Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta—with just a handful of ingredients you can make a creamy and zesty pasta and chicken in your Instant Pot. An easy weeknight dump and go recipe!
Related: SLOW COOKER olive garden chicken pasta recipe
Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
I saw the slow cooker version of this recipe on facebook and knew that I needed to try it in the Instant Pot. I love making pasta in the Instant Pot. No more waiting for the water to boil and then worrying that it will boil over. Just add water/broth and pasta to your Instant Pot, put the lid on and walk away. It gives me warm, fuzzy feelings every time I think about it.
Have you tried the Olive Garden salad dressing that you can buy at your grocery store? We always have it on hand and eat it on salads most days of the week. Sometimes I use the lower fat option and sometimes the original dressing. Both are good (definitely the original is better though). This recipe uses the Olive Garden salad dressing for lots of zesty flavor.
My version of this Instant Pot olive garden chicken pasta uses way less dressing than the original recipe (I found the original amount to be way too overpowering). Plus I added in some sundried tomatoes and basil for extra color and flavor. They are totally optional though. Another choice would be to throw a can of diced tomatoes in with the pasta and chopped spinach. Those are two things I always have on hand at my house.
The chicken I used was boneless skinless chicken breasts that I cut into bite size pieces. The chicken was partially frozen when I cut it up. I find that cutting halfway frozen meats is so much easier than fresh/thawed meats. Another good option is to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs which always stay moist and tender in the Instant Pot. You can also use fresh chicken tenders with this recipe. Since they are so small and thin they will cook just fine in the 3 minute cooking time. Unfortunately throwing in whole frozen chicken breasts is not an option in this recipe since the pasta only needs about 3 minutes to cook and whole chicken breasts wouldn’t cook in that amount of time.
More Chicken and Pasta Recipes…
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Alfredo–Amanda said, “Oh my gosh thank you for this recipe; turned out wonderful even though I had to sub cornstarch for flour and only had green beans. It will still be a hit in my house!”
- Instant Pot Chicken Florentine Pasta–Hila said, “Made this last night and the family loved it!”
- Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Pasta–Joyce said, ” It was delicious! This will definitely go in my rotation.”
- Instant Pot Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pasta–Devin said, “I’ve already made this 2x! I used linguine noodles instead, and it’s the best chicken Alfredo I’ve ever eaten!”
- Instant Pot White Chicken Lasagna–Ashley said, “First time Instant Pot user and I made this recipe. I have three boys (four if you count my husband, which I usually do because he is the biggest kid of them all..ha) ages: 1, 3, & 13 and they all loved this. Everyone went back for seconds. I will have to double the batch next time.”
Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
With just a handful of ingredients you can make a creamy and zesty pasta and chicken in your Instant Pot. An easy weeknight dump and go recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 (16 oz) box penne pasta (uncooked)
- ¾ cup Olive Garden Signature Italian Salad Dressing
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth (or water + better than bouillon)
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
- 1 (6.7 oz) jar sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped (optional)
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil (optional)
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 2 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Add chicken to bottom of Instant Pot in an even layer. Then layer with the pasta, dressing, broth, pepper and cream cheese. Don’t stir.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the tomatoes, basil and parmesan cheese.
- If sauce is too runny then make a cornstarch slurry. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. In a small bowl stir together 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1-2 Tbsp of water, until smooth.Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly. Turn off Instant Pot. Scoop into bowls and serve.
- 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.
My boyfriend gave this an A+ and said it was delicious. He had no idea how Instant Pots worked so he was really impressed with the 3 min cook time! 😛 Although the sundried toms are optional, I really think they enhance the flavor. When I microwaved leftovers the next day, it was a tad bland, but a light salting picked it right up. I also ate some cold and I think it could be a great summer salad. I’d prob cut the chicken pieces even smaller if I did that, maybe even pulse a bit in the food processor before cooking.
★★★★★
Good ideas! Glad your boyfriend liked it too!
First time making this recipe. PFollowed the recipe exactly. We found it not very flavorful. So I worked on it and adjusted it to our taste so we could have it for dinner.
★
What did you add, in case I have the same problem? I would’ve thought the tomatoes & basil would give lots of flavor.
Thanks for your reply.
For the rest of the world, what would replace the Olive Garden Signature Italian Salad Dressing?
You could use any Italian salad dressing.
