This 30 minute Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo recipe is a staple of our monthly meal rotation. Creamy, cheesy, and garlicky, it’s a pasta that makes everyone happy!
Love alfredo? This easy one pan Spinach Alfredo Pasta is a family favorite. Simply dump it all in a 13×9, bake, and enjoy! Or try our alfredo stuffed shells for an easy freezer recipe.
Instant Pot Alfredo Recipe
Making alfredo is already a simple dinner. For instance, this Sausage Alfredo is ready in under 30 minutes.
So why choose the instant pot?
Well, for one, less mess. The pasta, chicken and sauce all cook in ONE pot. Makes clean up so easy.
It’s also a wonderful method to use if you want a level of “set it and forget it” to your cooking. You can leave the pasta and chicken while it cooks and trust that it’s cooked to perfection when the timer goes off.
- 7 simple ingredients.
- One pot recipe.
- Extra creamy sauce.
- Perfect Parmesan flavor.
- An easy kid-friendly dinner any night of the week!
If you love cheesy dinner recipes, our chicken tetrazzini recipe gets 5 stars!
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken breast. Boneless skinless chicken thighs make a great substitute!
- Heavy cream. Gives chicken alfredo the cream quality alfredo sauce is famous for.
- Chicken broth. Combines with the heavy cream to form a delicious savory sauce.
- Pressed garlic. For that irresistible aromatic flavor.
- Fettuccini noodles. Other long noodles can be used. Break them in half so they all fit into your Instant Pot.
- Parmesan cheese. Because what’s chicken alfredo without it? Grate it fresh before adding to the cooked pasta and sauce.
Recipe FAQs
In this recipe, the chicken breast should be sliced after cooking. This ensures it is done at the same time as the pasta and Alfredo sauce.
Chicken Alfredo is a versatile meal that tastes great with most vegetables.
Serve it with steamed broccoli and a mixed green salad for a full meal. Roasted vegetables would be delicious with this pasta dish too.
Store leftover Chicken Alfredo in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat and enjoy within 3-5 days.
For a little spice, sprinkle a few crushed red pepper flakes on your alfredo pasta before serving. If you love a super garlicky pasta, feel free to add a clover or two of additional pressed garlic, or a teaspoon of garlic powder.
Easy Instant Pot Alfredo Tips
- This recipe can easily be doubled without changing the cook time.
- You can also choose to skip the chicken altogether and make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth.
- Leftovers are great. Reheat with a splash of milk in the microwave.
- Some people LOVE their fettuccine alfredo thick and creamy. You can add in some cubes of cream cheese if this is you. My husband would freak if I did this, as he is a purist, haha!
- If you’d like your noodles a little more al dente, you can cut back the cook time by 2 minutes. But, I would first saute the chicken for two minutes then, to make sure it’s fully cooked. You can do this by setting your Instant Pot to saute, sear the chicken for two minutes, remove, then follow the directions as written, except cut your cooking time by 2 minutes.
- Love to add garlic to everything? This recipe calls for about 1 tsp of fresh minced, but feel free to add to your liking.
Want more Instant Pot Recipes?
Well, good news. I’ve got some great recipes up my sleeve for the New Year, so stay tuned.
- In the meantime, how about starting with the basics. Like this recipe for Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs. The simple 5-5-5 method for making perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs. You’ll be amazed at how easily they peel, and how creamy and delicious they taste!
- No more all day cooking to make a batch of fresh applesauce. This homemade Instant Pot applesauce recipe is ready for dinner tonight!
- Looking for a delicious, easy weeknight dinner idea? This Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Casserole recipe is the perfect comfort food, and ready in under 30 minutes! Tastes just like mom’s homemade stuffed peppers, only easier and quicker!
- Tender roasted, Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches cooked in the Instant Pot. Piled on a crusty french roll with extra cheese, this flavorful dinner is then dipped in au jus!
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Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon pressed garlic
- ½ pound fettuccini noodles broken in half
- 1 pound chicken breast
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First, set your Pressure Cooker on your counter and plug it in. Find a safe spot that when you release the pressure, you have clearance above.
- Next, layer your ingredients in the order specified. This makes a difference. Start by adding your chicken broth, then heavy whipping cream, and fresh pressed garlic.
- Do not stir. Next, break your fettuccine noodles in half. This helps them fit in the pressure cooker. Place them in your milk and broth mixture gently, moving around slightly until they are covered completely.
- Top with 1 pound fresh chicken breast (or frozen actually works with this recipe too). Lay over the top (they don't need to be covered with liquid.
- Secure your lid and make sure your vent is turned to pressure (each version is different so check your manual to make sure you understand how to prep your Instant Pot for cooking).
