Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo with Jar Sauce is so easy, and it cooks the pasta perfectly al dente! With premade jar sauce, this meal is ready to enjoy in 30 minutes! Dry pasta in a pot? Sounds crazy, right? But this is a recipe you'll make again and again!
Originally posted on Pressure Cooker Meals August 2018, updated here July 2024.
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Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
Pasta dishes with creamy sauce are always a hit at my house. Add chunks of chicken breasts, jarred alfredo sauce, and parmesan cheese, and you have the perfect dish!
Many years ago, I shared an Alfredo recipe that is still in our meal rotation, but sometimes I want a more "hands-off" meal, and this one-pot dinner is the perfect solution.
Instant Pot Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo takes a classic dish and turns it into an easy, quick meal.
I also love that I don't have to mess up a ton of dishes to make a filling meal for my whole family. We add some toasted crusty bread and maybe a salad with the pressure cooker chicken alfredo and call it a meal!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Pressure cooking a pasta recipe is always a great idea - it cuts your cooking time way down, and it's so much easier than cooking on the stovetop.
- Using jarred pasta sauce is a shortcut that makes this recipe magic. It's also easy, with only four steps.
- It's ready in about 30 minutes - meaning it's perfect for a busy weeknight or date nights at home when you don't want to spend the whole evening cooking.
- It's a one-pot meal - no sink full of dishes to wash after supper.
Tools
- Instant Pot or other Electric Pressure Cooker
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
Ingredients
The ingredients for this chicken alfredo instant pot recipe are really basic and easy to find at your local grocery store if you don't already have them.
- Chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks.
- Jarred Alfredo sauce
- Pasta - broken if you're using a long pasta like fettuccine or spaghetti. We always use fettuccine noodles, but really, any pasta would work. Penne pasta or rigatoni are other pasta shapes I keep in our pantry all the time and go great with Alfredo.
- Vegetable oil or olive oil
- Garlic, minced - you could use garlic powder, but I much prefer using minced garlic. I keep a jar in the fridge at all times.
- Black pepper
- Water
- Parmesan for garnish (optional)
Substitutions
Chicken breasts - you could also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into small pieces.
If you want to skip the steps of cutting up chicken and sauteing it, you can tear up a rotisserie chicken and add it to the pot with the other ingredients. If you choose to use rotisserie chicken, add it to the other ingredients and give it a good stir to coat it with sauce before you start your Instant Pot.
Alfredo sauce - Jarred Alfredo sauce is the magic that makes this recipe so easy, but if you want to make homemade Alfredo sauce, you certainly can! I have a recipe here that's made with heavy cream and ready in 20 minutes or I really like this easy Alfredo sauce made with cream cheese—it's delicious and also really easy!
Water - Sometimes I have chicken broth, and sometimes I don't. If I have chicken broth on hand, I use 2 cups of it instead of the 2 cups of water in this recipe. It adds a little extra boost of flavor, but it's not necessary! Water works just as well!
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
This is the easiest recipe you'll come across for Pressure Cooker Chicken Alfredo.
- Add oil to the inner pot and turn on "Saute." When the oil is hot, sear chicken in the bottom of the pot and stir until all the pieces are golden brown on the outside.
- Once the chicken is brown, add the jar of alfredo sauce and the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
- Turn on high pressure for 5 minutes and quick release when finished.
- Add some fresh shredded parmesan on top of the pasta plus some garlic bread and/or salad!
To cook it, add a little oil to your Instant Pot and turn it on "Saute." Let the oil get hot, then add in the chicken. Cook all the way through (stirring as needed).
This gives the chicken some extra color and flavor when it is a little seared on all sides.
Variations
Add in some fresh parsley for more color or a teaspoon (or two) of Italian seasoning to amp up the flavors.
Want to add a vegetable? Add some fresh spinach or a cup or two of fresh broccoli florets to the pot before pressure cooking. Either one of these is a delicious, nutritious option!
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Recipe Tips
- The chicken will cook faster when it's cut into small, bite-size chunks.