I was going to buy regular Aldi branch italian dressing at my Aldi but they happened to have the Olive Garden brand in their seasonal section, which I was not familiar with. It appears to be a creamy italian so if you’re buying a normal brand, I’d look for the creamy italian to be closer in flavor profile.
I found your recipe about a month ago. I’ve cooked it 4 times so far. It is absolutely delicious! I didn’t change a thing!
Thanks Erica! I’m glad you found it and liked it 😊
I loved this when I made it before and have also used Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan garlic sauce instead of Olive Garden dressing before too as a twist.
I got a grocery delivery, and they gave me mini penne instead of penne. Would mini have the same cook time? I’m still getting used to how to adjust cook times with my IP.
I’d use the same time! should be great!
Simply DELICIOUS!!! It Turned out perfectly! This recipe is going on the meal rotation in my home fore sure. Thank you for the great recipe!
★★★★★
my pleasure Tammy!
This was so delicious I made it with bowties my family said it taste just like Olive Gardens. Soo GOOD and easy to make.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you guys liked it!
Delicious! I added onions, bell pepper and asparagus, I will make this again.
Love those ideas!
Hi hi….I can’t wait to make this….I have two Duo Nova Ipots…both are 3 qt size…
would you help with amounts of pasta, liquid, ckn and anything that should be changed…
I’m new with using the Ipot so pls don’t assume I know anything…* I will be using
a paste of tom/basil * I believe I will be making this with diff’t variations often. I am
super excited & going to look now for your book..that’s actually what I thought I
was being led to when I followed a link reading about this recipe somewhere..I think on FB
group.. I’m going to Amazon right this minute ! Thank you soooo much 🙂
Hi there, what I would do is halve the ingredients and keep the same cooking time. Should work great in the 3 quart pot!
Super easy. It’s tasty but hear me out. We roasted Brussel sprouts with bacon, drizzled with balsamic and served it on the side. Ended up mixing it in and it took it to another level. Next time I’m going to play with adding some veggies. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★
I’d eat that!!! sounds fantastic.
This was so good. I added artichokes and used basil paste. After reading some of the reviews I cooked it for 4 instead of 3 min. But next time I think 3 would be fine. The Chicken was a little dry. No slurry needed.
★★★★★
Love the artichoke idea!!
Looks yummy! I would like to try this. Did you cook for three minutes on medium or high pressure?
Hi Lisa, I always use high pressure 🙂
I never have fresh chicken only frozen. Would this work with whole frozen chicken breasts? Or do you have a suggestion for that?
I checked out your recipe after looking at the slow cooker versions. The amount of salad dressing in the slow cooker recipes seemed overwhelming so I was happy to find your version. Your recipe was delicious, faster, and easier than the slow cooker version. We all enjoyed it. Thanks!
★★★★★
So glad to hear you liked it!
I’ve made this a few times but I set it for 10 minutes instead of three to make sure the chicken is done. Always confess out great! Three minutes I didnt trust for the chicken. Great recipe!
★★★★★
*comes out great, not confess lol
★★★★★
Glad it worked out for you!
Does anyone else set cook time for a longer time? Just wondering as 3 minutes seems way too short to me.
It takes a while to come to pressure so that’s why it has a shorter pressure cook time. As it’s reaching pressure it’s cooking.
I am going to make this today. I wonder if you can use just a little less chicken broth like one of the comments somebody made this way it doesn’t come out as liquidy and you don’t need the cornstarch slurry
You could try that. Let me know how it goes!
I used 3 cups. I think I would add just a bit more..
Made this for dinner. It would have tasted great if the ingredients list said FRESH CHOPPED BASIL instead of chopped basil. I ruined this pasta because of that specific part of the recipe. 1/2 cup chopped basil seemed like a lot of chopped basil, then after the pasta was done and ready to eat it didn’t look right and all I could smell and see was BASIL LEAVES. Should probably make sure to edit that step and add FRESH chopped basil so someone doesn’t dump 1/2 cup of just chopped basil. Really need to be specific when it comes to that type of ingredient
★★★
If you looked at the pictures it shows fresh basil.
Sorry you were confused. I updated the recipe.
I can see where that much dried basil would ruin the dish. When I look at an ingredient list, I assume it’s calling for fresh unless it specifies dried.
If I were to make this in a crockpot, what adjustments would you suggest?
here is where I got the idea for this recipe. It is the slow cooker version. It uses much more dressing so I would personally would cut that in half or it will be too overpowering: https://www.themagicalslowcooker.com/slow-cooker-olive-garden-chicken-pasta/
My whole family loved this!!! And I have three boys who don’t usually love pasta! Made it with gf penne and backed off to 2 and 2/3rd cups of broth. It was delicious and we ate it all! This is definitely going to be a regular meal in our house! I can’t believe how quick and easy it was! Thank you so much.
