Creamy Italian Tuscan Chicken Pasta made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker in just 15 minutes! Seasoned with Italian herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach. The chicken pasta is tossed with a homemade Italian Tuscan cheese sauce. A delicious weekend dinner recipe.
If you’re here because you got an Instant Pot for Christmas and you’re interested in learning your new pressure cooker by trying new recipes then you’re in the right place. I got my first Instant Pot pressure cooker last month and I already want another one to add to the family. I can’t believe I waited this long to jump on the bandwagon of pressure cooking. I have joined a few Facebook groups on the topic and I have learned so much already.
Pressure Cooking
I’ll start by sharing that I got the Instant Pot 8 quart Duo while it was on sale in December. The first thing I made after washing the product was mashed potatoes. I made beef tips in the oven and bought potatoes to try in the pressure cooker. Potatoes don’t cost quite as much as a chuck roast so I thought that would be a good starting point.
Since then, I’ve have been busy learning how my device works while trying to pressure cook dinner. At first, I didn’t understand the “ON” function after pressing pressure cook. However, I quickly learned that after choosing the pressure cook option and setting it, that “ON” simply meant that it’s coming to pressure. Pressure takes time to build so I like to prepare anything extra for the meal during that time.
I’ve jumped right into making our family meals in the Instant Pot. I use it several days of the week and I love how much time it cuts down on cooking in the kitchen. I know I will especially love it this summer when I don’t want to turn on the stove for hours to make a roast.
A lot of recipes online mention older models of pressure cookers. If you’re seeing recipes that mention using the MANUAL button it’s the PRESSURE COOK button on the newer models. Once you have that down, you’ll be able to make any pressure cooker recipe. I should note that it’s also important to use the QR QUICK RELEASE venting position when cooking pasta.
Once the pressure cooking process is complete, use the quick release venting position to quickly release the steam. No one likes soggy pasta noodles, so always use this option unless otherwise stated in a recipe.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta is a simple recipe to make using the pressure cooker. I bought thinly sliced chicken breasts and cubed them into 1-inch portions. Since the cooking time is only 5 minutes, it’s important to cut the chicken to smaller pieces so it can cook at the same rate as the pasta noodles. Pasta made in the Instant Pot is a quick process because half of the cooking is done while the pressure is building in the pot.
If you love cheese in your pasta, then you’ll love this smooth parmesan cream sauce that coats the pasta. I like to add sun-dried tomatoes and extra Italian seasoning. The sauce is perfect for penne pasta noodles as it gets caught in the hole of the pasta.
The key to creating a delicious pasta meal in the Instant Pot starts by pairing chicken broth and penne noodles. Next, I add thinly cut chicken breasts, sun-dried tomatoes, and seasoning. The pressure cooker lid is then secured and the steam nob is set to sealing. Next, press START then MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK. Set the Instant Pot to 5 minutes on high pressure. The screen should then read “ON”. Once the pot comes to pressure, it will count down the 5 minutes. When it beeps “DONE” press CANCEL then turn the steam nob to “VENTING” for a quick release. Open the lid once the pressure pin drops.
Give the noodles a quick stir to separate. Stir in the cream, grated parmesan cheese, and softened cream cheese. Add extra seasoning, garlic, and baby spinach.
Want to make more or fewer servings? Hover over the serving size and choose how many servings you’d like to make. The recipe will update the correct measurements, however, the nutritional facts are based on the full servings that I’ve stated!
Instant Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound thinly sliced chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 16 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- 32 ounces ( 4 cups ) low-sodium chicken broth
- 6 ounces ( about 1/2 cup ) sun-dried tomatoes in oil; oil drained and diced
- 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning substitute with Italian seasoning if needed
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, more to taste
- 2 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk
- 5 ounces ( about 1 cup ) freshly grated parmesan cheese I love Bel Gioioso Parmesan Cheese
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened softened in microwave for 1-2 minutes
- 5 large garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
Instructions
- In an Instant Pot insert, place diced chicken, uncooked penne noodles, chicken broth, diced sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tsp. Greek seasoning, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, 2 1/2 tsp. dried basil, and 1/2 tsp. salt. 2. Stir mixture. Place trivet on top of noodles. This is optional but helps with releasing the steam. 3. Secure lid. Set pressure valve to SEALING. Select MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK; cook on high-pressure 5 minutes. Select CANCEL. Set pressure valve to VENTING to quick-release pressure.
4. Remove lid once pressure pin drops. Stir in 1/4 cup milk, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and softened cream cheese.5. Stir in 3 cups baby spinach, minced garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, and an additional 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning. 6. Allow pasta to rest 10 minutes to soak up liquid or serve extra creamy.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate and it’s accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.
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7 Responses
My family loved it! I thought when I served it my picky 8 yr. old would cry, refuse to eat it and get sent to his room, red and green stuff and all, lol (I had already prepared for the firestorm from my hubby), but he gobbled it up after he saw the other 4 of us enjoying it so much, haha. With that being said, I had to make a few alterations. Didn’t have penne, so partial boxes of LG and small mac it was, no sun dried tomatoes, but had just bought jarred roasted red peppers bogo at PUBLIX, lol, no greek seasoning, wung it with a few other spice combos I had (beer can chicken *might* have been one :p and because we NEVER fresh parmesan, I used Kraft in the green shaker canister and some grated Mexican cheese combo. When I was keto we had fresh spinach, but now that I’m fat again, haha, we only had a box of frozen spinach, shhh…no one knew the difference 🙂 It was still super yummy!!!! Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely delicious
Glad you liked it!
Just made Tuscan chicken pasta and this is going to be my favorite. Absolutely delicious. Thank you
Would this fit in a 6qt pressure cooker?
Yes!
Sounds delish! Saving to give it a try soon