This creamy chicken pasta is my all time favourite pasta recipe. With just a few simple ingredients and a pressure cooker or instant pot you can have a filling dinner on the table even on the busiest of weeknights!
Quick pasta recipes are always a staple of our weeknight dinners. Especially when we've run out of other ideas it's pretty much always pasta, like this creamy chicken pasta, that we fall back on.
Sometimes we go super simple like this kale pasta with chilli and garlic or make it all about the toppings like this garlic pasta with broccoli, chickpeas and chorizo and of course, who doesn't love a good one pot pasta?! But now that we have a pressure cooker it's made these easy weeknight dinners even easier.
How do you go about meal planning? I'm pretty much always coming up with new ideas for recipes to try. I have a note on my computer that I continually update with ideas which come from all kinds of places.
Conversations with friends, reading recipes online, flipping through cookbooks. They all give me ideas for recipes I want to create or remake with tweaks and changes ready for eventually posting on the blog.
We do food shopping every few weeks, always online because we don't have a car and it's easier to budget when you're doing it online with a plan rather than throwing things randomly into the trolley.
When we need to buy food I go through my big long list of recipe ideas and pick out things that I fancy at the time or use seasonal ingredients then we buy all the ingredients and we have recipes planned for the next week or two.
I love the planning. As someone who is supremely obsessed with food, figuring out what we're going to be eating is one of my favourite things to do.
And is there any better feeling than having a full fridge and the prospect of loads of yummy dinners to look forward to?
But once we've run out of recipes to make and we're in between food shops then I have to get a bit creative to use up the things we've got in the cupboards or leftover ingredients.
That's where the idea for this creamy chicken pasta came from. I needed something quick and easy and of course pasta is the first thing that sprang to mind. Easy pasta recipes are such a great go to and we usually have most of the ingredients on hand.
Oh and my new favourite kitchen appliance, my pressure cooker, had to be involved because it makes dinner come together quickly, easily and with hardly any clean up (which is obviously my favourite thing about it). I have the pressure king pro and completely love it but an instant pot would work just as well. If you have the same pressure cooker as me then get all my favourite pressure king pro recipes before you go!
This has fast become one of my absolute favourite pressure cooker recipes.
Why we love this recipe...
- First off, this pasta recipe is so quick to make. Thanks to the pressure cooker it takes just 15 minutes from start to finish which is just so awesome
- It's also super comforting thanks to the creamy, cheesy sauce and rich flavour of sun dried tomatoes and chicken
- Finally, it's so easy that it's perfect for a delicious family meal
Up until this weekend the weather has been truly miserable so I've still been wanting all the creamy cheesy carbs I could get my hands on and creamy pasta is pretty much the ultimate cold weather food.
I've made one other pasta dish in the pressure cooker (this pasta with Mediterranean vegetables) but that one was more of a healthier, veggie focused one and for this I really wanted to find a way to make everything in one pot but make it a little more indulgent.
Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs: Or you can use chicken breasts if you prefer
- Olive Oil
- Smoked Paprika
- Butter
- Onion
- Garlic Powder
- Dried Oregano
- Chicken Stock
- Milk
- Penne Pasta: Or you can use any other short cut you like
- Cream Cheese: Helps to make a rich and creamy pasta sauce
- Parmesan Cheese
- Sun Dried Tomatoes
Keep scrolling to get the full recipe for this pressure cooker creamy chicken pasta...
What I love about this recipe is that the chicken and pasta all cook together in the pressure cooker and then you simply stir through melty creamy cheese, parmesan and chopped sun dried tomatoes at the end for that added bit of tang.
I like finely grated parmesan and thinly chopped basil leaves sprinkled on top before serving. Obviously adding more cheese to anything = only good things in my world.
Sun dried tomatoes are one of those things that Will doesn't like very much but that I completely love so every now and then I include them in a meal to see if he's changed his mind yet.
In this chicken pasta dish he actually got fully on board which shows that if there's anyone reading this who's about to click off because they think they don't like sun dried tomatoes then wait! Please don't go! I promise you'll like them in here!
And if not you could totally leave them out and still dive head first into a bowl of this creamy, cheesy pasta heaven.
FAQs
Can I make this pasta on the stovetop?
Absolutely! Cook the chicken thighs over a medium heat in the olive oil for 5 minutes on each side then remove to a plate. Follow the rest of the instructions adding enough stock to make sure the pasta is covered.
Cook with a lid on for 10 minutes until the pasta is tender. Meanwhile chop or shred the chicken. Stir the cream cheese, parmesan and sun dried tomatoes through the pasta along with the chicken and serve.
How to make this chicken pasta healthier
- Try switching the cream cheese for a low fat version.
- Use less parmesan. I always add plenty of cheese to things but this recipe would still taste fantastic with half the cheese.
Pressure cooker creamy chicken pasta variation ideas
- This recipe would taste great with other vegetables added. I think mushrooms or spinach would be fantastic in there.
