Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
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A one pot, no fuss, no babysitting dinner! Even the uncooked pasta cooks right in the IP, soaking up all that creamy goodness!
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reasons to make instant pot chicken alfredo
- Super speedy dinner. With a short ingredient list with pantry staples, this homemade alfredo comes together very quickly in just 30 min, start to finish. Perfect for busy weeknights that the whole family will love, even the little ones will gobble this up!
- No babysitting, no fuss. Thanks to the Instant Pot, this is truly a one pot dinner where even the uncooked pasta gets cooked right in the IP soaking up all the saucy, cheesy goodness.
tips and tricks for success
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry white wine (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your alfredo sauce. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Freshly grated cheese goes a long way. While pre-grated Parmesan cheese will save a few minutes in the kitchen, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or domestic Parmesan is ideal. This gives the favorited rich, nutty flavors of alfredo sauce, creating a smooth, creamy consistency.
- Mix it up. Swap out the fettuccine noodles for penne or rotini, use chicken breasts (or tenders) instead of thighs or add in some broccoli florets for sneaked-in veggies.
- Use a bigger Instant Pot when doubling. When doubling the recipe, opt for an 8-qt Instant Pot® instead to allow for enough room, filling just before the max line.
pro tip
Let the pressure naturally reduce for a few minutes.
Letting it sit for about 5 minutes will help avoid a sudden burst of starchy water from the release valve.
what to serve with chicken alfredo
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
Additional chicken stock can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
Penne or rotini would work very well here!
Pasta is very starchy, causing foam to spray from the valve. Natural release for 5 minutes first, then carefully pulse the steam release valve to allow the foam to settle until the pressure is fully released.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, adding a splash of chicken stock as needed when reheating.
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces fettuccini noodles, broken in half
- 3 ounces freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- Season chicken with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Melt butter; add chicken, and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute; set aside chicken.
- Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in chicken stock, heavy cream and pasta; top with chicken. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 6 minutes. When finished cooking, natural-release for 5 minutes first, then quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Stir pasta; let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until half the liquid has reduced, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in Parmesan until melted, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Video
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I loooove this recipe. My boyfriend, an ex olive garden waiter and most picky person alive, thinks it’s phenomenal.
I use a 6 qt instant pot and only when I double the recipe do I have problems with liquid bubbling from my pressure release valve. However. I live in Utah and idk what the altitude does but my noodles are never cooked by 6 minutes, and my sauce doesn’t just reduce naturally. Both are pretty easily solved by switching to saute function after pressure cooking to allow the extra liquid to boil down!
Looks so delicious… nice recipe
For all the chefs out there struggling with the mess that can happen while venting on your Instapot. After checking out other recipes it seems the key is layering your ingredients and not stirring them. Start with chicken broth, cream, seasoning and then pasta. I did not add chicken, because I was roasting one in the oven. Also, I waited 5 minutes to release pressure. Don’t use any substitute for the heavy cream, it will curdle for some reason. It was soooooo yummy!! Hope that helps.
Simple and very tasty.
Very good, made exactly as specified with exact ingredients, but probably shouldn’t of let it depressurize on it’s own for even one minute. Noodles were just a tad bit overcooked but that was due to my mistake. Have faith in the instructions. When I opened lid, it did boil up more than I expected(2/3 up lid), but nothing alarming.
Thank you for the recipe!
I made this and it was absolutely delicious. I used half and half instead of heavy cream and Prosecco that I was drinking instead of regular white wine. I added basil and oregano when I sauted the chicken. Flavored perfectly and my family loved it. Oh, I also added about 1/3 or so cream cheese. It was soooo good!
So good but I’m wondering if you can double this recipe and get similar results?
Hi, Im from Manila and I just got an instapot. a gift from my husband. I tried your recipe ( my first time to use insta) and it turned out great. My family loved it. Thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂
Decent flavor but it made a GIANT mess of my Instant Pot and my oak floor. It looked like it snowed in my kitchen. ) Never had that happen before. I seriously am hoping my instant pot isn’t ruined. When I went to release the pot, creamy sauce blew everywhere through the steam vent. I mean EVERYWHERE. I can’t imagine I am on the only one who this happened to. The sauce was oozing through every crevasse of my instant pot steam vent and spraying across the floor. My instant pot, my stove and my floor were white with sauce. So 10 minutes later, after cleaning my house, we got to try the pasta.
The pasta was VERY al dente and I followed the time precisely, so I would use a smaller pasta next time (Maybe spaghetti) that requires less cook time so it is a little softer with this timeline. The chicken was the perfect texture (not overcooked or undercooked).
