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Instant Pot Dump and Start Alfredo made completely from scratch in under 20 minutes! This rich, creamy & dreamy meal is picky eater and kid friendly- making this meal a no-brainer!
Watch how easy it is to make Alfredo in your Instant Pot in this video!
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Alfredo. Do you know what is better than alfredo? Alfredo made from scratch in under 20 minutes..with only 5 (okay, 7 if you count salt & pepper) ingredients? Yeah, I went there.
We eat this for dinner probably once a week because it is seriously SO delicious! I try to save it for a day of the week where I know I will be short on time, but let’s be honest, it’s so good that I will make it even when I’ve got all the time in the world.
This is a fool-proof recipe- great for newbies, seasoned Instant Potters, and totally kid approved!
Okay, let’s do this thang.
Chicken broth, heavy cream, minced garlic, salt, pepper & noodles broken in half go into the pot. Make sure that all of the noodles are covered in liquid.
Manual high pressure for 6 minutes. (I like my noodles with a little bite to them, if you like yours softer I’d recommend cooking for a minute or two longer.) Let it naturally release the pressure for 6 minutes. The display will read L0:06 and then you can quick release.
It will be very liquidy when you take the lid off. That is a-okay and totally normal. Let it sit and cool for about a minute or so (very important!!) and then add in some parmesan cheese. You’ll want the real thing. None of that powdered stuff.
Gradually stir in the cheese. The cheese will melt into the sauce and thicken it.
Aaaand then, serve it up and say Bon Appetit! Serve alongside some Oven Roasted Broccoli!
Want something a little lighter? Try my Skinny Alfredo!
Don’t want to use heavy cream? Check out the Skinny version of this recipe!
Try These Other Great Recipes:
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Italian Chicken Pasta
- Five Cheese Ziti
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
- Instant Pot Chicken Florentine Pasta
- One Pot Chicken Lo Mein
- Tomato Basil Pasta
- Instant Pot Stir Fry
- Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
- Alfredo Sauce
- All Pasta Recipes
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Dump and Start Instant Pot Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp minced garlic, dried
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 lb dry linguine noodles, broken in half
- 3/4-1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Add the broth, cream, garlic, salt, pepper and noodles to the instant pot in that order. DO NOT STIR, but make sure all noodles are covered. If you need to move some noodles around, thats okay.
- Set your Instant Pot to Manual for 6 minutes (I like my noodles with a little bite to them, if you like yours softer I'd recommend cooking for a minute or two longer) and then let it naturally release its pressure for an additional 6 minutes then quick release.
- Let the noodles and sauce sit for a minute or so. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Your cheese will not melt into the sauce if it doesn't cool for a minute or two.
- Gradually stir in the parmesan cheese.
- It's ready to eat, Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Dump and Start Instant Pot Alfredo
(Printable Recipe Below)
Perfectly delicious alfredo in under 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp minced garlic dried
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb dry linguine noodles broken in half
- 3/4-1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
- Add the broth, cream, garlic, salt, pepper and noodles to the instant pot in that order. DO NOT STIR, but make sure all noodles are covered. If you need to move some noodles around, thats okay.
- Set your Instant Pot to Manual for 6 minutes (I like my noodles with a little bite to them, if you like yours softer I’d recommend cooking for a minute or two longer) and then let it naturally release its pressure for an additional 6 minutes then quick release.
- Let the noodles and sauce sit for a minute or so. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Your cheese will not melt into the sauce if it doesn’t cool for a minute or two.
- Gradually stir in the parmesan cheese.
- It’s ready to eat, Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
This recipe can easily be doubled!
Leftovers are best when you add a splash of milk in after it is reheated.
I didn’t have linguine so I used fettuccine. It came out very running. Do you think that’s just from the pasta change? I guess the linguine would take up more space…
Hi Tracy- it will be very runny until the Parmesan cheese melts into the sauce and thickens it up. Did you use the real Parmesan cheese or the powdered Parmesan cheese? The powdered will not thicken the sauce at all. Hope this helps to troubleshoot a bit! Comment back if you have any other questions!
Thanks for the quick response Karli!! I used the real shredded parmesan. It melted and when straight to the bottom. I’ll definitely try it again with linguine this time.
I have had that happen once before, I turned the Instant Pot onto sauté and just stirred like crazy and it melted into the sauce once the sauce was hot enough for the cheese to melt into. Hope that makes sense! ?
Same thing happened to me! I put it on 7 minutes… I think it needed 8. My noodles were a bit hard so I am wondering if more liquid needed to be absorbed? I had to put it on sautee for 5 mins.
Hi Carrie- this surprises me. Did you NPR for the full 6 minutes as stated in the instructions? If followed exactly, the pasta should not be hard. I’m glad you were able to sauté for a couple of minutes to fix the dish this time around. ?
