Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta in the Instant Pot
This is a delicious Instant Pot recipe for Cajun chicken alfredo pasta! It’s easy to make, and it tastes amazing.
For the chicken:
- Add 4 chicken breasts to the Instant Pot. Season with salt and pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper (optional), salt, and pepper. Top each breast with a little bit of butter or olive oil and place the lid on top of your Instant Pot.
- Turn pressure cooker to high for 15 minutes then allow pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure manually (this will take about 30 total minutes). Once cooked through carefully remove from pot and shred with two forks into bite-size pieces. For the sauce: Meanwhile, add all of the ingredients for the sauce to a medium sized pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until desired thickness is reached.
Directions
The first step to cooking anything is reading the recipe. I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to get so excited about making something that you forget to read it first!
Once you’ve decided this will be your meal and have decided on the ingredients, it’s time to gather everything together. This includes having all the equipment set out and ready to go (spatula, knife, cutting board), as well as having your kitchen ready with sink full of water and dishwasher open if needed. It’s also good practice if there are other people in your house who might need access through or around your kitchen while you’re preparing dinner (like little kids!).
Finally, put everything into an Instant Pot or pressure cooker—but make sure not to accidentally put your Instant Pot onto high heat yet!
2) Make the mustard-parmesan crust.
To make the salty, cheesy crust for this Instant Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta, you’ll want to mix together some of your leftover parmesan cheese with your leftover mustard from earlier. Add them both to a bowl and give it a good stir until they’re combined well. You can add more or less depending on how much parmesan or mustard you want in your crust; just keep in mind that if you add too much of either ingredient, it might be hard for your pasta noodles not to fall apart when cooking them later!
3) Cook the pasta in pot and saute the onion.
Now that you’ve got the chicken cooking, it’s time to make the sauce. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter and saute onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add in flour and whisk until well combined (1-2 minutes). Add in milk and whisk constantly until thickened (4-5 minutes). Add in half of your cheese blend (1/2 cup sharp cheddar) and stir until melted (1 minute).
Remove from heat, add remaining cheese blend (1/2 cup sharp cheddar), salt & pepper to taste. Stir until smooth then add cooked pasta into pot of broth with chicken. Cook for 2 additional minutes or until pasta has absorbed most of the liquid from broth.
4) Add seasonings, broth, and milk.
Add the Cajun spice mix and salt to taste. I like to start with 1 teaspoon each of cajun spice powder and salt. Then add pepper to taste (I use about ¼ teaspoon). Lastly, add a dash of garlic powder or minced fresh garlic if you want some extra flavor from that direction as well.
Stir together all the ingredients in this step before adding them to your pot (this will help ensure everything is evenly distributed throughout your dish).
5) Let pressure release.
Let the pressure release naturally, which can take up to 15 minutes. This will also allow your pasta to cook through without overcooking and becoming mushy.
When you’re ready to eat, remove the lid carefully and use tongs or a clean kitchen towel (depending on how high your sauce is) to lift out the chicken breasts from the Instant Pot insert. Transfer them onto a plate and let them rest for a few minutes before slicing them into strips.
Serve with brown rice or cauliflower rice for a complete meal!
7) Combine cooked pasta with sauce.
While you cook the pasta, combine all of the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl.
Once you’ve finished cooking the pasta and it’s ready to serve, scoop out about 1 cup of your hot water from the pot, and then add it to your sauce mixture. Stir until everything is combined. Next pour about a quarter of your sauce over each serving plate evenly and then stir in some cooked pasta. If desired add extra cheese on top!
