Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is creamy, cheesy and full of the classic chicken bacon ranch flavor! Making this in the Instant Pot couldn’t be easier, this is a Dump and Start pasta dish that will be ready to eat in 20 minutes flat!
Chicken Bacon Ranch BLISS
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably know that I worked at Subway while in high school. (Side note: you HAVE to try my copy cat version of their Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies. To-die-for.)
Every shift we could buy one item half off. Early on, the Chicken Bacon Ranch became a favorite of mine. A coworker even bet that I couldn’t down an entire Chicken Bacon Ranch footlong in my 15 minute break.. you know I wouldn’t bring that up if my barely-over-5-foot high school self didn’t succeed, right? 😉
As I was cooking the other day, some 8 years later (I don’t know how it’s been so long), an idea struck; Chicken Bacon Ranch PASTA. Aka marrying my favorite carb with my favorite sandwich.
The results were phenomenal.
Dump and Start Instant Pot Meal
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta falls into one of my favorite categories: Dump and Start.
Dump and Start meals are the best because there is NO prep work involved. You literally dump everything into the Instant Pot and go.
My Creamy Ziti recipe, which is a Dump and Start meal, is the most popular recipe on my site as of right now. That meal is seriously tasty, too. Just like Olive Garden’s 5 Cheese Ziti… Okay, I am getting side tracked here. 🙂
Tips for Successful Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
There are a few tips, must do’s, can not’s and just info that will make your life a little easier while making this Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta. Read on.. 🙂
- The chicken is cooked in the pot right alongside the pasta. Make sure the chicken is cut into 1 inch cubes to insure even cooking through all chicken chunks.
- The chicken chunks all do much better on the BOTTOM of the pot, underneath the pasta. If the chicken sits on top, the pasta directly underneath is pushed down and can’t move around and cook properly.
- Make sure that all pasta is COVERED with liquid. If it isn’t covered, it won’t cook properly.
- No, you can’t use regular milk or half ‘n half. If you are looking for a lighter alternative, check out this Skinny Alfredo recipe- just add ranch dressing mix, chicken and bacon!
- Microwave bacon has come a long way, buy some. Use it in this recipe. It will make your live a million times easier.
- Only use Shredded Parmesan Cheese- that is the real stuff. NOT Grated (powdered) Parmesan Cheese. The cheese is used to thicken the sauce at the very end, the powdered cheese won’t thicken the sauce at all. It would just result in lumpy, soupy pasta. Aka yucky.
- If you have any questions at all, comment below! I will comment back as soon as humanly possible. 😉
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
(Printable Recipe Below)
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is creamy, cheesy and full of the classic chicken bacon ranch flavor! Making this in the Instant Pot couldn’t be easier, this is a Dump and Start pasta dish that will be ready to eat in 20 minutes flat!
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp minced garlic dried
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb linguine noodles broken in half
- 2 tbsp dry ranch mix
- 3/4-1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup bacon prepped and crumbled
Instructions
- Combine broth, heavy cream, garlic, salt and pepper in the liner of the Instant Pot.
- Put the 1 inch cubes of chicken into the broth and cream mixture in the Instant Pot liner. Take care to distribute the chunks evenly around the liner.
- Place the broken pasta on top of the chicken in the liquid. MAKE SURE ALL NOODLES ARE COVERED WITH LIQUID. Move the pasta around until they are all covered.
- Secure lid in place, make sure the knob is set to seal. Cook on manual HIGH for 6 minutes NPR for 6 minutes and then QR.
- The sauce at this point will be very runny, don’t be scared. It is supposed to be that way. 🙂
- Stir in the dry ranch dressing mix, mix thoroughly.
- Gradually add in the shredded parmesan cheese. Add in small amounts at a time, stirring in-between each addition.
- Serve in bowls and top with crispy bacon bits. Enjoy!
Try these other Dump and Start Instant Pot meals!
