This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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
If you loved what you saw here, get more of it on Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest! I’d love to connect! Sign up for my weekly newsletter below to never miss a new recipe again!
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!
Would this be possible to make with frozen chicken? I’m horrible about getting food out of the freezer in time to defrost.
Hi Cori- If you want to use frozen chicken tenderloins, I would suggest just making this dish with penne instead and chasing the cook time to 6 min HP with a 6 min NPR. 🙂 Hope that helps!
I have 4 (adult) kids, 2 at home, 2 not. Sunday is our all eat together day after church. This was another winner recipe that I tried and was a hit with everyone! Thanks for sharing!
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the meal, Ginger!!
I am making this and my pot is cooking but it’s been longer than 3 minutes and when I try and turn off it doesn’t do anything g else
Hi Julie- The 3 minutes refers to the time that the dish is cooking under pressure. It will take a while for the Instant Pot to heat up and reach pressure before the timer starts counting down. I hope this helps!
Do you use 2x family size cream of chicken or regular size? The link goes to family but the pic doesn’t look like its that much.
Hi Spencer- Just the regular sized. I’ll get that link fixed ASAP! Thanks!
Thanks for asking this question! I was looking for this answer as well.
The flavor of this dish was good but the pasta was a bit over cooked. Any suggestion for next time would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Jackie- If you found your pasta to be a little over cooked for your liking I would suggest cooking it for one minute less next time. Give that a shot! 🙂
Tried this in my instant pot and doubled it so we could have leftovers. I only doubled the pasta, chicken, and broth. Came out PERFECT! Definitely adding this to my recipe book. I couldn’t find my Italian packets, so I used 2 ranch packets instead and it was absolutely amazing. I’ve tried a few of the other instant pot recipes as well and love them, but this is my new fave.
I am so glad that you loved it, Christina!! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Can I make this with two pounds of chicken instead of one? And would I need to increase the time with more chicken? My family really liked it, but didn’t think there was enough chicken.
Hi Beth- yes, you can! No need to adjust the cook time. 🙂
Hi Karli, how much of Italian dressing is there in each package? I’ve only found bottles in my country (New Zealand) and they are all quite big (the smallest one is 250ml).
Thank you and look forward to your reply,
Huong
Hi Huong- What is used in this recipe is just the seasoning packet, so just spices. Here is a link to a homemade Italian dressing seasoning you can use as a substitute! https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/main-course-chicken/zesty-italian-dressing-mix.html
Hi, do you think I could double the chicken amount and leave the rest of the ingredients the same? Thanks!
Hi Alex- Yes, that should work just fine!
This is a fantastic recipe! This meal is on regular rotation at our house. It’s perfect comfort food.
Thank you ! I love lots of your recipes, by the way.
Oh, Lee Ann, this just made my day!! Thank you so much for the comment and continuing to come and visit my site. It is much appreciated. 🙂
oh my just made this. Wow oh so easy and delicious. Significant other says definitely a keeper. And oh my he is eating his 3rd large helping !!!
This comment made me so happy! Nothing is better than when the Significant other is going for thirds!
Can I make this in my crockpot .
You can make the chicken and sauce in the crockpot and then serve over pasta with the veggies. To make the sauce and chicken in the crockpot you’ll add your chicken breasts or tenders to your crockpot along with the cream of chicken soup and Italian dressing mix. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours or until the chicken is fall apart tender. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add in the cream cheese. Remove the chicken, shred, and then add it back into the crockpot and stir to incorporate.
Hi Karli
Just wondering how much one serving is? I’am guessing about one cup? Planning on making this tonight! Thank you!
Yes, each serving will be about 1 cup.