- Make sure the pasta is broken into smaller pieces and completely covered in liquid (as best you can). Stir to separate the pasta so it doesn't cook in one large clump.
Storage Directions
Store any leftover Instant Pot Alfredo in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Warm in the microwave for best results.
If the pasta and chicken seem dry, you can pour a splash of milk or heavy cream over the pasta before reheating to reintroduce some moisture.
More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
Get the full recipe on the recipe card below!
PrintRecipe
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
This creamy Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo is delicious and so simple. You'll have a meal ready for your family in no time!
Ingredients
- 1 22 oz. jar Alfredo Sauce
- 2 Tbsp. minced garlic (to taste)
- 1.5 - 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut up
- 1 16 oz. box dry pasta*
- Pepper (to taste)
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Add oil to the pot and turn on "Saute". When the oil is hot, cook the chicken in the pressure cooker until golden brown on the outside.
- Once the chicken is brown, add all other ingredients to the pot.
- Turn on high pressure for 5 minutes and quick release when finished.
- Enjoy with shredded parmesan, garlic bread and/or salad!
Notes
*If using spaghetti or alfredo or any other long noodle, break the pasta into smaller pieces.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American Italian
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Easy One Pot Instant Pot Spaghetti & Meatballs
Mary Murray
Do you shred the chicken when it's ready?
Josie K
you can if you want!
AK
This recipe turned out pretty good! I used canned chicken instead, plus an extra jar of alfredo sauce. The timing didn't work out as well for me, though. The noodles were still crunchy after 3 minutes, so I put it on for another 2 minutes.
Leanda Cline
First time making it tonight turned out great i changed things up a little added my own blend of seasoning to chicken used 1 cup broth more garlic than recipe called for (we love garlic) made home made garlic butter for toast as i was out of garlic bread....
Rose Atwater
That's awesome!!
Jacob
One issue following directions as written is noodles being undercooked
Josie K
Hey Jacob, Al Dente might not be for you then. I would suggest 2 more minutes of cooking.
Julie
Some of my noodles stuck together and weren’t cooked thru. I broke the noodles in half.
Rebecca
This was my first ever Instant Pot meal and it was a super success! I would really recommend this! It was DELICIOUS!!
Josie K
wohoo! So glad you love it Rebecca!
Kathleen
You use linguine with this? Do you break it at all?
Josie K
I didn't break it but that doesn't mean you can't!
Sarah
How do you get the linguini to "bend" in the pot if you don't break it?
Lisa
What if you have frozen chicken? I know it would talk longer (25 mins or so right?) but would that make the noodles be over cooked?
Josie K
I would cook the chicken a little more than half way through-- then add the pasta and run just a little longer to cook the chicken all the way through.
Jennifer
So is this a thing? I made a meal last night and the noodles were a touch over cooked and the chicken under cooked. I wondered if I should have cooked the chicken partially and then added the other ingredients.
Samantha Martin
Would you add more water if adding frozen broccoli?
Josie K
no, because the frozen broccoli will release the water from itself!
Kate
Trying it right now. It is going to be my first dish! Wicked nervous! It is in the on, powering up function right now. It's been that way for about 5 minutes.
Lori Caldwell
Ok, so I read all the comments and suggestions above and I have found out the following. I followed the original recipe with the following tweeks: the noodles were still a little hard after cooking 5 minutes. Maybe add 1-2 minutes more to 6 or 7 minutes. You definitely need to add another jar of Alfredo to equal 2 jars. I used basil pesto Alfredo and the flavor was good. It would help if the chicken was shredded as well in my opinion. It was still good but I will make the following changes next time.
Cindy
The pasta recipe I have says to take the pasta cooking time on the box divided by 2 plus 1 minute. My box of pasta says 10 minutes, so I need to cook for 6 (5+1)
Tiki
So grateful to find this recipe. I am taking a gamble, and added cooked shredded chicken. This is only my second attempt at a recipe, and using the chicken breasts I cooked the other night in the IP. I was debating about adding fresh mushrooms, but wasn't sure how that would turn out. Does anyone have any insight to using fresh mushrooms in the IP?