- Try making it into more of a creamy carbonara by adding chopped bacon.
- Turn it into a pasta bake. Once the pasta has cooked in the pressure cooker, tip out into a baking dish, top with a few handfuls of cheddar cheese and place in a 200°C/400°F oven for 15 minutes until browned and bubbling.
Want more? Try these other pressure cooker recipes!
- Instant Pot Coq au Vin
- Pressure Cooker Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- Sticky Instant Pot Asian Ribs
- Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Ramen
- Pressure Cooker Oxtail Soup
- Pressure Cooker Vegetable Curry
Pressure Cooker Creamy Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- 1 Onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 500 ml Chicken Stock
- 250 ml Milk
- 400 g Pasta
- 170 g Cream Cheese
- 100 g Parmesan Cheese grated
- 200 g Sun Dried Tomatoes chopped
Instructions
- Set your pressure cooker to the saute setting. Add the olive oil. Sprinkle the chicken thighs with the smoked paprika and salt and pepper to taste. Fry in the hot oil for a couple of minutes on each side. Remove and set aside (they'll finish cooking through when you put them back in the pressure cooker).
- With the pressure cooker still on saute setting add the butter and onion and fry the onion for a few minutes until softened. Add the garlic powder, oregano, stock, milk and pasta. Return the chicken thighs to the pot. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Release the pressure and remove the lid. Remove the chicken and set on a board. Add the cream cheese and parmesan and stir until melted. Stir in the sun dried tomatoes. Cut up the chicken and return to the pot. Give everything a final mix and serve topped with sliced basil leaves and extra parmesan.
Chris says
Amy this looks incredible delicious! I'm an absolute pasta addict so this is right up my street! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe 🙂
Amy says
Thank you Chris!
liz says
I didn't realize pressure cookers were so versatile! I might need to get one!
Amy says
It's honestly my favourite kitchen appliance!
Claudia says
We all love a good pasta and this is so versatile great keeper!
Amy says
Thanks Claudia 🙂
Thanh | Eat, Little Bird says
I need to try this recipe, mostly because I'm curious about cooking the pasta at the same time as other ingredients in the same pot. Sounds too good to be true! Thanks for the inspiration!
Amy says
It's so good and makes dinner so much easier, I love it!
Demeter says
You're motivating me to do a better job with meal planning! This is such an easy dinner with the Instant Pot!
Amy says
Thanks Demeter!
Claire says
Which setting should I choose , I have a 3 lr king pro , I think the 8 in 1
Amy says
Hi Claire, does that one have the pasta setting? That's the one I normally use for this 🙂
Brian Beausoleil says
I’m going to make this tonight. I’m going to use the Instant Pot. Any idea how long I should set the sauté timer for? I’m very new to the IP though so I haven’t learned everything yet.
Amy says
Hi Brian, I haven't tried making this recipe in an instant pot but on my pressure cooker I can just turn the saute setting on and off rather than setting it for a specific amount of time, I think the instant pot should be the same - you'll just need it to run long enough to sear the chicken thighs and then fry the onion and garlic.
Pam says
Im going to make this tonight and want to use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. What should the cooking time be for breasts? I'm new to Insta pot!
Amy says
Hi Pam, I haven't tried it with chicken breasts but I think the best method would be to cook them on the saute setting for a little longer on each side, 4-5 minutes, then cooking the rest of the recipe as instructed 🙂
Joelle W. says
I use chicken breasts and as she said, just cook them a little longer, or slice them in half lengthwise before searing g and it works very well.
Joelle W. says
I absolutely love this recipe! My kids (4 & 7) love it as well so it is a winner! I like mine a little cheesier so I double the cream cheese and use more shredded parmesan instead of grated. Also, thank you for making me use my math skills to do conversions. It's been a long time!
Amy says
Thank you so much Joelle, so glad you love the recipe!
Steve says
Tried this recipe last night in my pressure king pro, using the ‘meat’ function. I replaced the tomatoes with broccoli and mushrooms, and I also doubled the cream cheese. It was delicious, I will be making this again
Amy says
Sounds fantastic, thanks so much for your comment Steve!
Ange says
Hi, Great recipe inspo! Does the milk not curl? I added milk to the pasta before to my PKP and it curled for some reason,
Do I need to warm the milk first?
Also what setting did you use when you say cook on high pressure? I have a pressure king pro
Thank you
Amy says
Hi Ange, I haven't ever had an issue with the milk but you could try heating it first if you're concerned about that. I used the pasta setting 🙂
Jimmy says
Thanks for the recipe! It's great, I've cooked it a bunch of times. Quick question though: if I want to double the amount of meat, do I reduce/add liquid? Thanks!
Amy says
Hi Jimmy, so glad you like the recipe! I haven't tried it with more meat so can't say for sure but I think you should be fine keeping the amount of liquid the same!