Skip the stovetop and make Instant Pot Chicken Pasta in your pressure cooker for a fun, easy dinner. Marinara sauce thickens and coats the noodles and tender chicken that all comes together fast with just one pot to clean.
Talk about, winner, winner chicken dinner (plus spaghetti!). This one pot, total comfort food, Instant Pot pasta method produces springy noodles with tender bites of chicken. It's a great way to feed a crowd or have leftovers for the entire week. Instant pot spaghetti really is the king of weeknight dinner.
Here's how!
How to Make It
- Layer ingredients in the Instant Pot - In the bowl of an Instant Pot, layer, 2 cups chicken stock, then 20-ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs, one pound of dry spaghetti, two (25-ounce) jars of store-bought marinara, and finally 2 more cups of chicken stock. Do not stir the pasta. This will help prevent the burn notice caused when tomato sauce sticks to the bottom of the pot.
- Close and lock lid - Close and lock the lid. Set the valve to Sealing.
- Cook 4 minutes - Cook on manual / high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Natural release 5 minutes - Let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes. Then quick release any remaining pressure.
- Shred chicken - Take the chicken out and chop or shred it.
- Stir well - Stir the pasta really well (about 20 times) to break about any pasta that might still be stuck together. Add the chicken back in and stir the chicken pasta well.
- Serve with chopped basil and shredded parmesan on top.
- Enjoy!
Pro Tip: As described above, don't stir the pasta before cooking. The pasta sauce can burn on the bottom of the pan, but keeping each of the ingredients in layers will insure it will cook well without giving you the burn notice.
Why Cook Pasta and Sauce Together
A special type of pasta magic happens when you cook pasta and sauce together in one pot. As it cooks, the pasta releases starch into the sauce, giving the sauce a creamy texture and rich flavor.
The Instant Pot / pressure cooker is great for this one pot spaghetti and sauce method. Pressure cooking pasta means the spaghetti comes out al dente (tender but still springy), and the sauce thickens and coats the noodles as it all cooks. It produces a great one-pot meal for busy weeknights.
Check out my post on how to cook any pasta in the instant pot for even more ways to use this great technique.
Instant Pot Chicken Pasta Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs - Use boneless, skinless thighs which will stay more tender as they cook. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts will work just fine, but may be a bit more dry.
- Spaghetti - This recipe was tested with spaghetti, so results and cook times may vary if you use another type of pasta.
- Marinara Sauce - Use any type of store-bought marinara sauce / pasta sauce. This dish calls for two 25-ounce jars. I love trying different flavors and varieties, so get whichever flavor sounds good to you!
- Chicken Stock - You get the most flavor and a rich sauce by using chicken stock, but in a pinch you could also just use water as the cooking liquid.
- Chopped Basil and Parmesan Cheese (optional) - Great for topping your finished dish, but totally optional.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Garlic Bread (or Garlic Bread Hawaiian Rolls)
- Roasted Broccoli
- Italian House Salad
Variations
- Make it creamy - Stir in heavy cream or some cubed cream cheese after cooking to make a creamy sauce. The cream cheese works really well to add body to the sauce. It's the same technique I use in Creamy Cauliflower Baked Ziti.
- Add seasoning - A good marinara sauce should have plenty of flavor, but if you find it a bit lacking, try adding chopped garlic or garlic powder. Sun-dried tomatoes also add great flavor to the sauce.
- Add vegetables - Try adding vegetables to the pasta to make this a complete meal. Steamed vegetables like green beans can be stirred in after cooking and will heat right in the sauce.
- Make it spicy - Add some red pepper flakes for a kick of spice.
More Pasta in the Instant Pot
- How to Cook Pasta in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Italian Sausage Pasta
- Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli
- Instant Pot Italian Pasta Salad
Favorite Tools
Instant Pot Chicken Pasta Recipe
Equipment
- 6-quart Instant Pot / pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 4 cups Chicken Stock, divided
- 20 ounces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs, uncooked
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 25 ounce jars Marinara Sauce (see note)
- 16 ounces Dried Spaghetti
- Chopped Fresh Basil, for serving (optional)
- Grated Parmesan Cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Pour 2 cups of stock into the bowl of an instant pot. Add the chicken thighs. Season the top with the salt and pepper. (Don't worry if the chicken is completely submerged in liquid, just season over the top of the liquid.)
- Add the spaghetti, breaking it apart so that it easily fits inside the pot. Pour the jars of marinara sauce over the spaghetti. Pour the remaining 2 cups of stock over the marinara sauce. (Note: Be sure to add the ingredients in the order listed to avoid getting the burn error. Do NOT stir everything together before cooking.)
- Close and lock lid. Move the pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on manual / high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. Then manually release any remaining pressure.
- Remove the lid and transfer the chicken thighs to a cutting board. Roughly chop the chicken. Give the pasta a really good stir about 20 times to break apart any strands of pasta that stuck together. Stir in the chopped chicken.
- If not serving right away, let the lid of the Instant Pot rest on top to keep the pasta warm. As the pasta sits the sauce will continue to thicken.
- Serve the pasta with basil and parmesan cheese on top.