I want to make this for 1 (so 1/4 recipe). That would be 3/4 cup liquid. Is that enough (6 qt) or do I need to do it in a pot inside liner?
Hi Alice!! I think the pot would still come to pressure, my only worry is that the pasta won’t all be covered in liquid. The pasta needs to be covered in liquid to insure that the pasta will cook evenly. I don’t think making this PIP would make any difference, unfortunately. You might want to try to half the recipe instead, so that there is a thicker layer of liquid. Hope that helps and makes sense!
Thanks for the quick reply. I did quarter it and there was enough liquid. The taste is awesome! I used fettuccine and like it softer than you so did 8 minutes cook and 6 NR. Could have used another minute. Was very thin after adding cheese so I used sauté for a few minutes and was fine. Thanks for an easy recipe!
Glad that it worked out for you, Alice!! ?
I didn’t think anything could be easier than Alfredo pasta on the stovetop but I was wrong. This version is every bit as delicious (maybe better!) as my usual recipe but has a lot less fat and only uses one pan. And it’s a dump recipe, too. Am I a little over the moon for this Alfredo sauce? Why, yes, I am. But it’s so good, so easy, one pan, fewer calories, dump and push start… what’s not to love?
I didn’t have any linguini or fettuccine so I subbed spaghetti noodles, cooked for 4 minutes with a slow release. By the time the sauce thickened they were perfectly done. We enjoyed it with your Garlic Parmesan Green Beans which didn’t work out quite as well, but were still very, very good.
I also wanted to let you know that I halved the recipe in my 3qt Mini and it was the perfect amount to feed the two of us. There was plenty of liquid to submerge the noodles and in fact this is the first time I’ve successfully cooked spaghetti noodles in my IP without clumping or burning. I’m new to your blog but have plans to make a few more of your recipe before the month is out!
Sandy! Your comment just made my day! ❤️ thank you for all of the kind words. I am so glad you have found my blog and that the Alfredo was delicious! Thank you for taking the time to comment, means the world to me! ☺️
Yum! I used Bailla Gluten Free Fettuccine, cooked for on manual for 9 min then 4 min NR before I did a quick release. I also used 1 c coconut milk, 1 c chicken broth, 1/4 c fresh grated Parm. This was restaurant quality for a fraction of the fat and calories. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sounds delicious, Rachel!! Thanks for taking the time to comment!! ❤️
This wont save to pintrest. It says the link may need to spam? Any ideas how to save it.
Hi Sharee- Pinterest is having issues today. Many websites, including mine, have been effected and have been marked as spam for some reason. They are working to resolve the issue. I will comment back when everything has been worked out! Sorry for the inconvenience!!
Just made this tonight and mine didn’t come out like your pictures. I used penne and followed directions and I had no sauce left, it all soaked up into the pasta. It was also pretty bland in flavor, so not sure what I did wrong?
Can anyone help??
Hi Dawn- so sorry this didn’t work out for you. A couple of things that could have gone wrong- I haven’t made this with penne, so that pasta might soak up more liquid than the linguine. As for the flavor, that would be related to not having enough sauce. I would try again with linguine, and the sauce should be much better. If you find that you still would like it with more flavorful, add in some extra Parmesan. Hope this helps a bit!
Thank you! I’ll try that!!!
Also, I used the Kirkland (Costco) brand pre-shredded Parm/Romano in the plastic tub, is that ok or should I shred my own from the blocks?
That is the kind of cheese I use, also! I am totally a believer in not making things harder than they need to be! Love the pre-shredded stuff!
Oh perfect!!! I wasn’t sure if that was the problem being Parm & Romano cheese not just Parm.
The recipe says, “minced garlic dried”. Exactly what does that mean?
It is found by the dried spices by the garlic powder etc. it is just dried, minced garlic. You could also substitute with 4 cloves of fresh garlic if you prefer.
Looking forward to making this and would love to add peas! I think I would add them after cooking before the cheese is stirred in, Do you think that would work?
Yes! That is exactly what I would do! Hope you love it!
Hi
If I wanted to use a different kind of pasta like penne, would it be the same amount? Would more liquid be needed? Thanks!
I haven’t ever made this with other pastas, but most of my readers who use penne tell me that there was no additional time or liquid needed. ?
I made this tonight using fettuccine because that’s what I had and it was a hit – not one drop left. This will be a regular despite the calories. We’ll just exercise more on that day. My husband doesn’t like garlic so left that out and I like alfredo sauce with nutmeg so added a pinch. I also added more parmesan, about 1 1/2 cups total. So easy, so incredible. Honestly, can’t wait to make it again.
Do glad you loved it, Debbie! My husband absolutely loves it, too. Nutmeg is such a wonderful addition! Love it!