If you are looking for something a little more special to make for dinner, try this Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken Pasta. It has a lot going on! Tender chicken in a rich, creamy sauce flavored with sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and finished with fresh baby spinach. A wondrous one-pot meal made in your electric pressure cooker!
Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken Pasta
This is a meal you could proudly serve to your special guests, or make to treat your family special! Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken Pasta is a long name, but not short on flavor! Super delicious, and wonderfully creamy, without being too heavy.
We love a good pasta dish around here. Even better if it is loaded with flavorful ingredients! As much as I enjoy a tasty basic Instant Pot Mac and Cheese, there are times I want something really different. That is what this recipe is. I just adore the flavors. It is truly a one-pot meal with the chicken and spinach in there!
I’ve been asked how to be successful making Instant Pot recipes. Well, with any recipe, I practice what is called “Mise en place” (French pronunciation: [mi zɑ̃ ˈplas]), a French culinary phrase which means “putting in place” or “everything in its place.” My number one tip is to get everything ready. Chop the onions, peel the garlic, measure out all of the liquids, pasta, and spices.
It is a much more enjoyable process when everything is there at your fingertips! Since you will be using the Sauté feature throughout most of this recipe, you won’t want to leave it unattended for long.
Having said that, it’s a pretty easy recipe, considering the outcome is so outstanding! Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken Pasta takes about an hour to make, with the prep. Not too bad! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Here is a new version of this recipe, with slightly different ingredients. It is a “Dump and Start” recipe. Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni
Instant Pot Meatball Pasta Dinner
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli
Instant Pot Chili Mac
Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken Pasta has tender chicken in a rich, creamy sauce flavored with sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and finished with fresh baby spinach.
- 2 or 3 Chicken Breasts, pounded to an even thickness (not too thin, just even)
- 2 Tbsps Olive Oil, divided in half
- 1 Tbsp Paprika, smoked or sweet
- 2 tsp Coarse Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 4 Tbsps Butter, divided in half
- 1 small Sweet Onion, diced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced in 2" strips
- 6 cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 1/3 cup White Wine (or chicken broth)
- 1 7oz jar Sun Dried Tomatoes, drained (reserve 2 Tbsps of the oil)
- 2 Tbsps Oil from Sun Dried Tomatoes
- 2 tsps Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Oregano, dried
- 1/4 tsp Thyme, dried
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 4 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 1 cup Milk
- 12 oz Small Elbow Macaroni Pasta (3 1/2 cups dry)
- 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, grated or sliced, if fresh
- 5oz Fresh Baby Spinach
- 1 1/2 cups Half and Half
- Fresh Basil Leaves, for garnish
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Rub the chicken with 1 Tbsp of the divided oil, paprika, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
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Turn on the Sauté function of the pot. When the display reads Hot, add 1 Tbsp of the olive oil that you divided.
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Add the chicken breasts and cook them for about 4 minutes per side, until you get good color on both sides. Remove to a plate and cover.
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Add 2 Tbsps of the butter and the onion. Sauté for a few minutes and then add the bell pepper and the garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
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Add the wine (or 1/3 cup broth) and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze it (scraping up all of the brown bits from bottom of pan).
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Add the sun dried tomatoes, sun dried tomato oil, Italian seasoning, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper.
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Stir in the chicken broth and the milk. Let come to a simmer, then add the pasta. Stir.
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Add the chicken breasts and put the lid on the pot, locking it in place and turning the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Cancel the Sauté function.
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Select Pressure Cook (or Manual) and use the + or - (or dial) to choose 4 minutes.
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When the cooking time is done, and the pot beeps, do a controlled Quick Release of the pressure. Start slow so you minimize the risk of sauce spewing out with the steam. Then let it go fully. When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid and stir the contents (there may be a little stuck on the bottom, just scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen it.
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Remove the chicken to a plate and cover with foil or a lid that will keep the heat in. Do not leave it uncovered as it is still finishing cooking that last bit.
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Mix together the flour and remaining 2 Tbsps of softened butter until combined. Stir into the sauce.
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Add the cheeses, stirring after each one.
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Stir in the spinach.
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Stir in the Half and half.
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Taste and adjust salt, if needed.
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Take the temperature of the chicken. It should read 165 degrees (F). Cut it into bite sized chunks and add it to the pasta. Stir it in.
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Serve garnished with torn basil leaves.
This is a saucy dish, it won't be thick like mac and cheese.
Updated 12/5/17
Adapted from CafeDelites, Tuscan Mac and Cheese
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Jeanie
I made a couple changes due to what I had in the house–medium shells for the pasta and didn’t have enough spinach. I also accidently opened a jar of roasted bell peppers and drained them before I realized I was supposed to use sun dried tomatoes. Next time, I’ll use the correct ingredients. I added more spinach when reheating. The first night, it was a little too soupy for my taste but it thickened up nicely when reheating. I reheated it in the IP on slow cooker, low, for about two hours, stirring about 3/4 of the way through the cooking.
Kristen
Absolutely loved this! I’ve had the recipe pinned for a year and finally tried it out. I added a little more fresh garlic (we love garlic!!) and I sliced my chicken breasts very thin so they were almost cooked through after browning which allowed me to cut them up at the end without having to cover. Doubled the spinach, and used moistened sun dried tomatoes because that’s all I had. This is such a flexible, yummy recipe!