Instant Pot Chicken Florentine

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Our creamy Instant Pot Chicken Florentine is a classic Italian dish that we’ve updated for the pressure cooker, made with sun-dried tomatoes, tender chicken, and linguini coated in a light parmesan cream sauce.

Close up picture of a white bowl filled with creamy Instant Pot creamy Florentine pasta with diced chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and topped with parmesan, with whole mushrooms and more parmesan in the background.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE Instant Pot Chicken Florentine

Traditionally, chicken florentine is pan fried and cooked separate from the pasta. However, this easy Instant Pot recipe cooks the linguine and chicken at the same time, so you get delicious Italian flavors that you can have on the table in under 40 minutes.

We are always on the lookout for new pasta dinners because it’s something everyone in the family will eat and because it’s an easy and inexpensive way to expand our meals.

This Chicken Florentine recipe brings together some bold flavors in a creamy, one-pot meal.

Creamy Chicken Florentine is another delicious Instant Pot pasta recipe.

Ingredients for creamy chicken Florentine, including sun dried tomatoes, spices, corn starch, parmesan, chicken broth, mushrooms, spinach, pasta, chicken breasts, butter, oil, and half and half.

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED

To make the best homemade chicken Florentine, you’ll need the following ingredients:

  • Butter: We use a mix of butter and oil to maximize the flavor of this dish.
  • Chicken breasts: We cut these in half or in thirds depending on the size of the chicken breasts you’re using. Cutting them down to size is important to make the cook time match the cook time of the pasta. 
  • Sundried tomatoes: Look for a jar of sundried tomatoes packed in oil. In the stores near us, these skinny jars are found either near the garlic in the produce section or hidden in a tiny row near the canned tomatoes.
  • Garlic: We wrote this recipe to our tastes; use more or less garlic as desired.
  • Button mushrooms: We just bought a pack of these already sliced, but you can substitute for other mushrooms or omit all together.
  • Chicken broth and water: These are for cooking the pasta and flavoring the sauce.
  • Spices: We use the basics of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parsley to flavor the dish.
  • Linguine: The one we used had a 10 to 12 minute cook time. 
  • Cornstarch: This is used with cold water to make a slurry that will thicken the sauce.
  • Spinach: Adds a lovely color and veggies to the dish.
  • Half and half: You can sub milk or heavy cream in a pinch, but it will change the consistency of the sauce.
  • Parmesan cheese: This makes a lovely garnish and adds a lot of flavor with very little needed.
Browning chicken breasts in the Instant Pot for making creamy chicken Florentine.

How to Make Creamy Chicken Florentine in an Instant Pot

This easy recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.

First off, make sure to season the chicken well with salt and pepper before you start cooking. It makes a big difference in the finished flavor.

Melt the butter and brown half of the chicken on one side. Since we’re pressure cooking it later, we don’t need to worry about browning both sides or whether it’s cooked through.  

You’ll need to brown the chicken in two or three small batches, removing the browned chicken after it releases easily from the pan.

Next up, cook the garlic and mushrooms in the sun-dried tomato oil. This will lend a lot of sun-dried flavor to your dish. 

Browned chicken, mushrooms and liquid added to the Instant Pot for making creamy chicken Florentine.

Add 1/2 cup chicken broth, and scrape the bottom of the pot well to get all the browned bits (also called the fond) incorporated into the cooking liquid. Add the chicken along with the spices and diced sun-dried tomatoes. 

IMPORTANT: When you add the linguine pasta on top of the chicken, make sure to break the noodles in half, and layer them in thin, crisscross layers. Do your best to avoid having any large bunches touching each other. DO NOT STIR anything at this point.

Once the linguine is in the pot in a flat layer, add the remaining chicken broth and water, lock the lid, and cook at high pressure for 4 to 5 minutes cook time.

Note: Check the pasta cook time listed on the bag. Our listed cook time was 10-12 minutes, and a 5 minute cook time was just right for us. However, if your linguine has a shorter cook time or if you live close to sea level, you may need to adjust the cook time.

Check out our Perfect Instant Pot Pasta Guide for more details.

Pasta added to the Instant Pot for making creamy chicken Florentine, with chopped spinach in the background.

When the cook time ends, you’ll likely need to do an intermittent pressure release. Switch the valve to venting, allow the pressure to start releasing, but if any liquid or foam starts to come out, switch the valve back to fully sealed, wait about 30 seconds, and vent the pressure again. Repeat as often as needed until all the pressure is released and the valve drops.

Push the linguine to one side and use an instant read thermometer to check the chicken for doneness. (It should be well above 165, but better safe than sorry.) Use a sturdy fork to remove the all of the chicken from the cooking pot. I like to put a cutting board on a rimmed baking dish and dice or shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. (For the photos I diced it because I thought it looked prettier. However, I generally prefer to shred it when I’m making it with pasta.)

