This deliciously easy Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti recipe is perfect for a quick weeknight meal! Featuring tender chicken, flavorful sauce, and cooked spaghetti, it’s sure to be a hit with your family!
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Have you tried Chicken Spaghetti? It’s is definitely a favorite in my house! From the classic version to the Mexican variation, both are requested often! Now that I have made this pressure cooker version, it too is heavily in rotation during busy weeknights when we are booked with sports, homework, meetings, and more! With minimal prep time and cook time, you can have this creamy chicken spaghetti on the table in under 30 minutes.
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Why You’ll Love this Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
- Reheats perfectly– if you’re lucky enough to have leftover chicken spaghetti, it reheats perfectly and make perfect lunches or dinners another night.
- Minimal Prep and Cook Time– with only about 5 minutes of prep needed and about 11 minutes of cook time, this comes together in no time and allows you to move on to other things while cooking.
- A one-pot meal– add in some additional veggies or serve as is! This Instant Pot Chicken Pasta includes your protein, veggies, and starch making it a one-pot favorite!
- Customizable– add in some additional veggies like broccoli, peas, or mushrooms! You can add additional cheese, make it spicier, or keep it mild. So many great options to make it your own!
Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti Ingredient Notes
You only need simple ingredients to make this one pot chicken spaghetti! See printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact ingredient amounts and step by step directions.
- Butter– unsalted is best as it allows to cut down on the sodium levels. This is used to saute the peppers and onions.
- Chicken– I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces.
- Onion– white or yellow diced onion is best for this recipe.
- Bell Pepper– I use red bell pepper, however, feel free to use any color. I have found green are usually cheaper, so that’s a great option to keep it more budget friendly.
- Garlic– freshly minced is best, but jarred works too.
- Seasoned Salt/ Paprika/ Basil/ Red Pepper Flakes– these are the seasonings that give this pasta it’s flavor. Feel free to adjust to your desired tastes.
- Chicken Broth– look for low sodium broth. Homemade or store bought work great, feel free to sub vegetable broth. This will cook your noodles to make them perfectly al dente.
- Spaghetti Noodles– this uses uncooked spaghetti noodles but you can use any pasta shape that you like. Cook time may be a little different.
- Half and Half– this adds to the creaminess. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use heavy cream as well.
- Cheddar Cheese– freshly shredded. Feel free to change up the cheese to your favorites. Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack, Mexican Blend, etc.
- Cornstarch– this helps thicken up the creamy sauce before serving.
How to make Chicken Spaghetti in Instant Pot
- Click sauté on Instant Pot and add butter.
- Once butter has melted, add in the onions and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Turn sauté function off and add in the red bell pepper, seasoned salt, paprika, basil, and red pepper flakes.
- Add in the chicken and season with desired amount of salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken broth.
- Place the spaghetti noodles in a single layer on top of the chicken and ensure they are fully submerged in the broth. Secure lid onto Instant Pot and move valve to sealing position.
- Cook manual high pressure cook for 6 minutes followed by a quick pressure release.
- Once pressure has released and pin has dropped, open the lid and stir in the half & half, cheddar cheese, and cornstarch.
- Move Instant Pot to sauté function once more and stir everything together. Allow to sauté for about 5 minutes, to allow sauce to thicken. Turn off Instant Pot and serve warm! Enjoy!
What to serve with Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti
Although this Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti is a great meal on it’s own, adding a side of bread and veggie or salad make it a complete meal. Although we love making a side salad to pair with most of our meals, I do love adding roasted veggies any time I can and of course, you can’t forget the bread option (or so my hubby says, ha-ha).
Tips for Success
- Feel free to add in additional seasonings such as Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning, Cajun, all-purpose, additional garlic, etc.
- Break the spaghetti noodles in half before adding them to the Instant Pot. This helps them to submerge into the liquid easier.
- Stir pasta immediately once pin drops from pressure cooker. Spaghetti noodles stick together, so you will have to break them apart a bit.
- If you find the sauce a little thin, add additional cornstarch and allow simmer on saute function.
- For a creamy addition, you can also stir in one block of softened cream cheese until melted.
- Add in a can of diced tomatoes, green chilies, or Rotel for a zestier addition. Be sure to drain can before adding as you don’t want additional liquid added.
Storage
- Once fully cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To freeze, place leftovers in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Allow to fully thaw in fridge before reheating.
