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Instant Pot Italian Chicken Pasta is a Creamy Italian Chicken sauce made up of cream cheese, Italian dressing mix, and cream of chicken soup that covers pasta, chicken and some veggies. The best news is, all made at the same time in the same pot! Family Dinner has never been easier!
Magic 30-Minute Instant Pot Chicken Pasta
Okay, you guys! I have been working on this recipe for a while now and it is officially blog worthy and PERFECT.
Because of how many tests and tweaks happened with this recipe, my family has eaten this 3 times and 4 families in my neighborhood have also had it for dinner. (aaaaand they all loved it.)
As I took this last, final, perfect batch to my neighbors house (and awkwardly watched them eat it, grilling them with questions about the dish the entire time.) they could not believe how simple the dish was to make when I explained it to them.
It really is like magic. I literally dumped a few ingredients into the pot, started her up and then a half hour later I was knocking on their door forcing them to eat it and give me all the critiques. ?
We even have a brand new pressure cooker owner out of the evening. This dish sold her on it! If that isn’t a testament to how good this dish is, I don’t know what is!
Italian Instant Pot Chicken Pasta Recipe
Instant Pot Creamy Italian Chicken Pasta is a Creamy Italian Chicken sauce made up of cream cheese, Italian dressing mix, and cream of chicken soup that covers pasta, chicken and some veggies. The best news is, all made at the same time in the same pot! Family Dinner has never been easier!
Pasta and Italian Chicken Instant Pot recipe ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 lb rotini pasta uncooked
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 2 pkg Italian Dressing Mix
- 1 lb chicken tenders (thawed) approx 6-7 tenders
- 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
- 8 oz block cream cheese
Chicken Pasta Instant Pot Variations & Subs
There are many variations of chicken pasta that can be made in the instant pot. These include creamy chicken pasta, Alfredo chicken pasta, tomato chicken pasta, pesto chicken pasta, chicken parmesan pasta, and southwest chicken pasta.
How to make this Pasta and Creamy Chicken Instant Pot Recipe
Alright, here come the step by step pictures. This really is so simple, you can’t mess this up!
1 – First into the pot goes chicken broth, water and pasta. I used rotini, but penne or similar should also work fine.
2 – Next, dumped directly on top of the pasta, Cream of Chicken soup is added. Then sprinkle Italian Dressing Mix Packets into the pot.
3 – Now place 1 lb of raw (thawed) chicken tenders on the top. 1 lb correlates to 6 or 7 chicken tenders.
4 – If you only have chicken breasts, cut the 1 lb of chicken breast into smaller ‘tender-sized’ pieces.
5 – Pressure cook on high pressure (hit the manual or pressure cook button) and adjust the time for 3 minutes. (I KNOW! Only 3 minutes!)
6 – Once the 3 minutes is complete, wait until the screen reads L0:06 (this is a 6 min NPR) and then release the remaining pressure manually.
7 – Carefully pull the chicken out of the pot, place in a bowl and set aside.
8 – Add some frozen carrots and peas to the pot (if desired! My husband definitely prefers this dish without, but if it weren’t for me, he’d never touch his veggies!)
9 – Stir in the frozen veggies. Cut a block of cream cheese into cubes and place on top of the pasta and sauce in the Pressure Cooker. Secure the lid and let it sit for 5 additional minutes.
10 – While the pot is resting, SHRED THAT CHICKEN!! This has to be my favorite part. It shreds like a DREAM! A lot of people recommend using a mixer to shred chicken, but with this you won’t need it! This chicken is cuh-razy tender & juicy!
11 – Once the post has been resting for 5 minutes, open the lid and stir. The cream cheese should melt into the sauce fairly easily.
12 – Stir in the shredded chicken and you have yourself one delicious meal!
How to Serve Instant Pot Chicken Pasta
There are many ways to serve instant pot chicken pasta. Here are a few ideas:
- As is: You can simply scoop the pasta and chicken onto a plate and serve it as is.
- With a side salad: Pair the chicken pasta with a side salad made from mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and your favorite dressing.
- With garlic bread: Garlic bread is a classic accompaniment to pasta dishes. You can make your own by spreading butter and garlic onto slices of bread and toasting them in the oven.
- With a sprinkle of fresh herbs: Fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley, or chives, can add a pop of flavor and color to your chicken pasta.
