Juicy blackened chicken breasts, silky fettuccine noodles, and a perfect creamy Alfredo sauce– all made in the Instant Pot! This lighter Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo takes a favorite Italian dish and makes it easy and healthy enough for a weeknight meal!
Most of us love the idea of using the Instant Pot to cook pasta and meat and sauce all together– one pot meals are one of the best things about the Instant Pot– but figuring out how to end up with perfectly cooked meat, sauce that doesn’t burn, and achieving the right pasta tenderness can call for a little more finesse than other Instant Pot recipes.
As a devoted pasta lover, in a household of pasta lovers, I have figured out how to achieve pressure cooker pasta perfection.
The first trick is figuring out how long to cook the pasta. This is arguably the most important consideration because no one wants to end up with mushy noodles. I generally look at the package cooking directions and plan to cook the pasta for a third of the suggested time. When you factor in the time the Instant Pot will take to come to pressure, the actual time under pressure, the time it takes to release the pressure, and any additional time you spend giving the sauce its finishing touches… well you get the picture.
Less is more. Your noodles will continue to cook a little in a hot sauce, but you can’t go back once you’ve crossed into mush.
Speaking of perfectly cooked noodles, it is equally important to follow the recipe in selecting which kind of pasta to use. The fettuccine in this recipe will be finished cooking at the end of the cook time, but if you substituted angel hair you would end up with overcooked noodles or if you substituted a heartier pasta like penne, the noodles would likely be undercooked.
The second important consideration when making a perfect all-in-one pot of pasta is cooking your meat. One of my go-to ways to cook my protein along with the pasta is to start by browning the meat. This not only gives a better flavor and appearance to the meat, it also jump starts the cooking. So when I say that your chicken breasts will be done cooking after just four minutes under pressure, it is because they have already browned for six minutes.
(Don’t skip the browning).
The sauce is the final consideration, and while the first two are important, the sauce is crucial. A good sauce is essential to an delicious pasta meal. Because buttered noodles are good, but homemade marinara and pesto and Alfredo are what dreams are made of.
When you are cooking a one-pot pasta dish in the Instant Pot, the sauce actually needs double consideration because the pasta cooks in the sauce and not in the traditional pot of salted water.
I’ll pass on two general rules of thumb for Instant Pot sauce + noodles + meat recipes ::
- Always pour in a half cup of water in the bottom of the pot before pouring in marinara sauces. Thick tomato sauces are more prone to scorching.
- More sauce, and thinner sauce, is best to ensure that your pot will come to pressure and your noodles will have enough liquid to cook.
Lighter Instant Pot Blackened Chicken & Fettuccine Alfredo
One final note about this recipe in particular. I have very fond memories of blackened chicken and fettuccine Alfredo from a favorite restaurant growing up. However, I’m also sure that this homemade version blows the other out of the water!
I made this Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo lighter by omitting the heavy cream and using both chicken broth and milk instead (you won’t miss the cream). The chicken is the perfect level of flavor and spice for us, but you can increase or decrease the spice according to your personal preference.
I hope you love this recipe. Come back and let me know if you try it, and tag @thispilgrimlife or #tplrecipes in any pictures you share so I can see!
Lighter Instant Pot Blackened Chicken & Fettuccine Alfredo
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: pressure cooking
- Cuisine: Pasta
Description
Juicy blackened chicken breasts, silky fettuccine noodles, and a perfect creamy Alfredo sauce– all made in the Instant Pot! This lighter Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo takes a favorite Italian dish and makes it easy and healthy enough for a weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp ghee or extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp minced garlic, about 4 medium cloves
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 lb fettuccine noodles
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Brown the chicken. Turn the Instant Pot on to Sauté. While it heats, combine the salt through the cayenne in a small dish and stir to mix. Pat the chicken breasts dry, then sprinkle half the seasoning mix on top of the chicken breasts. When the display on the Instant Pot reads “HOT”, add the ghee or oil, then use a pair of tongs to set the chicken breasts in, seasoned side down. Brown the chicken for 3 minutes.Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the rest of the seasoning mixture, then flip the breasts over and brown for three more minutes on the second side. After three minutes, use a pair of tongs to remove the chicken from the pot.
