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 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.
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 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!
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.
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
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.