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing your experience with gluten free noodles. This will be helpful for others I’m sure!
First time here… bought an insignia and am using it for the first time. They have different settings and I’m so confused. They have a chicken setting that cooks 20 mins. Is that what I want ?
No definitely not!
Ok thanks… I can set it for chicken and then time set it for whatever time I want. Should I just do 4 mins, or whatever it says in recipe?
That’s what I would do!
I have an Insignia also. You would just use the manual button and set it for the time you want to cook. You do not have to use the chicken mode.
Discovered your blog during quarantine and this is the first recipe i tried- it was fantastic and everyone LOVED it! Thank you so much for posting all these recipes for everyone to try!
★★★★★
You’re welcome Debbie! Thanks for being here.
Hey! I have frozen bite sized chicken and no time to defrost them. Do you think it would work with frozen chicken? Thank you so much!
Yes I think that would be great!
Awesome, and then being frozen would not affect the cooking time?
It’ll be fine, since they are small pieces. Same cooking time.
Awesome, thank you!!
I use chicken breast tenderloins and set mine to 9 or 10 instead of 3
Really is a great tasting meal that is easy to make. it is now on our rotation with the IP. Thank you
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Gregg!
Just made this for first time tonight and me and my whole family love it. So good. And my older kids are picky and loved it
★★★★★
So glad to hear it Melissa!
I added a jar of artichoke hearts and spinach.
★★★★★
Sounds delicious!
This was great. Made it for a few friends and it was a big hit. I was wondering, however, if I wanted to add some mushrooms to this, at what step would you recommend adding them?
★★★★★
I’d add them at the beginning with the chicken.
Glad I waited on the corn starch slurry. The dish thickened right up in the Instant Pot while we were having dinner. It will be perfect for leftovers.
★★★★★
Perfect Melody!
I have everything to make this except the Italian dressing. Do you think I could use ranch dressing instead?
Sure, definitely will taste different. I’d start with half as much so it’s not too overpowering.
We just made this for dinner and it’s a hit with everyone. Will make it again
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Lanna!
This is disgusting. Waste of time and money
I was going to make but was a bit leery of the ingredients 😏
I made this for my family last night and it was a huge hit, even with my 2 year old grandson. I did use the fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes along with some minced garlic. I also doubled the parmesan because there’s no such thing as too much cheese! There are so many ways you can prepare this with different spices and dressings, it’s going to be a staple in our house for sure!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Shelle! Love your ideas.
Amazing simple dish. Perfect consistancy and I used mixed Italian shredded cheese. Fresh tomatoes and basil in a tube…get crazy and modify this recipe!
★★★★★
Good idea on the basil in a tube! I love that stuff.
This was very good! Sun dried tomato and basil were optional but I added them. Also added spinach because I had some. I think these extras made it better. Did not need to make a cornstarch slurry. Karen, looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing your experience Debi!
Loved it!!! Even my picky husband said it’s a keeper! Super easy! Followed the recipe exactly. Like the other reviews posted, I did not need to use the cornstarch and water slurry to thicken. Thanks for the recipe, I will be sharing it with my friends.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Maria!!
What happens if you dump it all in I didn’t read the first part?! Will it still turn out ok
I bet it will still work! Let us know!!!
I don’t comment on many recipes, but this recipe was absolutely amazing! For so few ingredients, it has such a depth of flavor. This recipe is a real time-saver for anyone looking to make a delicious, flavorful meal virtually hands off and in much less than a half hour including the time to with cut up the chicken. I followed the recipe to the letter, and found like other reviewers that the slurry wasn’t needed once it cooled off a bit. Thanks Karen for so many scrumptious recipes we can make in our Instant Pots (and slow cookers).
★★★★★
How fun to hear this Lisa! so glad you liked it!!
Can i double the ingredients but just leave the pasta noodles out. I have a 6qt instapot. Would i double the cook time to 7 min for 3 lbs of chicken?
So you don’t want the pasta at all? You can do that but I would reduce the liquid down since it’s there to cook the pasta. You don’t need to change cooking time for doubled recipes. Find more info on that subject here: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/
Has anyone ever added broccoli to this? And if so when would you put it in?
