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
Recipe
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 information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
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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Priya Manocha says
So good, I'm a full time teacher mom of two with a partner whose working hours have doubled so any help during the week is nonexistent. What to eat for dinner is in the top 5 stressful questions I wake up with everyday, but this recipe saved my a#$ today!!!! It was easy, quick and delicious! Total hit with the entire family- bookmarked under "Family Favorites". Thank you! 🙂
Dee says
I completely understand! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Don says
What is a gradual quick release? Thanks!
Dee says
Instead of releasing the pressure all at once, you can toggle the release valve back and forth if pasta water begins to spray out.
Vicki Henley says
Grandson absolutely loved this! Thanks
Dee says
So glad to hear this! Thank you so much!
Kendra says
Just made this for dinner and it is so good! I was worried about the nutmeg, but I couldn’t notice. The only thing I added was a block of cream cheese because, why not?! This is a quick and easy dinner to make, will definitely be making it again!
S. Goforth says
I am the queen of searching my ingredients to find a quick and easy recipe my little family will all enjoy! This was super easy and delicious! My 20 month old and 6 year old ate it all and licked their bowls. Thank you for sharing!
Dee says
Thanks! I'm so happy you all liked the chicken Alfredo!
Beth says
This was delicious and so easy! I had to make adjustments based on what ingredients were available in my kitchen. I used ziti and it worked perfectly. I didn’t have heavy cream either, so I used about a cup of fat free milk and added 4oz of cream cheese to thicken it and it worked very well! Yummy!!
Dee says
So glad you liked the chicken Alfredo, Beth. Thanks!