I also found that it was heavy, like elmers glue. I am more of a wine with a little alfredo fan like they make in Italian Restaurants. This had the same texture as the stuff out of a jar.) Not bad flavor, but it is VERY thick sauce.
So I don’t think I will make it again, but it wasn’t bad but not great either. I am still in search of a restaurant quality alfredo.
To address the geyser issue when releasing pressure: I only did 4 minutes manual, then let it go 2 min natural release. Even doing that, I had to put a towel right by the valve and release *slowly*. If I started going too fast, it definitely tried to sputter out the sauce. So go slow. I let it sit for the 3 minutes, but it was still very soupy. Stirred in the cheese, which didn’t help as much as I thought it would. I removed the inner pot to let it sit for awhile, thinking cooling it down would thicken it, but nope. I ended up adding a bit of cornstarch. It really is delicious though. We have been in a dinner rut, my kids ate like all of it. I think next time I will add a full 16oz of noodles because there is so much sauce. And that would help too with the soupy issue. This one will be added to my rotation for sure. Thank you!!
I’ve made this a few times now. It’s a family favorite!!
This was delicious and easy. Both my husband and son loved it as well.
My family loved this. I loved making it. It was so easy. Unfortunately I can’t eat it because I’m lactose intolerant. But it smells great!
So delicious. So simple. Creamy and flavorful. Perfect. Better than our highly rated local Italian restaurant. Definitely a family favorite. Will make this again and again.
No matter how long I let this sit, the sauce was terribly thin and soupy. The flavor was good, but the consistency was hard to get over. Made me sad!
this is one of my favorite instant pot recipes. as another commenter mentioned, i get 8oz of white mushrooms and quarter them then saute in butter and add them at the end, it really adds something. to anyone asking i have also doubled this recipe and not changed anything other than doubling the ingredients and it turned out great!
What size is your Instant Pot? I was hoping to double the recipe but mine is 6 Qt.
also 6 qt
This was easy to make and delicious, though I added mushrooms which I think created more juices so it was a little on the soupy side (oops) but it still had great flavor. I used a mix of regular freshly shredded parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano(YUM). Will definitely make again but maybe cut back on a little broth if I am using mushrooms, or maybe sauteing them first would help.
Made a second time, this time when adding mushrooms to the recipe I sauteed the mushrooms first then set aside and added them back in when adding in the cheese(I love mushrooms so I love having them in my pasta). Turned out perfectly creamy. New go-to alfredo recipe for sure.
Excellent made thus about 10 times already
I put in a whole pound of rigatoni 5 chicken breasts and 2 cups of heavy cream.
looks great, but is the pasta pre cooked before you add it to the instant pot?
Good flavor but I had the same problem that many had with this recipe. I had a geyser of alfredo sauce when I quick-released the steam from my IP. What a mess. Not sure what happened. I’ll give it another try but if anyone figures out the problem that many of us are having please post the solution.
I have an Ultra and have made this twice for my family now, no issues other than the sauce requires me to turn on the sautee function to reduce it… no way is it going to thicken in 3 minutes, the first time I waited/attempted and it was no where close.
With it being such a big hit, I shared with my parents… they have the normal IP where you turn the pressure release valve for QR vs. pressing a manual button down on my Ultra. My mom said it went EVERYWHERE… all over the floor, it erupted! It was a mess (they’re still cleaning) but they said it tasted great…
I’ve seen other comments that had a similar experience… did you try again without a geyser? I wonder if anyone has figured out why some have the sauce issue with QR???
Kristy, I did try again and followed another person’s feedback to layer the ingredients and not stirring them. I started with chicken broth, cream, seasoning and then pasta. I got the same results as your Mom…sauce EVERYWHERE. Too bad because this was a great recipe. I wonder if maybe it is the “brand” of cream that could be the culprit.
I LOVE me some Damn Delicious recipes. Unfortunately this was a “toss it in the trash and figure out something else” recipe. Absolutely nothing about this dish turned out well. Undercooked pasta, flavorless sauce. I’ll stick with Chungah’s other recipes!
What is the measurement of 1 cup in ml, please?
About 236.588 mL.
This recipe is a keeper! The Alfredo is one of the best I have ever made. The family loved this meal. I loved how quick and easy it was. Thanks
So damn delicious! I made this as stated but my cream seemed to have separated and curdled when I opened the instant pot. It still tasted great after stirring, but is it supposed to look like a cottage cheese before I mix it? No one noticed and every bit was gobbled up, but I’m curious if I messed up. Thanks!
did you use whipping cream or half and half? Half and half or milk will curdle.