Instant Pot Monterey Spaghetti–creamy chicken (or turkey) spaghetti with lots of flavor from Monterey jack cheese, seasonings and french-fried onions. This recipe is going to instantly be a family favorite!
Instant Pot Monterey Spaghetti
This is kind of like carbonara meets chicken tetrazzini meets green bean casserole. It’s really good. My whole family agreed that this is a “make again” recipe. It was creamy and cheesy and flavorful.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
- Spaghetti–broken into 2 inch pieces
- Spinach–I used fresh but you can also use frozen
- Chopped, cooked rotisserie chicken or leftover turkey–You can also use 1 pound raw chicken like chicken breasts or thighs that are cut into bite size pieces
- Sour cream–or plain yogurt
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Kosher salt–or half as much table salt
- Black pepper
- Egg
- Grated or shredded parmesan cheese
- Monterey jack cheese–shredded off the block is best
- French-fried onions–I find these at the grocery store next to the green beans
Steps
- Layer in the ingredients: Pour broth into Instant Pot. Add the spaghetti in a criss-cross pattern. Dump the spinach and chicken on top. 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.
- Prepare sauce: While the food is pressure cooking stir the sour cream, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, pepper, egg and parmesan cheese together until smooth and creamy.
- Release pressure: When time is up on the Instant Pot let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in creamy mixture: Stir in the sour cream mixture, Monterey jack cheese and 1 cup of the french-fried onions.
- Bake or air fry: Sprinkle the remaining french-fried onions on top. If you have an air fryer lid, air fry for 3 minutes at 325 degrees. If you don’t have an air fryer lid you can scrape the mixture into a baking dish and bake with the crispy onions on top for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with roasted vegetables like broccoli or a side salad.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 8 quart pot. Halve the recipe in the 3 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 french-fried onions are Instant Pot French Onion Broccoli Casserole, Instant Pot Crispy Cowboy Casserole or Instant Pot Cowboy Meatloaf Potato Casserole.
More Recipes with Spaghetti…
- Instant Pot Southern Chicken Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Firefighter’s Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Greek Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Spaghetti
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.
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Instant Pot Monterey Spaghetti
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 19 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Creamy chicken or turkey spaghetti with lots of flavor from Monterey jack cheese, seasonings and french-fried onions. This recipe is going to instantly be a family favorite!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
- 4 cups loosely packed spinach
- 2 cups chopped, cooked rotisserie chicken or turkey (or 1 pound raw chicken, cut into bite size pieces)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1–2 cups (4–8 ounces) shredded Monterey jack cheese, depending how cheesy you like it
- 2 cups french-fried onions, divided
Instructions
- Pour broth into Instant Pot. Add the spaghetti in a criss-cross pattern. Dump the spinach and chicken on top. 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.
- While the food is pressure cooking stir the sour cream, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, pepper, egg and parmesan cheese together until smooth and creamy.
- When time is up on the Instant Pot let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the sour cream mixture, Monterey jack cheese and 1 cup of the french-fried onions.
- Sprinkle the remaining french-fried onions on top. If you have an air fryer lid, air fry for 3 minutes at 325 degrees. If you don’t have an air fryer lid you can scrape the mixture into a baking dish and bake with the crispy onions on top for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
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if I want to double the recipe…should I change the timing on the IP?
AMAZING recipe! Hubs loved it!
★★★★★
I would keep the timing the same 🙂
Wow! This was delicious! The flavor was rich and creamy-a definite winner with my kiddos! It came together really quickly with time to shred my own cheese while it was in the pot. This is going on what I call our “guest worthy” list!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the nice review Nicki!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars Anna!
Any idea how to modify this for conventional cooking without an instant pot (ours just broke)?
This is how I would do it:
Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.
In a bowl stir together cooked spaghetti, spinach and chicken.
Stir the sour cream, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, pepper, egg and parmesan cheese together until smooth and creamy.
Stir in the sour cream mixture, Monterey jack cheese and 1 cup of the french-fried onions with the spaghetti.
Spread the mixture into a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Sprinkle the remaining french-fried onions on top.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Making this tonight in the oven and I see your explanation on how you’d do that but i’m not seeing the chicken broth so I guess you just skip that step if you’re going the oven route?
right, because in the ip recipe it’s used to cook the spaghetti. but you’ll do that on the stovetop in water.