Dump and Start Creamy Ziti
French Dip Sandwiches
Dump and Start Alfredo
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Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp minced garlic dried
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb linguine noodles broken in half
- 2 tbsp dry ranch mix
- 3/4-1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup bacon prepped and crumbled
Instructions
- Combine broth, heavy cream, garlic, salt and pepper in the liner of the Instant Pot.
- Put the 1 inch cubes of chicken into the broth and cream mixture in the Instant Pot liner. Take care to distribute the chunks evenly around the liner.
- Place the broken pasta on top of the chicken in the liquid. MAKE SURE ALL NOODLES ARE COVERED WITH LIQUID. Move the pasta around until they are all covered.
- Secure lid in place, make sure the knob is set to seal. Cook on manual HIGH for 6 minutes NPR for 6 minutes and then QR.
- The sauce at this point will be very runny, don't be scared. It is supposed to be that way. 🙂
- Stir in the dry ranch dressing mix, mix thoroughly.
- Gradually add in the shredded parmesan cheese. Add in small amounts at a time, stirring in-between each addition.
- Serve in bowls and top with crispy bacon bits. Enjoy!
Notes
Karli Bitner
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Carrie says
made this tonight ~ it was excellent – even cheated more, used rotisserie chicken
I remember reading someones comments about the volcano of milk pouring out on release (it happened tonight) – how do I avoid that in the future.
karlibitner says
So strange! Did you NPR for 6 minutes? Did you double the recipe by chance? I haven’t ever had that happen before.
Kena says
Can you double this?
karlibitner says
Yes! You sure can! Everything gets doubled, the cook time stays the same. ?
Marissa James says
If a divorce wasn’t so much paperwork I think my husband would already be down on one knee proposing to you. We ate dinner 5 hours ago and he’s still raving about how delicious it was and what a shame it is I didn’t have enough heavy cream on hand to double the recipe from the get go. Even the picky 3 year old ate it with no complaining. It came to pressure really quickly since I use hot water to reconstitute my (real) chicken broth and from plugging in to eating was less than 20 minutes. A definite winner that’ll be making reappearances at our house!!
karlibitner says
Literally laughing out loud over here, Marissa!! I am sooo glad it was a hit and that it will be making an appearance from time to time at your house. ? thanks for taking the time to comment!
Renee says
Every time I make a dish with heavy cream, half and half, milk etc it always curdles. How do I prevent this, is there a trick or does this happen to everyone?
karlibitner says
Heavy whipping cream has enough fat to stabilize the cream while under pressure so it should not curdle. I haven’t ever had an issue when using heavy cream. Half and half, milk and other substitutes do not have enough fat in them and they will curdle under pressure. Hope this helps a bit!
Stacee says
How many servings are in this recipie?
karlibitner says
4-6, depending on how large of servings. ?
Nancy says
How many servings will this make?
karlibitner says
4-6 servings.
Erica says
Can you use other types of pasta with this recipe? I’ve already got some rotini pasta at home and was hoping to use it up, just unsure if the cooking time would need to be changed.
karlibitner says
Rotini would work great with this recipe. 🙂 No need to change the cook time.
Rebecca says
We absolutely loved this! Delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Dean says
I’m a IP noob. Can this be made in a 3 quart mini? It doesn’t seem like it would overload it but again, I’m a newbie. Can’t wait to try this!
Karli Bitner says
Hi Dean, so sorry it has taken me a while to respond! I have been out of town on business. This will work in your 3 qt! I would suggest doing a controlled quick release of the pressure (turn the knob back and forth quickly while releasing the pressure) instead of just turning the knob and letting the pressure release. Pasta tends to bubble up and get foamy, this will help eliminate any problems. Hope you enjoy!
Rachel says
How can I do this with frozen chicken? Or does it have to be fresh?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Rachel- you can actually toss frozen chicken tenderloins on top of the pasta and cook everything at the same time. No need to change the cook time. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!