharing!!
★★★★★
So nice to hear this!
This is probably the best homemade chicken alfredo recipe I’ve ever made! Family loved it!! Thank you for all your amazing recipes!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you tried it. I couldn’t stop eating it either. Love me some garlic!
Do you have recipes that are for the small 3.5 quart instant pot. We winter in a travel trailer and have limited storage so I have to leave my 6 quart at home 🙁
You can make most any of my recipes. Just halve the recipe. Make sure to have enough liquid though for the pot to come to pressure. Keep the cooking time the same.
Regarding cutting recipes down, ChefTap is an easy to use app. You can cut them down (scale) or when needed revert to the original sized recipe. It’s excellent! Try it.
This sounds fabulous. Unfortunately, I do not have an instant pot. Any ideas how to adapt this to crockpot?
This one is not a good candidate for the crockpot. Pasta gets weird and mushy in the slow cooker. You could possibly make this on the stovetop though.
Do you have a recommendation for stovetop directions?
I would cook the pasta according to directions on the box.
Then melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat in a pan on stove. Add in the pieces of chicken and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Season with salt, pepper. Add in the garlic and saute for 20 seconds. Pour in 1 cup of broth and the half and half and heat through. Thicken with a cornstarch slurry. Toss in the drained pasta and coat it with the sauce. Add in parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
Can I use Heavy Whipping Cream instead of Half and Half? This recipe seems really simple and yummy.
★★★★★
totally!