Instant Pot Tuscan Parmesan Chicken–a creamy, tomato, garlic and parmesan sauce served over tender pieces of chicken. Make it in the pressure cooker or the slow cooker.
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below
Instant Pot Tuscan Parmesan Chicken
This dish will leave you licking your plate. The sauce is so good! The parmesan cream sauce is so amazing, you’ll be making this time and time again. The chicken is tender and well seasoned. And you can even use frozen chicken for ultimate convenience! You’ll love that you can cook rice at the same time in the same pot, if you desire.
Ingredients
- Butter–to sauté the garlic in. You can also use olive oil.
- Minced garlic–jarred or fresh
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs–frozen is okay. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken breasts with the same cooking time.
- Italian seasoning–or you can make your own
- Kosher salt–or sea salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Pinch of crushed red pepper–or cayenne pepper
- Crushed tomatoes–I love the texture of crushed tomatoes. They are somewhere between tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.
- Chopped spinach—frozen is okay
- Heavy cream–for ultimate flavor and creaminess. You can also use half and half or evaporated milk.
- Cornstarch–or arrowroot
- Parmesan cheese
How to make Tuscan parmesan chicken
This dish can be made in the pressure cooker or in the slow cooker! Both work well and are easy peasy.
Instant Pot Steps
- Sauté the garlic and then deglaze the pot
- Add in the chicken and sprinkle with seasonings. Dump the tomatoes on top of the chicken. Don’t stir to prevent the burn error message.
- Pressure cook with a 5-10 minutes natural pressure release.
- Stir in the chopped spinach.
- Temper the cream and thicken the sauce.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Steps
- Sauté the garlic. Some slow cookers have a sauté or stovetop setting that you can use for this step. If not, you can do this step on the stove.
- Add in the broth, chicken, seasonings and tomatoes.
- Slow cook. Remember each slow cooker cooks differently. So your slow cooker may take more or less time than what is suggested. If you use an Instant Pot with the slow cooker function you’ll want to use the highest slow cooker setting.
- Stir in the chopped spinach.
- Temper the cream and thicken the sauce.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve and enjoy!
Equipment
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. But you can make this in your 3 or 8 quart pot with no changes.
- If you want to make pot-in-pot rice at the same time use a long legged trivet* and a pot-in-pot dish like a stainless steel pan*.
Variations
- For a version with less fat try using chicken tenderloins with a 4 minute pressure cooking time (5 minutes for frozen).
- For a lower carb version of this dish try eliminating the cornstarch and serving over cauliflower rice.
- Instead of crushed tomatoes you can use a cup and a half of your favorite spaghetti sauce.
- To amp up the flavor puree a quarter cup of sundried tomatoes and add them in with the other tomatoes.
- If you don’t like spinach you can leave it out completely.
- Try using chopped kale leaves in the place of spinach.
- Try adding in chopped mushrooms if you’re a mushroom lover!
- Try using bone-in chicken pieces instead of boneless. Cook for 12 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.
What to serve with Tuscan parmesan chicken?
I made rice to serve my chicken and sauce over. This is a very saucy dish and tastes great with pasta or rice or even garlic mashed potatoes. Garlic toast would make a great addition to the meal. Serve alongside a green salad.
Can I make pot-in-pot rice at the same time?
I cooked pot-in-pot rice at the same time as the chicken and sauce. After step 2 I set a tall trivet* into the pot. I prepared a pan with rice and water. I added 2 cups converted rice (you can also use long grain white rice, jasmine rice or basmati) and 3 cups of water into the pan. I used one of the stackable stainless steel pans* with the lid. Then I placed the covered pan on top of the trivet. At that point I went on to step 3.
How to store leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container* for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or you can freeze for up to 3 months.
More Recipes You’ll Love…
- Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini, Spinach And Chicken Soup–my most popular slow cooker recipe!
- Instant Pot Tuscan Gnocchi–pillowy goodness
- Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta–cream cheese makes this dish!
- Instant Pot Tuscan Sausage White Bean Soup–comforting!
- Instant Pot Tuscan Tortellini Soup–one of my favorite soups of all time!
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 Tuscan Parmesan Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes (plus 5-10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
A creamy, tomato, garlic and parmesan sauce served over tender pieces of chicken. Make it in the pressure cooker or the slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen is okay)
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 3–4 cups chopped spinach (frozen is okay)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté (normal) setting. When display says hot add in the butter and let it melt. Add in the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Then pour in the broth so that the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add in the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and crushed red pepper. Dump the tomatoes on top of the chicken.
- Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the chopped spinach.
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté (more) setting. Stir the cream and the cornstarch together until smooth. Stir in a half cup of the hot liquid from the Instant Pot to temper the cream. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot to thicken the sauce. Once sauce has thickened turn off the Instant Pot.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium heat. Add in the butter and let it melt. Add in the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add the garlic into the slow cooker.
- Add in the broth and the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and crushed red pepper. Dump the tomatoes on top of the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Stir in the chopped spinach.
- Turn slow cooker to high setting. Stir the cream and the cornstarch together until smooth. Stir in a half cup of the hot liquid from the slow cooker to temper the cream. Then pour the mixture into the slow cooker to thicken the sauce. Let sauce thicken without the lid on the slow cooker for about 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
I cooked pot-in-pot rice at the same time as the chicken and sauce. After step 2 I set a tall trivet* into the pot. I prepared a pan with rice and water. I added 2 cups converted rice and 3 cups of water into the pan. I used one of the stackable stainless steel pans* with the lid. Then I placed the covered pan on top of the trivet. At that point I went on to step 3.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*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.
Absolutely delicious! One of my new favorites! I used a Crockpot pressure cooker and followed the same instructions. I used chicken tenderloins instead of thighs (just what we had in the fridge) and cooked for 6 minutes and they came out perfect! I chose to use fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, and I also used flour to thicken instead of cornstarch since we didn’t have any. Served over rice and the whole family loved it (including the 5-year-old). Great recipe!
★★★★★
I love the idea of fire roasted crushed tomatoes! That sounds so great.
Can this be made with chicken tenders (white meat) and if so, does the timing change? My family only eats white meat chicken. Sounds delicious and want to try!
Yes, You can also use boneless, skinless chicken breasts with the same cooking time.
So Burning won’t happen? I an never able to cook thicker sauces in the Instantpots.
If you make it the way I stated, layering and not stirring it should work without burning. The thin liquid is on the bottom to prevent that from happening.
So I used half a cup of evaporated milk and crushed tomatoes. It wasn’t light like your photo. It basically tasted like marinara sauce??? I thought it would’ve different than a marinara sauce but it tasted and looked like it.
Fantastic absolutely delicious
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the 5 stars!
Hi, Karen!
Two questions:
(1). Can I make this with brown rice?
(2). Which pot lid did you use for the rice, solid or the one with holes?
Thanks.
Diane
Brown rice takes 22 minutes with a 10 minute npr so the chicken would be overcooked if you did that. I would cook it separately. And I used the solid lid.
Could this be cooked (dumped) over rigatoni, at the same time?
You could cook pasta pot in pot. Fill the pan with pasta and water to cover it.
Made this tonight with rice (in separate rice maker). Absolute hit. I thought the seasoning was a little light, will up the amount next time. Added in some diced tomatoes after cooking. Will try over pasta too. Thanks!
★★★★
Thanks! So glad you liked it!