A little bit too cheesy. I would use less cheese and more broth/sour cream. Wouldn’t recommend with Turkey. The flavours don’t quite jive.
★★
Was not what I expected. Pasta was stuck and raw. Horrible. Gross. Not edible.
I actually haven’t made this yet but could you use zucchini noodles? Fresh or frozen?
★★★★★
I don’t think so. They would get way too mushy!
Howdy Karen
This is Jim Bob: A couple of weeks ago I fixed Instant pot “Monterey Spaghetti”, a friend came to over, he liked it so much, I heard that he suggested bringing Instant Pot “Monterey Spaghetti” to the next church potluck. Several people said it was a “great Idea” … each selected a different recipe. Now (to me) that sounds like the beginning of some fun and good eating. Up till today the potluck favorites are mostly family favorites recipes … some are considered pretty good, some are very good, now we will have a new category of WOW. Thank again Karen.
★★★★★
Loved this recipe! I used fresh chicken, freshly grated pepper jack cheese, and 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan/Asiago blend. I didn’t have an air fryer lid and didn’t want to bake the pasta (felt it may dry it out), so I just topped the bowls of pasta with the extra crispy onions and served. Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
Thanks Kim for the 5 stars!
Love this recipe. My grandkids come over for dinner at the last minute and ask for this dish. I always have a bag of rotisserie chicken that I picked off the bones and froze so I can quickly throw this together!
★★★★★
You’re a good grandma!! Thanks for the 5 stars 🙂
Most pot recipes do not appeal to me, meh at best. I jokingly call it my ‘ corn beef’ cooker as that is the only thing I have found that is better in the pot. Recently added pot roast to that list and now this recipe- it was a hit! It has the carbonara vibe ( a dish we love in our house) and it is very tasty. Only advice I would give is more broth, perhaps after the pressure cook so you can get the amount right. Once I added the cream and the cheese it was very thick and seized up a bit. I think warm broth added at the end would produce more of a sauce.
★★★★★
Yes! good tip on the broth! Thanks!
Can this receipe be done in a slow cooker?
I haven’t tried this one in a slow cooker. I’m skeptical on how the noodles would turn out.
Gobble! Gobble! Perfect recipe for today. Will whole wheat spaghetti work? Same time?
Yes same time! should be great
Maybe we’re wusses but that’s too much garlic for us. Next time we’re going to use 1/2 a tap and see how it goes.
★★★★
Okay good to know! It was fine for us but we are garlic lovers.
I’m trying to prep more freezer meals while I have a little time. Would this be a good meal to cook fully (except the air fryer step at the end) and then freeze later to reheat?
I think that it would work!
Emily, I was just wondering the same thing! Did you freeze it? If so how’ did it come out?
Very nice and easy, cheesy. I only had about 1/4 cup of sour cream so I added Boursin. That added a bunch of flavor. I only had mozzarella and Parmesan so used that. Versatile recipe and done in minutes! Try Boursin if you make it! Maybe 1/2 and 1/2 ratio.
★★★★★
good idea on the Boursin!!! will have to try that
The recipe sounds delicious but we do not like spinach. Would I add more chicken broth to compensate for the loss of moisture by not adding spinach?
Nah, it’s okay you don’t need to add more liquid. Should be fine!
Quick and easy. My hubby said he really liked it (I’m trying to diet and only had a taste) and asked me to put more spinach and add some fresh mushrooms! Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
I love the idea of more spinach and mushrooms!
Fantastic! Definitely has a spot in the rotation.
Thank you so much Lance!
Made this last night, it was delicious! I’ll make it again.
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars Chris!
I have the 8qt duocrisp. If I make this in the regular pot, can I put the air fryer lid on without using the sir fryer liner or will that damage the stainless steel pot?
I use an air fryer lid on top of my stainless steel liner and it works great
Jeanie
Do you adjust the time if using raw chicken?
No you will keep the same time for raw chicken. Just make sure it is cut into bite size pieces
Would additional liquid be required if using ziti instead of spaghetti noodles?
No, as long as you use the same amount it will be the same liquid.
In a carbonara, the residual heat from the pasta cooks the eggs. But it becomes more of a sauce. I believe that’s what’s going on here. I can’t wait to make this!
Yes that’s right!
Hi, I’m just curious about the egg being uncooked. Did I miss a step?
Like Katie said, the residual heat from the pasta cooks the egg.