- Set your Instant Pot for "Manual" for 8 minutes. Allow it to come to pressure, then the timer will count down the 8 minutes.
- Once the 8 minutes are done, allow it to "NATURALLY" release (meaning don't touch it) for an additional 8 minutes. Once that time is up, do a QUICK RELEASE.
- Open carefully (away from your face so the steam doesn't burn you)! Remove the chicken (to shred it, or slice it). Then add the parmesan cheese. I use freshly shredded parmesan (not the green can stuff). Stir your noodles with the cheese, then add back your chicken. Salt and pepper, generously, to taste.
- Allow it to sit for about 1 or 2 minutes to thicken if needed.
Notes
- For best results, pound your chicken breasts to even thickness.
- If using frozen chicken, cook time will remain same, but pot may take longer to come to pressure.
Video
Nutrition
Easy, inexpensive and completely delicious Chicken Alfredo Pasta is even easier when you use your Instant Pot!
Hello from Holland 😁, great recip, made it several times ( never got a burn 😉) thx so much for sharing ( oh I added some fresh spinach at the end 😊)
It tasted wonderful, but I kept getting the burn notice. I followed the recipe to the letter. 🤷♀️
Delicious!!
Has anyone else made the mistake of adding the Parmesan cheese to the instant pot with the other ingredients?
Is it possible to make this recipe in a slow cooker instead of Instant Pot? If yes, are there any changes that need to be made to the recipe?
I haven’t tested this recipe in the slow cooker. If you try it, let us know.
Yum so good!!! The whole family loved it! Doubled the recipe and made it exactly per recipe😍
Thank you!!!
As stated in the recipe, frozen chicken works just have to wait for a longer time for the pressure cooker to heat up.
Followed your directiosn exactely.. still get a burn everytime.. no i didn;’t stir anythign.. i placed it all in order.. i made sure the noodles were covered.. it gets to pressure then “burn warning. i even DOUBLEd the liquid.
Not the recipe maker, but I had the same problem every time I used fettuccine noodles so I changed to penne and it came out amazing. Was recommended by the friend who originally linked the recipe to me ❤
This was my second attempt at an instant pot recipe and it did not disappoint! The recipe is simple, quick and easy. The flavor of the alfredo was delicious! The only downfall was the chicken seemed to be a little dry/tough. I’m not sure if that would improve with a different type of chicken (things, tenderloins, thin sliced). I’m not sure how this would impact the cook time. Overall a delicious recipe that we will be trying agian!
How do you lighten it up?
I’ve made this recipe dozens of times without the chicken and had great results. Tonight I used half and half instead of heavy cream and added chicken breast. The result was terrible. Water with chunky cream and froth. The noodles were all congealed. I’m upset I wasted time and a pound of chicken on this. It must have been the half and half.
I have made this dish 4 times, it has become a family favorite! I double the recipe because it’s so popular and everyone loves the leftovers! Thank you so much!!
we just made this in the 8qt ninja foodi and all the noodles stuck to the bottom of the pot and burnt, which is really unfortunate considering how good the chicken came out and how cheap and quick and easy and the recipe is. it seems like not many others had this issue given the thousands of positive reviews so it’s probably user error. can someone please help me figure out what went wrong and give me any tips to make this work?
Did you make sure to layer in the order and not stir? I’m sorry this happened. I tested this in Instant Pot not Ninja Foodi, but assume they work the same.
Mine stuck also. The ‘burnt’ error came up on my Instant Pot screen. Love the outcome but it did not make it to 8 minutes… stopped before the timer started. Followed the recipe to a T.
Can I cut the chicken up into pieces before cooking it or do I have to wait until afterwards?
I changed the recipe and it came out GRRREAT!!! I used bowtie pasta instead of fettucini. I added in broccoli and mushroom slices in to make it healthier and to reduce calories. I cook it WITHOUT the veggies or chicken or mushrooms in the Instant Pot, sprinkle some red pepper flakes into the recipe and put the Instant Pot on low pressure for 6 minutes. When done, I release the steam, add in JUST THE BROCCOLI and cook it all for another 3 minutes.
Meanwhile in a skillet I heat up canola oil in a skillet really hot. When really hot I sprinkle in cajun blackening spices then throw in the chicken pieces and turning the pieces maybe every minute and adding more blackening spices when I flip the pieces over. After about 5 minutes I add in chopped up tomato pieces into the skillet for a few minutes and stir it all in. After a few minutes I lower the heat and cover the skillet with a lid for about 5 minutes.
When the Instant Pot is done I add the mushroom slices in and stire, then add parmesan cheese and stir that in. I put it on a plate and add some blackened chicken and tomato slices on it. Tastes terrific!