Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo made healthy with milk instead of heavy cream, whole wheat noodles and a handful of veggies. And nobody will complain. This easy 25 minute weeknight dinner is a family favorite!
Healthy Instant Pot Alfredo
I keep this Instant Pot chicken alfredo recipe in my back pocket for nights when we are super busy. Absolutely everyone loves pasta in my house and entire world.
I have “invented” skinny alfredo with whole milk, Parmesan cheese and whole wheat noodles. And like my friend, Joy, said in the video below we made alfredo “legal” by adding 3 cups of veggies at the end.
If you don’t have Instant Pot, use this stovetop healthy chicken alfredo recipe.
And it is creamy, saucy and absolutely like a real heavy cream restaurant quality alfredo. It is kid friendly, perfect for picky eaters and Instant Pot beginners.
How to Make Alfredo Pasta in Instant Pot
New to Instant Pot? Check out this Instant Pot guide. Also if you don’t have one yet and are a bit confused, read which one I recommend to buy based on your lifestyle and family size.
So here is how we make chicken alfredo in Instant Pot in a nutshell. Watch video below for a longer version of me and Joy cooking and driving Alex crazy.
- Cut chicken. You want to start with boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts. Frozen, half thawed or fresh work. Whatever you can cut into 1 inch cubes and I like to do with kitchen shears right above the pressure cooker. I told you it’s a weeknight meal. The best ever!
- Layer ingredients in Instant Pot. Then add chicken, stock, oil, salt and pepper. Break noodles in half and add criss cross in about 6 layers. It helps to prevent noodles from sticking. And pasta doesn’t have to be covered. You can also use penne or any short pasta.
- Pressure Cook on High for 8 minutes for all types of noodles except 5 minutes for gluten free noodles. Wider your noodles, the more bite to them. So, if you like your fettuccine pasta really soft – cook for 10 minutes. I used linguine this time.
- Quick Release the pressure and open the lid. It will be liquidy – do not worry. Press Saute.
- Make slurry. In a small bowl, whisk 1 cup (chicken thighs) or 2 cups (chicken breast) of cold milk with cornstarch. Different amount is because thighs are more juicy than dry breasts and release more water during cooking. You can always adjust later.
- Thicken the sauce. And milk has to be cold otherwise cornstarch will lump. Add to Instant Pot along with Parmesan cheese and garlic. Stir gently using tongs. Cook for 2-3 minutes until sauce starts to bubble and thickens.
- Add veggies. Now as Joy’s family likes to say, we are going to make it “legal” with 3 cups of frozen peas. No need to thaw. Stir and let pressure cooker chicken alfredo sit for a minute to melt the peas. In case you are not aware, we can eat fresh peas. They don’t have to be cooked. That’s why I like to let peas sit only for a few minutes so they don’t turn pale green and cooked.
Tip: Pasta absorbs the sauce with time. You can adjust thickness by letting alfredo sit more or add more milk at any time.
And that’s it! Sprinkle your healthy alfredo with fresh parsley and proudly serve warm to your family. Now, did you hear a lot of “Oh’s” and Ah’s”? I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Making family healthy dinners shouldn’t be hard or complicated, friends.
Cheers and until next time!:)
More Healthy Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
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- Instant Pot spaghetti
- Instant Pot mac and cheese
- Instant Pot ground beef stroganoff
- Instant Pot parmesan chicken pasta
- Instant Pot lasagna
- Browse all Instant Pot one pot meals.
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo made healthy with no heavy cream, whole wheat noodles and even veggies. This easy 25 minute weeknight dinner is a family favorite.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
- 2 cups stock, low sodium
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 11 oz whole wheat or gluten free fettuccine, linguine or spaghetti
- 1–2 cups cold 2% or 3.25% milk
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 3 cups frozen peas
- 2 tbsp parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- To Instant Pot, add chicken, stock, oil, salt and pepper.
- Break noodles in half and add criss cross in about 6 layers. It helps to prevent noodles from sticking.
- Close the lid and move pressure valve to Sealing, and press Pressure Cook on High for 8 minutes for all noodles except 5 minutes for gluten free noodles.
- Release pressure using Quick Release method – turn pressure valve to Venting. Open the lid when safe to do so. It will be liquidy – do not worry.
- Press Saute.
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 cup (chicken thighs) or 2 cups (chicken breast) of cold milk with cornstarch. Add to Instant Pot along with Parmesan cheese and garlic. Stir gently using tongs.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes until sauce starts to bubble and thickens.
- Add peas, gently stir and let chicken alfredo sit for a minute to melt the peas. If it is still a bit runny, you can let dish sit for another 5 minutes or so, it will thicken.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days. You can adjust thickness of the sauce with more milk anytime. Do not freeze.