- With a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese: Grated Parmesan cheese is a delicious topping for chicken pasta.
Instant Pot Chicken Pasta Recipe Storage
Let the pasta cool completely to room temperature before transferring the pasta to an airtight container. Label and date the container to keep rack of how long the pasta has been stored. Store the pasta in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If you freeze the pasta, it can be used for up to 3 months.
Chicken Pasta Instant Pot recipe FAQs
There are a few reasons that your chicken can come out dry. Overcooking the chicken can dry out the meat. Not adding enough water to the instant pot is a common reason for dry chicken. The instant pot requires a certain amount of liquid in order to come to pressure.
Yes, it is safe to cook pasta in a pressure cooker. There are some guidelines that you want to follow when you cook pasta in your pressure cooker. Make sure that you have enough liquid int he pressure cooker. The liquid should cover the pasta by at least an inch. Using a trivet can help prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom and burning in the pressure cooker.
Yes, it is possible to overcook chicken in the instant pot. It is important to cook the chicken as specified in the recipe that you use. Using bigger cuts of chicken can prevent the overcooking of chicken, however you want to make sure that the chicken gets cooked all the way through if you use a chicken breast instead of chicken tenders.
Browning chicken before cooking in the instant pot depends on the recipe you are using and personal preference. This step is not necessary for most recipes. A couple of exceptions to this is chicken curry or chicken stew which usually requires some browning.
Check out my other Dump and Start Instant Pot meals!
- Instant Pot Creamy Ziti
- Creamy Chicken Florentine
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Hawaiian Haystacks
- Mississippi Chicken Sandwiches
- Tomato Basil Pasta
- Skinny Creamy Ziti
- Teriyaki Chicken Bowl
- Chicken Spaghetti
- Chicken Lo Mein
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Recipes
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Instant Pot Creamy Italian Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 lb rotini pasta, uncooked
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 2 pkg Italian Dressing Mix
- 1 lb chicken tenders, thawed, approx 6-7 tenders
- 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
- 1 8 oz block cream cheese
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth, water and pasta to the Instant Pot’s liner.
- Pour the cream of chicken soup on top of the pasta.
- Sprinkle the dressing mix packets into the Instant Pot.
- Place the chicken tenders on top.
- Secure the lid and cook on Manual (or pressure cook) HIGH for 3 minutes. Allow for a 6 minute NPR before releasing the pressure manually.
- Remove the cooked chicken and set aside.
- Stir in the frozen peas and carrots.
- Cut the cream cheese block into chunks and set onto of the pasta in the Instant Pot. Return the lid and let the Instant Pot sit on warm for 5 minutes.
- Shred the chicken while the Instant Pot is sitting on warm.
- Stir the cream cheese into the pasta until completely combined.
- Stir in the shredded chicken. Serve hot!
Looks delish! Any way to do this with frozen chicken tenders?
Hey Liz! I tested this recipe with frozen tenders so many times and either the chicken was undercooked or the pasta was over cooked. ? I would definitely suggest using the thawed chicken. If you don’t mind overcooked pasta- cook it for 6 min, 6 min NPR. ?
Should you put the pot on warm when adding frozen veggies and cream cheese? Otherwise wont it cool the whole dish down too much? Thank you!
Hi Rebecca! The Instant Pot will automatically flip to ‘keep warm’ after the cooking has finished. If yours doesn’t, after you set the Instant Pot to cook, hit the keep warm button and the light will go on. This means it will automatically go to keep warm when the cooking has finished. ?
Hi! I have fresh carrots I need to use. Should I modify anything if using fresh instead of frozen? Thanks
Just add the carrots in the beginning with the chicken. 🙂 Follow the directions for everything else and you should be golden!
We made this tonight for dinner and it was AMAZING. My daughter and I are vegetarian so we made it without chicken, and subbed in spinach and mushrooms instead of peas and carrots. It’s so delicious that my kids asked for seconds! Repeat recipe for sure!
Yay!! So glad it was a hit! Thanks for commenting, Morgan!
I want to make this but don’t have an instant pot. What would be the directions?
Hi Macci! To make this in the crockpot, you’ll cook the chicken along with the cream of chicken soup and Italian dressing packet until the chicken is cooked through and shreddable. Put the cream cheese into the crock pot and let it sit for 30 minutes and then stir the cream cheese into the sauce. Serve over pasta! If you’d like the veggies also, I would steam those on the microwave and then add in at the end. Hope this helps!
