Instant Pot Skinny Chicken Alfredo—a lighter version of creamy, dreamy chicken alfredo that you can make all in one pot, your Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Skinny Chicken Alfredo
Just because this recipe is “skinny” doesn’t mean that flavor is sacrificed. Even with just one tablespoon of butter and 1 cup of milk (instead of heavy cream) you get lots of creamy delicious sauce covering the noodles.
Greg loved this recipe so much he said that it should get 10 stars. I made this on Reagan’s birthday and she loved it too. Alfredo is her favorite food and she gave it 2 thumbs up.
How to keep pasta from clumping in the Instant Pot
Some people have complained when they make noodles like spaghetti, fettuccine or linguine in the Instant Pot they clump up when cooked. There is a really good thread in the 365 Days of Instant Pot Recipes FB group about this. I like to break my pasta in half or thirds and fan it out or scatter it. You don’t want a big pile of pasta all facing the same direction. Then I pour my broth or water around the sides of the pot and I don’t stir. Sometimes it sticks a little but after it’s done I just stir it and it breaks up.
If you still have problems with clumping then you can use a different type of pasta. My favorite type of pasta to use in the Instant Pot is the curly cavatappi noodles. They don’t clump at all. I buy them in the bulk section at Winco for 99 cents a pound. They are also available at Smith’s (Kroger), the Private Selection brand.
More Skinny Recipes You’ll Love…
Instant Pot Skinny Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Skinny Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Instant Pot Creamy Dill Chicken
Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash Mac and Cheese
What Equipment Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Skinny Chicken Alfredo 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.
Instant Pot Skinny Chicken Alfredo
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 19 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
A lighter version of creamy, dreamy chicken alfredo that you can make all in one pot, your Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 ounces uncooked linguine, fettuccine or spaghetti noodles (whole wheat is okay)
- 1 ¾ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the butter. Swirl it around to melt it. Add in the cut up chicken, salt, pepper, onion powder, basil and parsley. Lightly saute the chicken for about 2 minutes. Then add in the garlic and saute for 20 seconds. Turn off the saute setting.
- Break up the pasta noodles into thirds and fan them out so that they aren’t in one big clump. Pour the broth around the sides of the pot.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes for spaghetti or linguine or 5 minutes for fettuccine. When the time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Turn the pot to saute. Stir the milk and cornstarch together until smooth and then stir it into the pot. Stir in the parmesan cheese. The sauce will thicken up in just a few minutes. Turn off the Instant Pot 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.
Can I make this in my crock pot? I don’t have an instant pot. I’d saute my chicken on the stove in a skillet & boil my pasta on the stove in a saucepan?
I would just cook it all on the stove. The crockpot can be sketchy with pasta dishes in my experience.
I give up on cooking pasta in the instant pot! Maybe it is an altitude issue. But the rest of it was great, so next time I will cook the pasta on the stove al-dente and then add it in for a few minutes to cook the rest of the way and absorb some of the liquid.
★★★★
Oh sad! Sorry it didn’t work well for you.
This was very good. The seasonings were just right. I used linguine and they were a bit too firm, but just let it cook on saute for a few minutes and it solved the problem.
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing Sharon!
I work in food so i’m very picky about what i make at home to eat . With that being said, The recipe was good followed it but added more garlic used italian season, i thought the pasta was over cooked “I like it more al dente” so next time I make it I will cut the cooking time back or the NP time back for a more firmer pasta and may change the cheese to a more sharper cheese , I may also marinate the chicken overnight to give it a lot more flavor and may also swap out the chicken stock for veggie stock .
★★★★
I like those ideas!
Made it tonight and it worked perfectly. Noodles were nicely cooked and the chicken was really tender and flavorful. I will be making it again!!!
Glad you liked it Gretchen!
Hi Karen, thanks for this wonderful looking recipe! I’m going to try it soon. Question: when you get consistent feedback such as the pasta wasn’t cooked enough, or it was too thick, do you ever update the recipe from its original form? I’ll assume no. Based on these comments, I’m thinking I’ll plan to add like an extra 1/8th cup of milk (or maybe white wine to add to the chicken stock!) and maybe add 1-2 mins time under pressure. I’ll let you know how it goes!
What a nother great recipe I made it with Shrimp it was awesome husband liked it
★★★★★
shrimp sounds amazing!
I’d love to try shrimp, but I think I’d rather cook it separately, not in the instant pot. Grilled would be great. Otherwise I’d think pressure cooking shrimp would make them rubbery?
Grilled would be amazing!
Absolutely yummy! Chicken is moist, the sauce is great but the noddles aren’t quite cooked. I had to finish it on saute before adding the milk and cheese, making it hard to watch my chicken that i did not want to cook more. Overall I will be cooking this again!
★★★★
Okay good thanks for sharing your experience.
I followed the directions for making the recipes with spaghetti. I did double it.
We loved the flavors, but it was dry. We added more water and steamed for another 2 minutes. It was still s bit dry, but very flavorful. Lots of compliments!
To Sarah Whoever You Are responding to Joyce. You’re a bit over the top in your response, aren’t you? The ads may not bother you but if they bother Joyce, whatever works you scold her???
Thank you Karen for your recipes I will give it a try. I also will try your beef recipes they look yummy
Hope you like them Jocelyne!
I followed directions and the noodles were not cooked. I put it on pressure cooker for 6 more minutes. It was cooked but very gummy. Was there too much corn starch mixed with the milk? I liked the spices but would not fix it again in the instant pot.
★
What kind of pasta did you use?
Made this three nights ago, it was excellent. I used fettuccine cooked for specified 5 minutes but was not done. My wife said put on saute and add chicken broth. after a few minutes it cooked. Was really good the next day.
Thank You for your great recipes.
Glad it worked out for you!
Everything is great. That’s My kind of chicken recipes. Thanks for sharing.
The picture show the ‘trivet’ in the pot, but did I miss that in the directions. One of my favorite dishes so want to try it soon.
Also wanted to print the recipe, but when I chose that option it came up with 3 pages & page 2-3 showed solid color ‘recipe cards’ with no print directions on them.
Thanks for any help you can give on these questions.
Can’t wait to try this.
I’m not sure what is going on with the print option. I will look into it. The picture is just to show how to fan out the noodles. Not from this actual recipe.
Karen,
Do ads need to be shown inside your recipe directions rectangle?
Very distracting. Joyce
I can’t say any distraction! I don’t know what are you complaining about.!!!