Notes
If you don’t have Instant Pot, use this stovetop healthy chicken alfredo recipe.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
I used spaghetti and the top 2 layers weren’t cooked all the way. Any idea what could have caused this? I used spaghetti
I would add 3 mins to cook time. Sometimes altitude or who knows what as it’s a computerized machine… And closing the lid back on finishes cooking pasta quickly if it’s a tad underdone. Pasta cooks fast.
You think this recipe will come out if I use soy milk instead of regular? Due to dairy allergies
It might not be as creamy as full fat dairy milk, but it should turn out good!
Hi Olena
Can I increase the size of this recipe. I only have a 6quart IP, but find it’s not enough for us and my 2 grown sons.
Wondering if I could increase by 1/3?
(Hoping you can save me a huge mess if I try this in my own :))
★★★★★
Yes, should be fine! Even increase by half.
Love your recipes. Thank you
★★★★★
Delicious and easy to make.
★★★★★
This was sooo good. I added celery, onion and mushrooms – made it more legal
Can I use skim milk also can’t go to store can I use Swiss cheese. Thx
Using skim milk will result in a more watery, less creamy sauce. I have never tried the recipe with Swiss cheese. It will have a different flavour than parmesan. But up to you if you want to use it!
Finally made it, great recipe thank you so much, I will make this again. Used 5% cream 1 cup and skim milk the other cup….and Parmesan. I am a faithful follower. Diane
★★★★★
I am so happy to hear this Diane 🙂
I followed this recipe exact and the fettuccine noodles were hard and not cooked through. The taste of the sauce was really good. I’m not sure what went wrong.
★
What pasta did you use? You can add 3 minutes to cook time next time and it will work. Pasta cook time is an easy thing to fix, it is like a sponge and cooks fast. Could be your elevation or Instant Pot as it is a machine. Also some like a bite to them and some very soft fettuccine.
Awesome
★★★★★
You are so nice for coming back and sharing your reviews, Robert. Appreciate it a lot.
Quick. tastey & we don’t miss the cream at all which is brilliant now my man has been recently diagnosed with heart problems & also needs to loose weight. These wonderful recipes along with other’s have helped him to loose 2 stone so far in just under 3 months. Thank you.
★★★★★
Thank you for your wonderful review, Hayley!!!
I am vegetarian, but I made this recipe for my grandchildren while babysitting. I have never seen them eat with such gusto!
I was told, “This is the best meal ever!”
★★★★★
Wow, so awesome!!! All you have to do is pass on the recipe and maybe an Instant Pot to their parents maybe…:)
My family loves this, and it is so quick and easy when I don’t have anything else planned, plus clean up is simple! I’ve made it several times already. It’s very much comfort food. (I prefer spicier dishes so have to add a lot of red pepper flakes on my serving.) We don’t like peas, so I roast some brussel sprouts or broccoli in the oven while this is cooking. Thanks for the great addition to our rotation!
★★★★★
Thanks for your wonderful review, J!!!
I was wondering if it was okay to add the frozen raw chicken and penne pasta together? I wasn’t sure if I had to put them in at separate times. And what if I was to add baby carrots? I am trying to find a recipe using frozen chicken, baby carrots and penne pasta. I am just unsure of the time and exact steps to take. I would appreciate any help you could give me.
Thanks a bunch!
Melissa
Best to follow the recipe. Penne might stick and carrots overcook. Frozen chicken doesn’t work with pasta either.
So very tasty… love it.
★★★★★
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Steve!
I sauteed mushrooms before adding chicken and pasta, used soy milk in place of whole milk and used frozen broccoli instead of peas. The family loved it!
★★★★★
Yay! So happy to hear! Thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to let me know you enjoyed my recipe, Kimberly.
Very tasty and creamy for not having cream in the recipe. My family loved it. And, it was so easy to make!
★★★★★
That is so amazing to hear! Glad you enjoyed my recipe, Kelly! Whole milk and Parmesan do a good job.
Very delicious my family loved it
★★★★★
I’m glad everyone enjoyed this recipe, Glykeria. 🙂
Great meal – our adopted Ukrainian family love it
★★★★★
Fantastic! Glad everyone enjoyed the recipe, Robert! Feels extra special approved by Ukrainians. JK.
Wow – best fettuccine Alfredo we’ve ever had!
I subbed in part steamed broccoli for peas (family doesn’t like cooked peas for some reason) and put in a bit extra cheese.
This is recipe in number 3 since I.P. purchase. This confirmed to me why Olena loves it so much! Keep those amazing recipes coming!
Yay! Yes, Olena is obsessed for a reason haha. In my super old kitchen and with all the renos and life that happened past year, IP saved the day many times for us. Glad you liked it. Btw, we do not like cooked peas either. I still have vivid memories of a pea mash in a Soviet daycare, with liver burgers. When you add frozen peas, they are raw and just thaw with hot noodles.:)
Olena, this was delish and so easy!!!
★★★★★