This was the BOMB! I have an Italian Chicken recipe for the crock pot, but this beat that one out too! Even the five and four year old are eating it up! Thanks!
Best comment EVER! I am so glad you and your family loved it, Tiffany! ❤️
It was Absolutely Amazing!!! Kinda reminds me of chicken pot pie. Creamy and delicious!!!!!!
Thank you for the kind words, Wendy! Happy to hear you loved it!
Family loved it!!! Have you ever tried it with different veggies…like broccoli? This is only my 2nd recipe in my InstaPot and when I went to release the pressure after letting it sit for 6 mins it was like an explosion of liquid instead of just steam. What did I do wrong?
Hi Rebecca- sorry I didn’t respond right away, I’ve been in bed sick! ?? I haven’t ever added broccoli but I think that would be delicious! What size of Instant Pot do you have? With pasta, while pressure cooking the starches bubble up which is why the NPR is necessary. The 6 min NPR (for the 6 qt Instant Pot) is usually sufficient so the dreaded volcano doesn’t happen. But I always suggest saying near the pot in case this starts to happen. If it does, simply set the valve back to sealing with the end of a long spoon, wait another minute and then try again. Hope this makes sense and helps!
How long should I cook it if I double the recipe?
Hi Judith- the cook time will stay the same when doubling recipes in the Instant Pot.
I am a Newbie, this was the 2nd recipe I tried. This recipe is just Delicious. I have the 8 qt Ultra and Recipes I find are for the 6 qt. So I figure mine is BIGGER…I don’t think so. I am not sure tho’. So last night this Pasta Recipe called for 16 oz, 5 cups liquid…etc. My Pasta is 17.5 oz. I weighed out the difference, decided the 15 or so pieces of Pasta would need more liquid. I added 3/4 cup more liquid. Besides, what was I going to do with one handful of odd pasta…? Everything else I did exactly…Hubby was helping again. (smh) When it came time to do the Quick Release, the big release button started spitting stuff all over. I grabbed a wet cloth and covered the big button, and started to clean up the wet mess with another wet cloth. I guess I should not have added the extra liquid. I was not even up to the 1/2 mark on the inner pot. But about 1 inch below that. I thought I would be ok with the extra liquid. Despite that little issue Dinner from the Instant Pot last night was Super Delish, my Son and I went back for 2nds, Hubby had so much on his plate, 2nd’s were out of the question. I have more of your IP Recipes but will follow them to a T from now on to hopefully eliminate problems. I say that because I only have made 2 meals and both I changed up the recipe every so slightly and both times I had a problem. Burned Beef Stew because I added a Gravy Packet mixed in Hot Water and it was dissolved. Mixed it in with the meat and veggies…but have since learned it settles to the bottom of the pot and burns. LOL I have so much to learn.
Hi Roni! Sorry to hear that the dreaded volcano happened to you!! With pastas, this sometimes happens which is why it is very important to follow the recipe, especially the NPR (Natural pressure release AKA letting the pot just sit there and chill for the designated time). Pasta bubbles up in the Instant Pot just like it does on the stove top so it is necessary for the Instant Pot to relax and release pressure on it’s own for a while before quick releasing the pressure manually (by turning the knob.)
I always always suggest to stay near the Instant Pot while the pressure is releasing and watch for the first signs that liquid is coming out. If that does happen again, use the back of a long spoon and quickly turn the knob to sealing again and let the Instant Pot sit for another minute or so and then try again.
You will get the hang of it!! It is a little bit of a learning curve but you’ve got this! Come back with any other questions you might have. I am happy to help. 🙂
I got an Instant Pot for Christmas and I’m both very excited and nervous. One thing is, is 3 minutes really long enough to cook the chicken? Chicken makes me nervous anyway wanting to make sure it’s cooked all the way. I’m new to all of this and am excited to try. Thank you for the tips you have shared as well as the recipes
Hi Stephanie!! Yes, the chicken tenders really are cooked in the 3 minutes under pressure. The pot will take probably about 15 minutes to come fully to pressure. The pot comes to pressure by heating the contents inside until it creates enough steam for the pot to seal tight. So the chicken will be cooking the whole time the pot is coming to pressure, the cook time (3 minutes) is just how long the pot is held at pressure for. Does that help explain? Hope you love it!