★★★★★
Broccoli gets done fast in the pressure cooker so I would add it in after the food has pressure cooked.
Perfect! A+
Thank you. Karen!!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it!!
I used a 12oz box of Gluten Free penne & reduced broth to 2 2/3 cups. It turned out great. No cornstarch needed. I also added some chopped Swiss chard before the cooking time and used fresh cherry tomatoes (halved) instead of sun dried tomatoes.
★★★★★
Thanks for the gluten free instructions I’m sure others will find this very helpful!
I accidently bought sundried tomato PESTO. It was awesome. My family LOVES this. I make it at least twice a month. Left overs heat very well.
★★★★★
Pesto is the best!!! That sounds amazing.
I have everything but the cream cheese. Think this would still be good?
Do you have sour cream? Maybe use that as a substitute.
I don’t think we have Olive Garden Italian dressing in stores. Can I just use Italian dressing?
Yep you can do that!
Yes it is! Publix, winn dixie, Costco, Sam’s club and BJs carry it!
Yeah we only have Costco where I live.
Made this tonight for dinner. It was delicious!!
★★★★★
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Stefani!
Was tasty but my pasta was a little too well done for our family’s liking.
★★★★
Sorry to hear that. Next time reduce cooking time by 1-2 minutes perhaps.
Easy to prepare and delicious!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Mary!
Followed the recipe as close as I could. Turned out excellent. Might switch things up next time, but definitely will be a next time.
★★★★★
Glad to hear it Scott!
I want to use half of the pasta you call for but all the chicken (more protein less carbs). Would I cut the liquids in half? Thanks
Yes I would since the liquid is used to cook the pasta.
This was delicious. I followed the recipe exactly except used some cooked spinach as I didn’t have basil. I had corn starch ready to use, but found I didn’t need it at all. The 3 minute cook time and 5 minute NPR was spot on. Karen, I also appreciated the pictures that went along with the directions. (visual learner here) 😀
★★★★★
yay Vicki! Glad it went well for you 😊
Can I double this or would it be to much noodles for the pressure cooker?
I bet you could in an 8 quart. Probably too much for a 6 quart pot.
Could you do this a dump and go freezer meal?
You could freeze the chicken, dressing together. Then day of serving add in pasta, broth and cream cheese. That’s how I would do it.
If I wanted to make this a veggie dish and leave out the chicken what does that do to the cooking time? Thanks
I would leave the cooking time the same. I would add in an extra 1/2 cup of liquid to replace the amount of water that comes off the chicken.
Leaving out the chicken is nuts😭
Great recipe! We love cheese so I threw a small amount more of parm! I also used sun-dried tomatoes that weren’t packed in oil. I didn’t need to use the cornstarch slurry. The only problem was the chicken was a bit rubbery and got lost in the taste of everything else. Would a longer natural pressure release work? But would that affect the cooking of the noodles? Will definitely make agin
★★★★
You could do a longer npr with good results I believe!
Hi Karen..love your blog..today I made the Olive Garden copy cat chicken in my IP..turned out perfect..had everything that I needed..I noticed you used the light dressing..mine was regular..I love this dish..quick and delicious..thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Judith! I used a bit of each actually lol…I like the full fat better.
I hate to look like an idiot here but you don’t specify cooked or uncooked chicken. Does it need to be cooked first?
I was wondering the same thing so I went back to read the full article (skipped over it cuz I’m impatient) and it appears it’s uncooked chicken. HTH
Yep uncooked!
I used uncooked bite size pieces of chicken
What if I accidentally cooked the meat?
It’ll be fine!
This looks like a yummy recipe. In the paragraph explanation of the recipe, you mention, “Another choice would be to throw a can of diced tomatoes in with the pasta and chopped spinach.” That sounds good, but I don’t see spinach on the list of ingredients.
I love your recipes and recommend them to everyone that has an Instant Pot. They never fail me.
Hi Bonnie, I meant that in the place of sundried tomatoes and basil you could add spinach and canned diced tomatoes instead. I would add a couple handful of spinach in after the pressure cooking time is up.
How about fettuccine noodles instead? Looks wonderful.
You could try it! Sometimes they stick together. But if you break them in half and then scatter them in a criss cross pattern it will probably work fine.
Would I be able to sub a cup of heavy cream or half and half instead of the cream cheese? I’m never a fan of cream cheese in pasta dishes. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Heck yes you could do that! 😊 I would not pressure cook it though. Add it in later.