Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta is a creamy, rich pasta recipe that has delicious Italian flavors. This "dump and start" pressure cooker Tuscan chicken pasta recipe is a favorite of many readers!
Originally published on 3/8/2019
Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
I love to make pasta in my Instant Pot® electric pressure cooker! A couple years ago I made a Tuscan chicken recipe that is for the more advanced IP user.
I decided to rework my recipe into a "dump and start" pressure cooker one-pot meal! This version is an easy Instant Pot recipe.
We're coming up on Spring, though the snow this morning would make you think otherwise. But it melted and everyone was able to get around. I decided this would be a good day to rework an old favorite pasta recipe.
My original recipe is called Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken Pasta. Talk about a mouthful! Despite the long name, it is very delicious and my readers love it!
Now the beginners, and those of you who want a simplified version that tastes great, can make this revamped recipe! I left the original recipe on the blog as it does have a slightly different flavor and is saucier. So give that one a try if you want.
As with most of my Instant Pot pasta recipes, this works by layering part of the ingredients in the pot, not stirring them together, and pressure cooking them like that. I tell you how to do this in the recipe card instructions.
By layering the ingredients in a certain way, you can avoid the dreaded burn warning message that indicates scorching on the bottom of the inner cooking pot.
Scorching can keep the pot from coming up to pressure, and usually the machine will just shut off if you don't address it. Best to avoid it altogether if you can!
So for those of you who have not tried cooking pasta in the Instant Pot® yet, I say give this pressure cooker Tuscan chicken pasta recipe a go! It's so nice not to have to drain the pot of hot water! Plus, the texture is really nice!
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Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta is a creamy, rich pasta recipe that has delicious Italian flavors. This “dump and start” pressure cooker Tuscan chicken pasta recipe is a favorite of many readers!
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 ½ lbs Chicken Breast (boneless skinless) cut slightly larger than bite sized
- 4 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 2 teaspoons Soy Sauce
- 1 (7 oz) jar Sun Dried Tomatoes, drained
- 5 cloves Garlic minced (or 3 teaspoons garlic powder)
- ¾ teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (or ½ tsp table salt)
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 8 oz Cream Cheese, cubed
- 16 oz Pasta (cavatappi, macaroni, etc.)
- 1 ½ cups Heavy Cream, divided
- 1 cup Grated Parmesan
- 3-4 cups Fresh Baby Spinach
- 4 Tablespoons Fresh Basil, chopped
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Add the butter, chicken, broth, soy sauce, sun dried tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to the pot. Stir.
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Add the cubes of cream cheese in a layer.
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Pour in the pasta in an even layer and gently push it down into the liquid. Pour 1 cup of the heavy cream over the top.
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Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 3 minutes (this time may vary for the type of pasta you use. I used cavatappi/corkscrew). High Pressure. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
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When the cook cycle is finished, Let the pot sit undisturbed for 3 minutes (this settles down the foam a bit). Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to Quick Release the pressure/steam. If the sauce starts to come out of the vent, close the vent and release the pressure in shorter bursts until you are able to open it fully with no sauce coming out.
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When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid and stir the pasta well to incorporate the cream cheese.
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Add the parmesan and the spinach. Stir very well.
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Add as much of the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream that you want (depending on how saucy you like it), then add the basil and stir in.
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Serve immediately.
Donna Fares
A few years ago I went to a little hole in the wall Italian restaurant where I had a pasta dish with a sauce similar to this. I’ve never been able to find a recipe that came any where near it. Until now. This was AWESOME!! Thank you so much! Will be making this again and again!
doug f
This is by far one of our favorite recipes. I used whole wheat penne and added a minute to the cooking time. I also used Neufchatel cheese and half and half (instead of cream cheese and heavy cream) just to lighten up a bit, and also didn't add the extra half cup of cream at the end, and it was still plenty rich. Great recipe - my household thanks you!
Jean
Wow! This recipe was absolutely amazing! Even my super picky grandson wouldn’t stop raving about it and dubbed it his new favorite meal! That is saying something! Also, just so you know the name of your recipe is now “The Yummy Meal” and they all want it again soon! I only changed two things: I didn’t use wine and I only used one clove of garlic instead of the six suggested.
Asia
Hey! I'm new to the instant pot thing. This will be my second recipe I've made. I wanted to know if you cook the chicken before or you cook it in the pot raw? 3 min just dosent sound like a long time to cook raw chicken.
Sandy
Yes, raw. The size of the pieces, and with pressure cooking being so intense, they will cook perfectly!
Kaitlyn
Instead of the heavy cream I used almond milk, and replaced the Parmesan cheese with mozzarella. Instead of cutting the chicken I cooked the breast as is then shredded it at the end. Used macaroni noodles. Turned out amazing. Thanks for the recipe.
Sandy
Great substitutions! Thanks for your review!
Krista
Just made this and it was delicious. If I make half the recipe, is the cook time the same? Will it work?
Sandy
Thank you! The cook time will stay the same.
April
Thank you for making more dump and start recipes for the IP! This one is really good.