Shortcut Chicken Alfredo

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This Instant Pot Shortcut Chicken Alfredo is made with jarred sauce, chicken breasts, and bowtie pasta for a quick and easy one-pot weeknight pasta dinner. 

Instant Pot chicken Alfredo topped with fresh parmesan and basil and placed in a white bowl tie a bread stick in the background.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe: If you love creamy pasta dishes but don’t want to build an alfredo sauce from scratch, this recipe gives you all the richness and heartiness of homemade alfredo without the work! Plus it has a quick 5-minute cooking time.

We have a popular recipe for shrimp alfredo on the site and have always had requests for a chicken version, so we’re excited to share it!

While we made a from-scratch alfredo sauce on the shrimp alfredo recipe, we wanted to include a shortcut version for jarred sauce. If you prefer a from-scratch sauce, you can use the sauce in that recipe: add butter and garlic before pressure cooking the chicken and the other sauce ingredients afterwards.

This is a popular weeknight chicken dinner recipe, right along with Instant Pot Butter Chicken, Instant Pot Chicken Tacos, and Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken.

Ingredients for Instant Pot chicken alfredo, including parmesan, alfredo sauce, seasonings, bowtie pasta, chicken broth, and chicken breasts.

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED

Here’s what you need for the best Instant Pot chicken alfredo:

  • Chicken. We use boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
  • Pasta. We recommend bow ties (farfalle). 
  • Seasonings. Flavor this easy pasta dish with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. 
  • Broth. You can use low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth. 
  • Cornstarch. This is necessary for thickening up the Alfredo sauce. 
  • Alfredo sauce. Use your favorite jarred sauce. 
Chicken breasts in the bottom of an Instant Pot for making chicken alfredo.

How to Make Shortcut Chicken Alfredo Pasta 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.

Whenever you’re cooking pasta in a sauce in an Instant Pot, it’s key to layer everything properly. So start by adding the olive oil, chicken, and seasonings to the pot. Then place the pasta on top, and cover everything with the chicken broth and water. Cook this on high pressure for five minutes. 

When the cooking time ends, use a quick pressure release and remove the lid. Give everything a good stir, then transfer the chicken from the pot to a plate and shred it into small pieces. 

In a separate bowl, make a slurry with the cornstarch and water. Then carefully push the pasta in the pressure cooking pot to one side and slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the pot, stirring constantly to fully incorporate it. Let the mixture come to a simmer and thicken.

Shortcut chicken already cooked and ready to serve from an Instant Pot.

Now you can turn off the pressure cooker and add the chicken, alfredo sauce, and fresh parsley. Stir everything together and serve it up!

An overhead shot of a white bowl filled with bow-tie noodles, chicken, and alfredo sauce with a wooden spoon sticking out of the lower right corner. The white bowl is sitting on a beige napkin, with a small copper bowl of cheese and a small white bowl with salt and pepper seasonings, served with a breadstick.

Important Tips for Making Chicken Alfredo

  • When cooking pasta in a pressure cooker, things might get a little foamy. When releasing the pressure, you may need to do a stop-start where you manually open the steam release, then quickly close it to let the foam subside and repeat a few times until foam is no longer coming out. 
  • Before you remove the chicken from the pot, check that it’s fully cooked. It should reach 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. If not, continue cooking using the Sauté feature until it’s fully cooked. 
  • We prefer shredded chicken in the pasta, which is why we cut the chicken breast into two or three pieces before pressure cooking. Chicken diced into bite-size pieces would cook much more quickly than the pasta. If you prefer chunks of chicken, you can dice it instead of shredding it.
  • We chose bow tie pasta for this recipe because it has a longer cook, which works great with shreddable chicken.
  • Use your favorite brand of alfredo sauce. When it goes on sale, we get Rao’s alfredo sauce. Otherwise, we usually get Bertolli. 
Shortcut chicken alfredo on a fork with a bowl of Instant Pot chicken Alfredo in the background, served with a bread stick.

Frequently Asked Questions about Shortcut Chicken Alfredo

What Alfredo sauce is best?

Any jarred sauce that you like will work! When it goes on sale, we really like Rao’s alfredo. Otherwise we use Bartoli’s.

Can I use a different pasta shape?

We chose farfalle/bowties because it will be done at the same time as the chicken. Smaller pasta will get mushy and larger, longer shapes may not cook all the way through. 

How should I store leftovers?

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

Shortcut chicken Alfredo served in a white bowl with parmesan and basil on top, placed in front of an Instant Pot.

MORE Instant Pot Chicken Pasta Recipes

Try these other quick and easy chicken and pasta dinner recipes next:


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An overhead shot of a white bowl filled with bow-tie noodles, chicken, and alfredo sauce with a wooden spoon sticking out of the lower right corner. The white bowl is sitting on a beige napkin, with a small copper bowl of cheese and a small white bowl with salt and pepper seasonings.

Shortcut Chicken Alfredo | Instant Pot recipe

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Other: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
This Instant Pot shortcut chicken alfredo uses jarred alfredo sauce, chicken breasts, and bowtie pasta to make a family favorite weeknight dinner.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Recipe Rate

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts about 1 lb, cut into two or three equal-sized pieces
  • 1 package (16 oz) farfalle bow-tie pasta
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper plus more to taste
  • 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons cold water
  • 1 jar (15 oz) alfredo sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • Finely chopped fresh basil for serving
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

  • In the pressure cooking pot, add the olive oil, chicken breasts, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour the pasta in an even layer on top. Carefully pour in the chicken broth and water over the top. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 5** minutes cook time.
  • When the cook time ends, use a quick pressure release. Keep in mind that pasta can foam or spit, so you may need to seal the pot, wait a few seconds, then open it again. Repeat as needed until all the pressure is released and the valve has dropped. Carefully remove the lid and stir.
  • Use a fork to remove the chicken breasts from the cooking pot. Use an instant read thermometer to ensure it is above 165F. Use two forks to shred the chicken. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water. Push the pasta to one side of the bowl and slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the cooking pot, stirring constantly. Select Saute and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Turn off the pressure cooker and stir in the alfredo sauce and parsley until well combined.
  • Serve immediately topped with basil and cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 634kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 32g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 173mg | Sodium: 1567mg | Potassium: 342mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.5mg

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