Josie K
go for it!
IPfanatic
I've made a couple recipes with fresh mushrooms, and they turned out fabulously! In my experience, I did not have to precook/saute the mushrooms.
Kathy
From my seven year old: "the best thing ever!"
Diane Markey
Hi! I just ordered my IP today from Amazon! SO excited. Is there a way to sign up for automatic emails every time you post? I'm going to need a good source for easy meals. I'm looking forward to trying this recipte. Thank you.
Joe
First attempt at a meal with my insta pot. Used frozen chicken so used the poultry setting. What a disaster. I ended up with starchy bricks of pasta and undercooked chicken. Fished out the worst of the pasta and put it all back under pressure for another ten minutes. Chicken was cooked but the entire thing was a runny underwhelming mess. I could have spent the last hour plus making it in the oven and would have had a meal I could have served. I hope things get better with the instapot...
Molly
Can I just say that if you don't follow the directions and things go awry, it's not the fault of the recipe or the pot.
Sara
Sorry you had a bad experience, Joe, but you can't negatively rate a recipe that you've altered. That's like going to a restaurant and dumping half a jar of salt on your food and then giving a bad review because it's too salty.
It calls for diced chicken breast not whole frozen. That's going to significantly change the cooking time for the chicken which is fine but you should have added the noodles in much later. It's no surprise they were over cooked.
Kate
except the pictures show a whole chicken breast??
Sarah
Your picture shows a whole chicken breast in the bottom of the IP but it should actually be diced?
Josie K
it really is up to you. I diced mine after it cooked 🙂
Mk
Don’t use frozen chicken
Anne Marie
I am very new to this type of cooking. Mine burnt. Not sure why. It's a stove top cooker not electric.
Josie K
Anne Marie, I'm sorry all my recipes are meant for Electric
Jessica C
I got a IP for christmas I'm so excited to try this thing out...this recipe is in it now **fingers crossed***
Kay Denise
Made this last night. As I was making it for two people, I didn't use a whole box of the noodles. Everything was cooked (al dente noodles) after 3 minutes but still runny. I mixed in a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup and got a good consistency. Very tasty! Thanks for sharing.... These pressure cookers are an adventure!
Kate
My husband made this tonight and it was not so great. The pictures of the saute shows a whole chicken breast but the recipe details say diced. Do you saute first and then cut up? Also he used two breasts so he put the time to 3 minutes. Pasta ended up being a brick of barely cooked pasta (and I like al dente. This was not al dente). Suggestions?
Kirsten
I was wondering if I add two jars of sauce, do I still need to add 2 cups of water? Please let me know.
Josie K
I would do one cup if you have two jars. Hope that helps!
Ann
I have a large family and a 12 qt pressure cooker. If I tripple the recipe, what happens to the time cooked?
Josie K
I would times 3 the time 🙂
Al
Noooo!
Denise P
I used a package of chicken tenders and fettuccine pasta. Needed 7 minutes to cook. Delicious, I love my Instapot!i
Josie K
ME TOO! 😉
tara williams
Has anyone tried this with shrimp? Should i cool the shrimp first or toss it all in together?
Josie K
I would put the shrimp in AFTER its all done cooking.. because shrimp tend to get mushy.
Sue rogers
Made this with some boneless skinless thighs I had. Used a box of THICK spaghetti. Other than adding a bouillon cube to the water, it cooked exactly and was surprisingly tasty! I'm a snobby Italian (lol) and was making this for my son--but it was certainly something I would eat! ( also used 2 fresh garlic cloves, pressed).
Debbie Giovannetti
Hi, thought I’d tell you my husband has celiac so I made this with gluten free pasta. I used leftover chicken and it was really good! I followed your everything and the timing was perfect! Pasta cooked just right. Thanks!
