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Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo pasta is an easy dinner made with tender cut up chicken breasts and penne in a creamy homemade Alfredo sauce. Your whole family will love this easy recipe that’s perfect for a busy weeknight!
Let me say right now that this pressure cooker chicken Alfredo is not a diet recipe. But it’s definitely one of those easy Instant Pot pasta recipes that’s simple, delicious and very kid friendly.
Best of all, this one pot meal only takes about 30 minutes to make! If you’re looking for easy Instant Pot chicken Alfredo recipes, you’re going to love this Instant Pot chicken Alfredo pasta!
The Hubs adores fettuccine Alfredo. It’s his favorite meal, and I make homemade chicken fettuccine Alfredo for his birthday every year. I’m nice like that!
It’s really a super simple recipe, but this pressure cooker version is even easier! You might also want to check out one pot chicken Alfredo and my chicken Alfredo stuffed shells.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients for this Instant Pot chicken Alfredo recipe. You can find them in your grocery store or online.
- Olive oil
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed — about 2 medium or 3 small
- Sea salt
- Garlic powder
- Ground black pepper
- Box penne pasta — uncooked
- Butter
- Water or chicken broth or chicken stock
- Heavy cream
- Nutmeg — brings out the flavor in cream sauces
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
How to make chicken Alfredo in the Instant Pot
Traditional fettuccine Alfredo is heavy on the butter, and so is this Instant Pot Alfredo.
You really need it to make the sauce rich and creamy. So even though you may be tempted to use jar sauce or cream cheese, you really don’t need it!
Just cut up chicken breasts, and cook it for about 5 minutes on the Saute setting — just until it’s no longer pink.
As you’re cooking the chicken pieces, add your seasonings. Make sure to deglaze the bottom of the pot with a little chicken broth so there are no chicken bits sticking to the pot.
Turn off the saute setting. Then, layer the pasta over the chicken.
Add the chicken broth or water. Then, add the pats of butter over the pasta. Don’t stir everything together, or the pasta won’t cook.
Pressure cook the pasta for 4 minutes on high pressure, then do a gradual quick release.
This pasta recipe tends to spurt out all over the place if you do a quick pressure release. So unless you don’t mind a huge mess, stick with a controlled pressure release!
On a side note, I only seem to have a problem with pasta water making a mess when I use my 6-quart Instant Pot. When I use the 8 quart electric pressure cooker, it’s fine.
Next, add some heavy cream, more butter, Parm and a little bit of nutmeg. The sauce looks thin at first, but it firms up in no time as it cools down.
You can even go back to Saute mode and reduce the sauce for a couple of minutes if you want.
Personally, I like to add heavy cream in the Instant Pot at the end, after pressure cooking. I just think it works better this way.
The sauce thickens as it rests, and by the time you eat it, you get an incredibly rich and creamy Instant Pot chicken Alfredo pasta.
Variations and Substitutions
For this Instant Pot chicken Alfredo recipe I usually like to use penne pasta, as it holds the thick sauce well. Rotini is another good choice!
Of course, fettuccine noodles are a popular pasta to eat with Alfredo sauce, so you could use those instead for an Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo. Just make sure to break noodles up before cooking.
Homemade Alfredo sauce works great, but you can use store-bought jarred sauce too, if you prefer. I recommend adding the sauce after pressure cooking.
Instead of cutting whole breasts into chicken pieces, use chicken tenders. Add broccoli florets for a one pot meal with veggies!
The best part of this recipe–besides how easy it is!–is making each serving into your own perfect comfort food dish! Sprinkle the top of the pasta with fresh herbs, such as fresh parsley or basil, a little Italian seasoning, or a dash of tangy lemon zest.
Serve chicken Alfredo with a crusty bread or your favorite side salad.
How to Store
Store any leftover chicken Alfredo penne pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it’ll last 3 to 4 days. For longer storage, store in a freezer safe container in the freezer.
Reheat individual portions in the microwave, and larger portions on the stove or on the saute setting in your pressure cooker.
Here are some more easy pasta dinners to check out:
- Easy Instant Pot creamy chicken pasta
- Instant Pot creamy enchilada chicken pasta
- Instant Pot chicken bacon ranch pasta
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed, about 2 to 3 small
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 16-ounce box penne pasta uncooked
- 8 tablespoons butter divided, 1 stick
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Press SAUTE button, and when it reads Hot, add the olive oil, then the chicken. and cook until no longer pink, stirring frequently
- Add sea salt, garlic powder and pepper, and stir, making sure no chicken bits are stuck to bottom. Then hit Cancel
- Add penne pasta over chicken, then pour water over and around the sides of the pasta. Top with 4 tablespoons of butter
- Cover, turn valve to Sealing position, and hit PRESSURE COOK for 4 minutes
- When pot beeps, do a gradual quick release to minimize liquid spurting out of valve. When pin drops, remove lid, and stir
- Stir in remaining 4 tablespoons butter, heavy cream and nutmeg. Mixture will be thin, but will thicken up as sauce cools. You can hit SAUTE for about 5 minutes to help sauce reduce if you want.
- Gradually stir in grated Parm, and add more, if desired. Taste, and add more salt, if desired. Serve with more Parm and fresh parsley, if desired. Sauce will continue to thicken as it stands
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe first published in 2018 and updated in 2021.
I hope you enjoy this easy Instant Pot chicken Alfredo penne pasta as much as we do! Be sure to come back and leave a star rating!
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My favorite! Made this last night! So rich and creamy. Thought it would be harder to make, but simple!
So glad you liked the chicken, Patrick. Thanks!
This is amazing! The only mods I do are I use chicken broth, add bacon pieces, Cajun season, and garlic! The proportions of good recipe are spot on, (so You can make any modifications and it’ll be perfect)!! I’ve never had so many compliments on a dish! This is one of those dishes everyone wants you to bring to every party!
Thank you so much, Amanda. Happy you like it!
If I make a double batch, how long should I cook it?
The cook time remains the same — just double the ingredients.
It was very yummy and super easy. I love recipes that involve limited ingredients, but full of flavor and this is one! I made it with whole grain pasta, and if it make this recipe again I definitely will not use whole grain.
So glad you liked it, and thanks for reviewing! I’ve heard whole grain pasta can be tricky in the IP.
Going to try this right now, but I need a little broccoli to offset the heaviness of the butter. At what point should I add it? (Using frozen florets)
You can add broccoli at the very end after pressure cooking. Just stir it in before serving.
Don’t have a pressure button on my pot. Have
Steam or manual. Which one should I use.
You would use manual.
it’s amazing I love it and so does everyone else I just personally think that it needs a good bit more salt than in the recipe
So glad you liked it, Sammy. You can always add more salt to suit your tastes.
I have a 3 quart..will this fit in it?? I really wish I had gotten a bigger one!!
I’m not familiar with the 3 quart — so sorry. Usually, if the contents don’t go above the fill line, it’s okay. You could probably try cutting the recipe in half. As for the 6 quart, you can usually find good deals around Black Friday and keep the 3 quart for sides. 🙂
Loved it. I used low sodium organic chicken broth instead of water and used bag Italian cheeses blend with a touch of extra Parmesan. The chicken was so tender
So glad you liked the chicken Alfredo, Trish! Thanks so much!
This recipe was so yummy! My family loves it,
Thank you so much, Tonya! So glad you like it!
I love this recipes and so dose my family. I make it as is, it some times I add some bacon and a couple hand fulls of fresh spinach to the pot with everything else before cooking.
That’s wonderful, Sarah! Thanks so much, and I love the idea of adding bacon!