- Start the sauce. Add the butter to the now-empty Instant Pot and push it around the bottom of the pot to melt. Add the minced garlic and sauté for thirty seconds. Pour in the chicken broth and 1 cup of the milk. Use a spoon to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Stir in the parmesan cheese until melted. .
- Add the noodles and cook. Return the chicken breasts to the bottom of the pot, then lay the noodles on top, turning them as you put them down so they are not all laying in the same direction. Set the browned chicken breasts on top of the noodles. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the valve to sealing, and set the cook time for 3 minutes on high pressure.
- Finish. When the cook time is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure. Use a quick read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken breasts to ensure doneness, then set them on a cutting board to rest before slicing. Loosely cover with foil.
Use a fork to toss the noodles in the sauce. Whisk together the flour and remaining half cup of milk. Add the milk mixture to the noodles and turn the Instant Pot back on to Sauté. Heat the sauce until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. - Serve. Slice the blackened chicken and transfer the fettuccine Alfredo to a serving dish. Serve the chicken with the noodles and top with chopped fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
It is important to use fettuccine noodles and not skip browning the chicken to ensure that everything cooks at the same time.
Lorrie Roa says
This looks fantastic. I love that you added spinach into this classic dish. I can never say no to fettuccine alfredo, so I know I would devour this all in no time!
Spinach and alfredo go so well together and the fact that you lightened it up makes it so much better. Fettuccine Alfredo is a favorite of my children! I love how you used greek yogurt in your alfredo sauce! Beats the stuff in a jar with ingredients ten fold! I love the fact that your fettuccine alfredo has spinach. This looks so easy to make!
Shannon Josendale says
Can anyone explain step 3.? It says to put noodles in and then Chicken and then says chicken than noodles. So far this has take. 1 &1/2 hours and just keep getting “burn” error”. This was $20 and 1 1/2 hours I won’t get back again. How do you keep the “burn” error from happening? Never got to where it actually finished the high pressure of 3 minutes because of the constant burn message. What did I do wrong?
★
Shannon Josendale says
I’m updating the rating to a 4 because it was good but I’m still really confused about step 3 and the constant “burn” error. Any help or tips are much appreciated and I would look at that step because it’s very confusing. I had 4 people read it and no one understands it.
★★★★
Recipe says
Delicious! I cooked it in my Crockpot pressure cooker, and I added fresh mushrooms at the end. Will definitely make it again!
★★★★★
aNNE says
Good recipe but needs correcting.
In step #3: “Return the chicken breasts to the bottom of the pot, then lay the noodles on top, turning them as you put them down so they are not all laying in the same direction. Set the browned chicken breasts on top of the noodles. ”
You say to cook the chicken under the noodle and on top. Which is it? I did chicken on top of noodles and it turned out ok. Also I substituted penne noodles for fettuccine. I made twice the dry rub than called for and barely had enough to cover all 3 breast.
Also in the indegridence list you call for Thyme, Oregano, paprika, but never are they mentioned in the directions. I just added then with the garlic in step #2. It turned out delicious.
★★★★
Brenda Moore says
I made this recipe this afternoon. I cooked my fettuccini before I put it in the instant pot. Looks like you didn’t but in your comments you spoke of cooking it for 1/3 time as on box. I am confused. Mine turned out very good. I will make this again.
★★★★
KitchenGuy says
Thanks a lot for sharing such a fantastic recipe. Looks perfect delicious. I really like to appreciate. I have never made it before, as it seems like a large and daunting task, but I am going to go ahead and get some and try it out now!
Thanks again
★★★★★
MIchelle DUNcan says
Oh My! This was SO good! I wanted to eat it all myself! Definitely adding this to my meal rotation!
★★★★★
Cloth Diaper Jane says
My family would love this one. Thank you for sharing it! Im sure that I will be asked for seconds.
★★★★★
Matt says
This looks absolutely delicious!
I’m gonna make it for my mum’s birthday on Saturday.
Also just wondered what’s you favorite guilty-pleasure dessert at the mo?
Keep up the great work:-)