Carrie
I used chicken I had on hand which was frozen wings. Cooked them in 2 cups water on chicken setting first. Then took the meat off the bones and put it back in with noodles I had on hand...elbow and alfedo sauce. Just kept original 2 cups water from cooking chicken in the pot and cooked 3 minutes. Perfect!
Katy
I have a presto pressure cooker, the instructions say no pasta, dose using alfredo sauce make it safe to cook? (Meaning no risk of froth) Thanks
Lisa Raikowski
Has anyone tried this using egg noodles? They would fit in the pot easier without trying to bend. If so, did you adjust the time?
Amu
If I use frozen chicken how does alter the time?
Josie K
I would add 2 minutes per breast if frozen.
Amy
Also when sautéing should the chicken be cooked all the way through? Or does it just cook more when I’m the pressure cooker with noodles
Josie K
I just like to saute to get the brown marks on it 🙂 Totally a preference thing.
Mama Llama
I liked the simplicity of this recipe when I saw the picture using a whole chicken breast, but I still didn't feel confident after reading the comments. However I had all the ingredients, so I gave it a try. I used a frozen block of diced chicken breast and sauteed it for a minute on each side. I still had a solid block so I cooked the chicken with just 1/2 cup of chicken stock for 1 minute on manual with QPR. Once the chicken cooked more and separated, I made little wells for my dry linguine bundles. Then following instructions from other recipes, I spooned on the Alfredo sauce making sure that every single part of the pasta is covered by sauce even ones touching the side of the pot. I cooked on 3 min high pressure with quick release, opened it stirred everything really well, covered it again and left it on warm for another 2 minutes while I got the bowls ready. I topped with bacon bits which added a nice color and flavor.
Chantal
Delicious! I've made it twice now, both times I double the recipe into my 8 quart instant pot. One of my sons had two friends over tonight and they each had seconds as well. I added a half cup of liquid per recipe, tonight I had turkey stock left from making Christmas turkey so I added a cup of that into my doubled recipe. ( i used it to deglaze the bottom after cooking the chicken I had cut into cuves before cooking ) When I can please 4 teenagers all at once and my hubby who can't get enough, it's a keeper! Now if only my 8 year old weren't so picky..lol
Thank you for sharing.!
Jennifer Cline
Hello! I would like to know how much time you cook this for since you doubled the recipe. Thank you.
Tina
I just made this tonight. I substituted 2 and a half cups of chicken broth for the water (I live at high altitude) and cooked for 6 minutes. Came out perfect!!
Todd B
My noodles clumped together but broke apart pretty easily, going to try to add them differently next time, it was beyond soupy when it was done, I was disappointed, however as it sat for 5-10 it thickened right add and was actually a good meal. LEARNING CURVES..
Mk
If using frozen chicken I would put in for 10 mins by itself then cut, sauté and add noddles and put in for 4 mins, the noddles will be mush if you add everything with frozen chicken.
laukie person
I will absolutely be making this again now that the concept no longer scares me, lol. That said I did deviate in a few small ways:
1 Jar Alfredo Sauce
minced garlic (to taste)
2 diced chicken breasts (I used one)
1 box dry pasta (I used half a box/fettucini)
Pepper (to taste)
2 cups water
I used high pressure for 5 minutes and quick release when finished
Lesa
Wow... have read all the comments. I just recived my IP for my Birthday ( one day early). So I am going to try this for my first IP meal. Wish me luck. will cook longer since my partner does not like Al Denta pasta.
Lesa
So once Saude the chicken do you clean the pot and then add every thing? Also any order to add the ingredients?
Rose Atwater
No need to clean the pot - just add everything 🙂 Order doesn't matter.
Susan
This is a favorite at our house! I use 2 jars of alfredo and use the 2 cups of water to rinse out any sauce left in the jars. I also add a little cajun seasoning to my chicken while it cooks and a pinch to my sauce. SO good!
