This Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo is the perfect one-pot meal! Tender, juicy, aromatic chicken with perfectly cooked penne pasta.
This is the easiest way to make delicious Alfredo pasta and it takes only 10 minutes!
Like many other Instant Pot pasta recipes, The Instant Pot will do all the work for you!
All you have to do is to cook the chicken as the first step and then add the rest of the ingredients. Simple as that.
Table of Contents
Recipe Video
Why This Recipe Works
This pasta with chicken is a great meal for you and the entire family. Every time I make it, it’s such a universal crowd pleaser!
And speaking from the nutritionist side, the dish has a decent amount of protein from the chicken and the cheese, perfectly balanced with the carbs from the pasta.
Oftentimes if you were to order Chicken Alfredo at a restaurant, it was be extravagantly rich and creamy, filled with excess carbs and fat. But we took the classic dish and not only made it easier to prepare, but also a bit lighter and healthier.
It's also SO easy to make and so flexible! You can easily swap pasta shapes-- any type of dried pasta should work without needing to change the cook time.
The recipe can easily be doubled if you want to use the whole 16 oz. box of pasta, since it makes for great leftovers! (Even though it's so delicious, there might not be any leftover!) To double the recipe, double the quantity of each ingredient-- including the water, which is very important-- and add 2 minutes to the cook time.
Ingredients
Chicken – I use chicken breast, you can substitute thighs but it won’t turn out quite the same in my opinion. Chicken breasts are the best choice for this Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo recipe.
Pasta – you can use penne or any other type of short tubular pasta, like ziti.
Cream cheese – the secret shortcut ingredient to a perfect, creamy texture! You can also substitute heavy cream.
Parmesan cheese – make sure you have enough for the 1 cup in the sauce + additional for garnishing at the end!
How To Make
First, gather your ingredients:
Press saute and add olive oil.
Add chicken and saute until brown.
Add garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir well.
Next, add the pasta.
Add butter and water.
Mix well until the butter melts.
Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Don't forget to set the valve to sealing if needed.
When cooking time is complete, do a quick pressure release.
Add cream cheese (or heavy cream) and parmesan cheese and stir well.
Adjust the seasoning to taste if needed.
That's all :]
Serve with parmesan and parsley on top and enjoy a delicious one-pot meal.
Recipe Notes
- Here’s a troubleshooting tip: if the sauce is too thin or watery after the last step, just simmer the pasta for an additional 3 minutes on sauté mode (no need to pressure cook).
- Want to substitute shrimp instead of chicken? Just follow this Instant Pot Shrimp Alfredo recipe instead.
How to Serve
This Instant Pot dish is perfect as is.
If you want to upgrade, feel free to sprinkle some freshly grated lemon zest and extra parmesan on top.
You can also check out What to Serve With Chicken Alfredo for more delicious ideas.
Recipe FAQs
How do I make sure my Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo doesn't get soggy?
If you are worried that the pasta may be too soggy, just count on me. I’ve made this recipe a few times and it always comes out perfectly.
The cooking time in this Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo recipe is the perfect amount of time to get a perfectly cooked al dente pasta.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
Yes! If you are gluten-sensitive, you can use gluten-free pasta. The cooking time will stay the same.
Can I make this recipe dairy-free?
Yes!
With a few tweaks… First, use oil instead of the butter. Instead of cream cheese, use a vegan substitute. And of course, use a vegan cheese instead of the parmesan.
More One-Pot Pasta Recipes
If you like this recipe, you should try the Instant Pot Spaghetti Bolognese or this pasta primavera. After you try those, here are more to choose from:
Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pasta
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breasts boneless, skinless and cubed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 box penne pasta 8 ounce
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup cream cheese
- 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
- Select saute and add olive oil.
- Add the chicken and cook until brown, stirring frequently.
- Add in garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir well.
- Add pasta, butter and water and stir well to combine.
- Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.
- When cooking time is complete, do a quick pressure release and open the lid.
- Add cream cheese (or heavy cream) and parmesan cheese and stir well.
- Serve and enjoy 🙂
Video
Nutrition
Pasta-lutely Perfect Instant Pot Cluckin' Alfredo
Made this today came out creamy and delicious! I addid half cup chicken broth . Came out excellent.
Thank you
Glad you like it 🙂
Fast and easy to make on a busy day!
I'm happy you enjoyed it!
to make in a Nova instant pot (the smaller one) can I just 1/2 the recipe?
Corrie, if I DOUBLE this recipe, is it gonna fit in my 6-qt Instant Pot? I am afraid that half a box of penne just ain't gonna feed my ravenous horde! Much aloha and many mahalos from a new Instant Pot owner in Hawai‘i. I am presently working on perfecting recipes for pork laulau from here, and chicken bog from South Carolina!
I am not 100% sure but I believe it should fit if you double the recipe, yes. Please let me know if it doesn't! And I'm very excited to heat about those recipes... sounds delicious.
I'm just about to make this it looks so yummy, the only thing I hate when I find good instant pot recipes is that as I'm not American I have to convert all the measures, uuurgh it's so annoying. Lol.
I'll let ye know how it turns out, suppose it will depend on my conversion skills Thanks 🙂
Ah, good luck! I hope it turns out well!
I made this just now. After reading through your comments I made a plan. I used 2 cups if water and then topped off with hiw ever much chicken stock it took to cover the noodles well. Hugh pressure 10 min, 5 natural release, and then manual released the rest 9f the pressure. There was definitely way too much liquid but the chicken and noodles were done perfect. I then took a label and pushed it down into the mix skimmed off about a cup of liquid. This worked great! It left hardly ANY liquid in the mix. I then mixed in a cup and a half of fresh grated parmesan cheese and a cup of heavy cream. Came out perfect! Made bread sticks also. Great recipe thank you !
That is a great plan, thank you for the advice! I'm glad it worked out well and you enjoyed it. I also love to serve it with bread sticks 🙂
why does the heavy cream in the video look like cream cheese or whipped cream?
try adding cream cheese to thicken the sauce if too watery, even some of the favored ones can give it a new flavor twist.
It seems like everyone mentioned the pasta not fully cooking (sounds like due to not enough water) but if you add more water or cooking time, the sauce comes out too thin. Did anyone come out with a good combination to fix this problem? Thanks in advance.
I used 2 cups of water and it didnt cover the noodles completely, so I added another cup of chicken broth and it covered all the noodles. Once finished cooking(10 min high pressure) I let it natural release for 5 min and then released the rest of the pressure. Everything was cooked really well but way too much liquid. I used a ladel and dipped about 3/4 of the liquid out. This made thw consistently perfect. Then stirred in the cream and cup and 1/4 fresh grater parmesan cheese. Came out perfect!
This was good but I had the same problem with the penne being too crunchy so I added chicken broth and more time until for a few more minutes. That made the sauce too thin so I think I’ll cut back on penne and just add more broth next time with real garlic for sure. Recipe is good for Instapot cooking.
Glad you liked the recipe and you were able to fix it to work for you 🙂
Can this be cut in half and if so how? I have the 3 quart insta pot
I found the sauce too thin. Had to thicken it with corn starch.
Would cut back in the water /broth 1/4 cup next time.
Added real garlic and lemon zest to kick it up a notch. I like spicey so added pinch of hot sauce. Cooked for 5 minutes instead of 4 .
will certainly make it again as it is tasty and quick.
All great ideas, thanks for the tips!
Can you add shrimp
Sure, you can use shrimp instead of chicken. They cook much more quickly so set the time to 1 minute and do a quick release.