Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta - A Pressure Cooker Kitchen (2024)

This Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta is so creamy and delicious, made with the original Olive Garden salad dressing, cream cheese and sun dried tomatoes.

Why You’ll Love This Olive Garden Chicken Pasta

• Cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is a breeze. Just toss in your ingredients and set it to manual pressure. It’s that simple.
• There is very little prep involved. That is why we love dump recipes so much!!
• There’s no need to precook the chicken or the pasta. You just layer all the ingredients in the Instant Pot and set to cook for 8 minutes, plus a 5 minute natural pressure release. Voila. It’s done!
• I’m not sure you can get any more decadent than this pasta. It’s so rich and luscious. You won’t believe how perfect it turns out in the Instant Pot.

Kaz says: Comforting, flavorful, and a total crowd-pleaser.

Sheri @stampingqueen commented on your pin: Loved this recipe! Everyone loved it!

» You might also like Instant Pot Spaghetti and Instant Pot Creamy Sausage Rigatoni.

Ingredients You Need

I love a good dump recipe. That sounds bad, but it’s really a good thing. It just means that you don’t need to do any prep to the ingredients. You just dump them all in the Instant Pot and cook. This recipe requires 9 ingredients, 6 of which go into the pot before cooking, and 3 to add at the end.

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – To save time, you can purchase cubed chicken pieces which you can just dump directly into the Instant Pot. You can also add the cubed chicken from frozen, if you don’t have time to thaw it. It will just take a few more minutes to cook. If you want, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this as well.
• Penne pasta – I like the way the penne gets coated in the sauce, so I prefer it to other pastas, but you can definitely use ziti, bowties or fusilli, if that’s what you have on hand.
• Olive Garden Italian Salad Dressing – There’s really no substitute for the real thing in this dish, but if you can’t find this dressing, you can make your own version with this recipe. It is available to order on Amazon.
• Ground black pepper
• Chicken broth – You can use a boxed chicken broth, or mix water with a cube of chicken bouillon.
• Cream cheese – Always use full-fat cream cheese for this recipe. It adds the wonderful rich creaminess that you won’t get with low-fat versions.
• Sundried tomatoes – You need these for an acidity element to break up the creaminess and add some zest.
• Fresh basil
• Shredded parmesan cheese

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Expert Tips to Follow

• When an Instant Pot recipe says there’s no need to stir, like this recipe does, follow that advice. There is something about the layering of the ingredients that cooks the pasta perfectly and keeps the dreaded burn notice away.
• The sauce may be soupy when you remove the lid. That is ok. Stir the pasta ingredients up and let them set for a few minutes. The excess liquid will be soaked up.
• Cut the chicken into uniform bite-size pieces so that they all cook the same.

How to Make Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta

Step One: Prep Chicken and Layer the Ingredients

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, if they aren’t already cut. Add the chicken to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Top it with the dried pasta, pour on the salad dressing, black pepper, cream cheese and broth. There’s no need to stir. Just put it all in and you’re good to go.

Step Two: Pressure Cook

Secure the lid onto the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is sealed. Press the pressure cook, or manual, button and set the time for 8 minutes. It will take about 5 minutes to come up to pressure and start cooking.

When time is up, let the steam naturally release for 5 minutes and then manually release the rest. You don’t want it to continue cooking past the 5 minute mark, so make sure you’re watching closely.

Step Three: Add Remaining Ingredients and Stir

Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and basil.Let it sit for about 5 minutes on Keep Warm, then stir it again. In this time, some of the liquid will be soaked up and the sauce will be set well.

Step Four: Serve

Garnish with more Parmesan cheese if you want. I also think a spritz of lemon juice gives a brightness to the sauce.

Optional Ingredients

Although this pasta is great just as it is, there’s always more flavor combinations to be explored. These are some additional ingredients you could add.

• Fresh tomatoes – Consider replacing the sun-dried tomatoes with fresh tomatoes. You can add them before or after the cooking process.
• Spinach – Add fresh chopped spinach right before you close the lid for something fresh.
• Artichoke hearts – Add a can of non-marinated artichokes before you close the lid.

How To Store Leftover Chicken Pasta

Allow the leftover chicken pasta to cool to room temperature before placing it in an airtight container and transfer to the refrigerator. It will be good for 3-5 days.

If freezing to enjoy later, allow it to cool completely and place it in an airtight container. It will be good for 2 months.

What To Pair With Instant Pot Chicken Pasta

This instant pot olive garden chicken pasta is very versatile and pairs well with side dishes such as;

• Green salad
• Garlic Bread or Breadsticks
• Steamed Vegetables
• Roasted Vegetables
• Grilled Vegetables
• Caesar Salad
• Herb-Roasted Potatoes

Can You Make Chicken Pasta In A Crockpot

Making chicken pasta in a slow cooker can be a convenient way to prepare a delicious and hearty meal. Here are a few easy steps

1. Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of your crockpot.
2. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, salad dressing, chicken broth, black pepper, and cream cheese on top of the chicken.
3. Give everything a gentle stir.
4. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until the chicken is tender and easily shreds with a fork.
5. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the crockpot and shred it using two forks.
6. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Add it to the crockpot.
7. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves. Serve

Frequently Asked Questions

Try These Other Instant Pot Pasta Recipes

• Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
• Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta
• Easy Instant Pot Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo
• Instant Pot Spaghetti

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