Teresa
Loved this recipe, comments did help. Cut up chicken and sautéed with olive oil spray until lightly browned. The chicken was completely cooked. Added 1 cup of water the pasta, garlic, pepper and alfredo (Classico 4 cheese) , wanted to add two jars and only had one. So changed it up a little by adding Tostitos queso blanco dip (medium) for the second jar and it worked just fine. Cooked for 6 minutes on high, quick release and it came out perfect. My husband hates Al dente. So it was a winner for him also.
Teresa
The pasta was penne pasta.
Mike Collins
Instead of 2 cups water, I used a can of chicken broth and added enough milk to equal 2 cups (about 1/3rd cup). I also added a diced onion (sautéed after the chicken) and a diced jalapeño . I used 2 cups of dry mini penne pasta. I like this pasta for chicken alfredo and I didn't have to break anything up. I cooked of 8 minutes and quick-released. Some of the sauce vented out, so next time I plan to only cook for 4 minutes, but do a delayed quick-release 10 minutes after the timer ends.
Mike
I have a mini duo 3 qt IP. Should I cut the ingredients in half or is the IP big enough for the whole thing?
Rose Atwater
I've never used a mini, but my guess is you'd need to cut it in half.
Marilyn G
Delicious, easy, and forgiving. I wanted to work with what I had in the cupboard. I didn't have a 22 oz jar of Alfredo, only 16 oz, and only a half box of linguine. I decreased to one cup of water. Used one chicken breast. Towards the end of chicken saute, I added 1/3 cup diced onion, and sauted a 1/2 tsp granulated chicken bullion for extra flavor instead of salt. A splash of white wine to deglaze. I made a mistake, forgot to close the vent, so I stopped it, opened the lid, stirred the pasta, and added 3 minutes of high pressure. I just had a tsp of parmesan, which I added at the end. It looked a bit runny, but I kept stirring and it turned out perfect. I might stir in fresh spinach at the end of cooking next time. Thanks for sharing!
Rose Atwater
So happy to hear it Marilyn!
Marti Garren
I am fairly new with my Instant Pot and have some great dishes and some failures. I guess the part where I start second guessing is the "water" . Wont the water make the sauce runny? I can not wrap my mind around that the water doesnt affect the cream sauce. I have read you pretty much need 2 cups of water in the pot when you pressure cook but I have always done that when I used the divot that kept the food from touching the water. Explain what I am not understanding.
Jill Schut
Absolutely delicious!! I used an entire box of the Creamettes Homestyle Fettucine (Minnesota girl!), so in retrospect I should have used 2 16oz jars of the Rao's Homemade Alfredo sauce. The flavor was terrific and it wasn't dry, just not saucy enough. you could even skip the garlic if you used a garlic alfredo. Next time I'm going to add fresh broccoli and mushrooms! I gave it a 5 star review on Yummly, Instagram and Twitter too!!
Rose Atwater
Thanks SO much Jill!!
Lea
Quick question, it says in 2 places, when completed enjoy with MORE shredded parmesan cheese, as in there is already parmesan cheese in the recipe. Was that ingredient left out of the list of ingredients? Thanks, will try it soon, but I think with shredded chicken.
Rose Atwater
Oh goodess - I'm so sorry I missed this comment! I love parmesan so much so I probably just stirred in in everywhere 😉 But seriously, the recipe should only have it sprinkiled on at the end. I'll update.
Mimi
I have a farberware programmable presure cooker does anyone know if this is similar of if i need to get an ip?
JESSICA
I didn't rate this recipe yet as it will be dinner tonight and my 2nd attempt at using the instapot i got for Christmas. I do want to thank everyone on their comments regarding the water. I think that i will use 2 jars of sauce and chicken broth myself. hopefully we will enjoy it!
Tera
If adding fresh broccoli, would you add it in the beginning or add at the end and let it steam with the lid shut while the sauce is thickening? I’ll be making the recipe this weekend in our RV on a camping trip.
Hannah
This didn’t work. The noodles burnt to the bottom. I couldn’t get them off and the instant pot wouldn’t cook because of that. Waste of food.