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Love this spaghetti. Love the trivia about cooking the pasta and the sauce together to add extra flavor to the sauce. Can't wait to try this at home.
Jess
Thanks so much! I'm a total convert to this method - hope you like it as much as we did!
Loren G Martin
Great combination recipe! Can't wait to make again. Thanks for sharing.
Amanda
Does this cook the chicken, or do you need to cook the chicken before putting in the instant pot? Thanks!
Jess
Hi Amanda. This will fully cook the chicken- add it raw in bite-sizes pieces and this is more than enough time to fully cook it.
Amy
Do you think it's possible to cook whole chicken thighs, bone in, skin on? I have trouble with my hands so cutting up the chicken is difficult for me. Thanks in advance for your response
Jess
Hi Amy. The cook time for bone-in chicken thighs will be much longer than listed in this recipe, so I suspect you will end up over-cooking the pasta by the time the chicken is done. Have you ever tried buying chicken tenders / tenderloins? They come in thin strips of chicken breast that should cook in the amount of time listed in this recipe without the need to do any chopping. You got me thinking about other recipes that don't require chopping. My Instant Pot chickpea curry can be made without any of the aromatics / chopped ingredients - https://inquiringchef.com/instant-pot-chickpea-curry-with-basmati-rice/ (Also - please check back in to the site in the next week or two. I am coming out with two infographics that include 10 unique Instant Pot recipes that require almost no chopping or prep at all. Each will have options for using ground beef, chickpeas, or chicken breast - those thin chicken tenderloins would work great in those recipes too without the need to chop them.)
Latoya
I PLAN TO DO THIGHS TONIGHT. SO WHAT IM GOING TO DO IS COOK THIGHS FOR 10 MINS AN REMOVE TO SAUTE VEGGIES IM ADDING AND PROCEED WITH THE RECIPE.
Christy Tuzzio
Can you double this recipe? What does it do to cook time? Thank tou!! My mom asked for it for Mothers Day!!
Jess
Hi Christy! I do think you can easily double it, but I haven't tried it, so I'm not certain about the cook time. My instinct is just to add an extra minute to the cook time to be sure the liquids have enough time to heat up. (You definitely won't need to double the cook time - once the pressure builds, it will cook fine even with double the ingredients.) Just be sure not to skip steps 4 and 5 to give the pasta a good stir and let it sit before serving. Enjoy and Happy Mother's Day to your mom!
CHRISTY L TUZZIO
Thank you for responding. Truly enjoying several of your recipes!! Have a wonderful Mother's Day!!
Sherri Head
I'm trying this with Springer Mountain Farms fully cooked frozen grilled chicken breasts...let's see how this turns out 🤷♀️
Jess
Let me know Sherri! I haven't tried it, but would love to know if it works.
Daniel B.
Can I use fettuccine noodles?
Jess
Yes - fettuccine noodles work just fine in this recipe.
Anita L.
I was wondering if I could cube frozen chicken breast so it wouldn’t dry out & still be cooked through.
Jess Smith
Yes - that should work great! If the cubes are broken apart and fairly small, I think the cook time should be the same if using chicken straight from frozen.
Misty schultz
Can I use velvets cheese instead of red sause
Jess Smith
I haven't tried it that way, but it sounds delicious!
Lisa Wydra
I did it exactly as recipe said. Got burn notification. Never came to pressure. Stired it, not stuck to bottom. But very hot. Reset for 4 mins. Burn again. Took lid off, boiling but no pressure. Noodles are done and so is chicken. Wonder why ot kept burning?
Jess Smith
Hi Lisa - that's so strange! Was there any sign of anything stuck or browning on the bottom of the pot? Tomato sauces do have a tendency to cause the burn error, but there is enough liquid in this recipe that I've never had that issue here. You can always give yourself a bit more wiggle room by adding an extra 1/2 cup of water to any recipe that uses tomato sauce or tomatoes. Sometimes the burn sensitivity seems to just vary a bit from machine to machine. One thing you could try is to remove the pot completely and make sure that there aren't any small particles of food between the bottom of the pot and the mechanism of the machine and wash / dry the outside of the pot well. Maybe there's something stuck there that's throwing it off?
Kim ONeal
I had the same burn problem, although I didn't get that burn notice from the pot. It burned on the bottom. I put in the 24 ounces of sauce and at least 12 ounces of water. What should I do next time?
Jess Smith
Often the fix for this is as simple as adding the water first, then the tomato sauce and not stirring them. The key is just not to have the thickest part of the tomato sauce resting on the bottom of the pot.
Laura Krutul
Just unpacked my Instant Pot this afternoon. This was the first recipe I tried. Seemed simple enough. I used boneless, skinless thighs, and a full pound of linguine. Doubled the sauce, but not the water.
WOW! The pasta was infused with the sauce, and perfectly al dente. I think I'm an Instant Pot convert for life.
Jess Smith
So amazing! I'm so glad you had success. I know I couldn't do without my Instant Pot!
Morgan
This was great! Also used 8oz chickpea protein pasta (shells). Buttollini (sp?) This is seriously the easiest meal I’ve made in years! Added spicy Cajun seasonings and fresh garlic and garlic salt
Jess Smith
I'm so glad you liked it!