Despite the fact that I make no claims to being Italian and that I’m sure many Italian nonnas would scoff at pressure-cooked chicken Alfredo, this recipe is kept straightforward to preserve the authenticity of the traditional dish. Because heavy whipping cream is used in this recipe, I am unable to guarantee that it will turn out successfully with any other liquid. Italian herbs should be substituted with cantanzaro herbs from Savory Spice Shop. This makes use of an elevated steam rack that is available on Amazon.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 50 mins |
| Servings: | 3 |
Ingredients
- 1 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon cantanzaro herbs (from Savory Spice Shop®)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 cups penne pasta
- 16 ounces heavy whipping cream
- 2 ½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper to taste (Optional)
Instructions
- Slice chicken breast into 3 thin filets. Sprinkle all sides with 1 teaspoon garlic salt and cantanzaro herbs.
- Turn on a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot) and select Saute function. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add chicken breasts and sear on both sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Wipe out the pot. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter, and cook garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pasta and stir to coat in butter. Pour in cream and stir to thoroughly combine with pasta.
- Place an elevated steamer rack inside the Instant Pot. Wrap chicken breasts in parchment paper and place on top of the steamer rack.
- Close and lock the lid. Select high pressure according to manufacturer’s instructions; set timer for 10 minutes. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for pressure to build.
- Release pressure using the natural-release method according to manufacturer’s instructions for 10 minutes. Release remaining pressure carefully using the quick-release method according to manufacturer’s instructions, about 5 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid. Remove rack with chicken. Stir remaining garlic salt and Parmesan cheese into sauce.
- Divide pasta into 3 serving bowls and top each with 1 chicken breast filet. Top with additional Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 1118 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 43 g |
| Cholesterol | 319 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 47 g |
| Saturated Fat | 52 g |
| Sodium | 2069 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 85 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Those of us not in the know may error in using 16 oz of penne for 2 cups of pasta. Turns out that dry pasta is not measured the same when you are looking for amount at serving time. Also this recipe becomes greasy and burned without enough liquid. Trying again in a couple weeks.
I don’t know what happened but it was greasy and very under cooked. I won’t make it again.
Soooo good! Made this last week. My husband hates when I try new recipes and he had two bites and said, “This is good. You need to make it again.” That’s a five-star review from him! Cooking the penne in the cream worked much better than I expected. My Instant Pot doesn’t take very long to build or release pressure so I added five minutes and because of that I did add about a quarter cup of extra cream. Perfectly al dente! The chicken was awesome, tender and almost flaky! Making it again tonight!
yummy good. even wife loved it. hero!!
I didn’t have the catanzara spice so left that out. Otherwise did as suggested except did have to add a little more whipping cream. Excellent. Even my picky husband liked it!