An overhead picture of creamy chicken Florentine cooked in an Instant Pot and ready to serve, with fresh parsley in the background.

Give the pasta a good stir to break up any clumps remain. Make a cornstarch slurry by dissolving the cornstarch completely in cold water, then add to the sauce in the pot, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil until the sauce thickens.

Turn off the pressure cooker, then add the baby spinach and let wilt. Slowly stir in heavy cream and the parmesan cheese, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately.

Overhead picture of a white bowl filled with creamy Instant Pot creamy Florentine pasta with diced chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and topped with parmesan, with whole mushrooms and fresh parsley in the background.

Important Tips for Making Chicken Florentine

Since we needed the chicken to match the cook time of the linguini, we cut it into halves or thirds. We tried cutting the chicken both vertically and horizontally (butterflied) if the chicken breasts were really thick. Either way, the smaller pieces of chicken will cook more quickly than if the chicken breast were left whole.

A fork with noodles spun around it in a bowl of Instant Pot creamy chicken Florentine, with fresh parsley in the background.

Frequently Asked Questions about Making Pork Carnitas

Could I use different noodles?

If there’s another pasta you’d like to use, you definitely can. However, for best results, we recommend using noodles with a similar 10-12 minute cook time. Otherwise the pasta will be over cooked by the time the chicken is cooked.

Can I omit the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes?

You can definitely omit the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes if you’re using dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Just use vegetable oil in that step in the recipe. You will lose a little bit of the flavor from the sundried tomato oil, though.

Can I skip browning the chicken?

If you’re in a hurry, you can skip the browning the chicken step. However, be aware the the sauce may be a little less flavorful and it’ll be extra important to use an instant read thermometer to check the chicken.

How long will the leftovers last?

Store the leftover chicken florentine in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. The sauce will thicken as it cools, but you can always add a splash more liquid (broth or water) to loosen it up if necessary. 

A picture of a white bowl filled with creamy Instant Pot creamy Florentine pasta with diced chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and topped with parmesan, with whole mushrooms, parsley, and more parmesan in the background, and placed in front of an Instant Pot.

MORE Instant Pot Pasta Recipes

If you want to make a delicious from-scratch sauce, with the pasta cooked pot-in-pot in your Instant Pot, here are a few of our favorites:


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A fork with noodles spun around it in a bowl of Instant Pot creamy chicken Florentine, with fresh parsley in the background.

Creamy Chicken Florentine | Instant Pot recipe

Servings: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Other Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Course: Chicken, Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Creamy Instant Pot Chicken Florentine features sun-dried tomatoes, tender chicken, baby spinach, and linguini in a light parmesan cream sauce.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Recipe Rate

Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in halves or thirds
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil tomatoes drained and oil reserved, tomatoes diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 oz button mushrooms sliced and roughly chopped
  • 2 cups chicken broth divided
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon parsley
  • 1 16 oz package linguine broken in half
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon cold water
  • 3 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
  • 1 cup half and half plus more if needed
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Select Sauté and add the butter and brown half of the chicken on one side in small batches. Do not crowd the pot! Set the browned chicken aside and repeat with the other half of the chicken (add more butter if needed).
  • Add 1 tablespoon of the sun-dried tomato oil to the cooking pot. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir well to scrape up any stuck-on browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Return the chicken to the pot, along with any juices that have collected. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, and diced sun-dried tomatoes.
  • Add the linguine on top, layering in thin criss-crossed layers. (Try to avoid laying the noodles down in large clumps.) DO NOT STIR. Add the remaining chicken broth and water. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 5* minutes cook time.
  • When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Use a quick pressure release. (If any liquid or foam starts to come out of the valve, switch it back to fully closed and wait a few seconds before venting the pressure again.) When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Remove the chicken from the cooking pot and dice or shred into bite-size pieces.
  • Give the pasta a good stir to ensure no clumps remain. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water. Add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce in the pot, stirring constantly. Select Saute and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. (Should be very quick.)
  • Turn off the pressure cooker and add the baby spinach. Let rest with the lid on (and pot off) for 2-3 minutes to wilt the spinach. Gradually stir in heavy cream and the parmesan cheese. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Notes

*For us, at our altitude, 4 minutes was very al dente pasta and 5 minutes was perfect. Our linguini package had a 10-12 minute cook time on the package. 
The pasta is very liquidy right after cooking. However, after the spinach wilts the liquid is absorbed into the pasta.

Nutrition

Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 1081mg | Potassium: 948mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1902IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 2mg

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