This Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta has the BEST creamy garlic sauce along with spinach and sundried tomatoes – and it comes together in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Chicken breasts – diced chicken thighs would also work or you can leave out the meat altogether for a vegetarian option.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic can also be used.
- Red onion – you can use white or yellow onion but it will have a milder flavour.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth is the best substitute here.
- Penne pasta – or another short pasta of your choice. Gluten-free and rice pasta can also be used. I wouldn’t recommend using long noodles as they’ll get all clumpy.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Heavy cream – milk and melted butter or milk and Greek yogurt will also make this pasta nice and creamy.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast or Romano are the best substitutes here.
- Red pepper – swap out for any colour bell pepper of your choice.
- Sundried tomatoes – canned or fresh tomatoes can be used instead.
- Spinach – use another dark leafy green like kale instead.
How to make Tuscan chicken pasta
- Assemble your ingredients.
- Add the first 6 ingredients to the Instant Pot in order.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients and serve!
What to serve with Tuscan chicken pasta
This Tuscan chicken pasta is a full meal on its own, but if you’re looking for side dish ideas, here are some of my favourites:
- Fresh crusty bread or garlic bread
- A nice side salad like Caprese salad
- Extra veggies included in the pasta
- Aperol spritz for a true Italian meal
Frequently Asked Questions
Tuscan chicken is traditionally made with a creamy Parmesan sauce with chicken breasts, spinach and sundried tomatoes. This recipe uses all the traditional ingredients in addition to penne, red onion and some red pepper.
Nope! The chicken can go right in the Instant Pot raw. Just make sure that you dice it into small-enough pieces or it might not cook through.
This Instant Pot Tuscan chicken pasta has 500 calories per serving. If you want to cut down on the calorie count, swap out the heavy cream for some milk and Greek yogurt, and use half the amount of parmesan cheese.
Storing and reheating
I doubt you’ll have any leftovers of this delicious pasta dish, but if you do, you can store them in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container. Reheat the pasta for 1-2 minutes in the microwave or in a pot on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
Freezing this recipe
I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe. Cream-based sauces don’t tend to freeze well as the cream curdles, and the spinach and tomatoes will get all mushy when they defrost.
More Instant Pot pasta recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Pesto Pasta
- Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
- Instant Pot Spinach Artichoke Pasta
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this pasta into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts, diced (about 1/2lb)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 lb penne pasta
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
- 2 cups spinach, chopped
Instructions
- Add olive oil, chicken, garlic, red onion, chicken broth and pasta to Instant Pot in that order, making sure most of pasta is submerged just below the surface of the water. Do not stir, just press down on pasta slightly.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 3 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 10-15 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook the 3 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Stir in heavy cream and parmesan cheese, mixing well. Stir in red pepper, sundried tomatoes and spinach. Place lid back on and let sit 2-3 minutes. Stir well, then serve and enjoy!