- Reheating in microwave is easiest method. Simply heat in one minute increments until desired temperature is reached.
FAQ’s
What pressure cooker did you use?
For my Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti, I used a 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker. Not only can you find great deals on it (especially around Christmas), but it is the perfect size to double recipes and make a quick meal for my family of 5. You can go to bigger versions, but I have found the 6 qt. to be perfect!
Can I use chicken thighs in this recipe?
Absolutely! In fact, chicken thighs are a great substitution as they have juicy, tender chicken and I find these on sale more often than chicken breasts at my store.
How can I make this gluten free?
Omit the cheese and use a gluten free pasta. You can also make this dairy free by using milk alternatives such as almond milk or coconut milk.
Can I change the pasta type?
Yes! If using a pasta shape, you may want to add an additional minute or two of cook time since it will take longer to cook.
How can I make a slow cooker version?
Although I haven’t tried this, I would recommend cooking the chicken and pasta and simply combining ingredients in your slow cooker. Cook on low for about 4 hours or high for about 2 hours. Since you won’t be cooking the pasta in the broth, I recommend decreasing that from 2 ½ cups to 1 cup.
More Instant Pot Recipes to try
Cajun Sausage Pasta– a spicy and flavorful one-pot meal that is perfect for busy weeknights! With tender pasta, savory andouille sausage, and a creamy Cajun sauce, this dish is sure to become a family favorite!
Buffalo Chicken– the perfect combination of spicy and savory. With just a few ingredients and minimal prep time, it’s a quick and easy meal for any day of the week. Serve the shredded chicken in tacos, nachos, burritos, sandwiches, slider buns, and more!
Ground Beef Stroganoff– made with ground beef, white button mushrooms, onions, and egg noodles all cooked conveniently in your pressure cooker! A dump-and-go, easy dinner recipe perfect any night of the week!
Chicken Lo Mein– perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. Made with tender chicken, crisp vegetables, and flavorful sauce, it’s a delicious one-pot meal that the whole family will love.
White Chicken Chili– this zesty, spicy pressure cooker chili features tender chicken breast, hearty beans, corn, and seasonings in a creamy, delicious broth. With its quick prep in just 30 minutes, it’s the perfect comfort food for chilly weather!
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Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 lb chicken (boneless, diced)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 10 oz spaghetti noodles, broken in half
- 1 cup half and half *you can use heavy cream if desired
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Click sauté on Instant Pot and add butter.
- Once butter has melted, add in the onions and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Turn sauté function off and add in the red bell pepper, seasoned salt, paprika, basil, and red pepper flakes.
- Add in the chicken and season with desired amount of salt and pepper.
- Pour in the chicken broth.
- Place the spaghetti noodles in a single layer on top of the chicken and ensure they are fully submerged in the broth.
- Secure lid onto Instant Pot and move valve to sealing position.
- Cook manual high pressure for 6 minutes followed by a quick release.
- Once pressure has released and pin has dropped, open the lid and stir in the half & half, cheddar cheese, and cornstarch.
- Move Instant Pot to sauté function once more and stir everything together.
- Allow to sauté for about 5 minutes, to allow sauce to thicken.
- Turn off Instant Pot and serve warm! Enjoy!
Nutrition
Kate says
This was so easy and very good. I skipped the red bell pepper because I didn’t have one on hand. ALL three kids loved it and asked that I make it again. That’s a winner for me!
Kristin says
Yay!! Love hearing this! If it’s kid approved, that is a major win!!
Monica says
My family loves this recipe!! I am going to make it for a bigger crowd. Is there a way to double this recipe?
Kristin says
Yay! Love hearing that! Yep, you can easily double this recipe by simply doubling ingredients, but keeping the cook time the same. Enjoy!
FSethman says
This is 2nd time making it as it’s a huge hit with the husband! Only thing is I have to put in 4c of broth just to cover the pasta then I have to use more corn starch. Is there any way to cover pasta without stirring and without using so much? This time I also added entire bag of onion and peppers from frozen veggie bag. This will add color and nutrition (supposedly lol). Thank you again
Kristin says
You can always try breaking the pasta so it is a bit smaller and won’t need as much to cover it. Great idea on the entire bag of onion and peppers, sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed!!
Cathy says
Do you put the chicken in raw?
Kristin says
Yep, chicken goes in raw! Hope you enjoy and sorry for the delayed response!