Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Rigatoni is a delicious comfort food dinner for any night of the week! Pasta in the Instant Pot is such a time saver and you will love this easy chicken dinner recipe with lots of vegetables and a creamy tomato sauce.
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Rigatoni is one of my go to chicken pasta recipes in the Instant Pot. With tender veggies and a deliciously creamy tomato sauce, I could seriously eat this every week!
I have seen a ton of Chicken Rigatoni Recipes for the Instant Pot and have tried many of them, and to be honest, none of them were very good. They all called for way too much water and I ended up with chicken rigatoni soup instead of pasta! After getting frustrated with all those recipes, I decided to just write my own! I love the kick of the red pepper flakes and the creaminess of the sauce! This pasta dish is definitely restaurant quality!
How to make pasta in the Instant Pot?
Making pasta in the Instant Pot can be scary but it really shouldn’t be! The key is to cover the pasta with some liquid, but not too much liquid, so that you get al dente pasta, but not a soupy mess. If using store bought sauce, add your sauce, then fill half the jar with water, dump it in the pot and that should give you enough! Push the pasta down into the liquid and it will cook nicely! 5 minutes is perfect for half a pound and you can increase to 6 minutes for an entire pound, but no longer!
What I love most about this dinner is that it uses ingredients that I always have on hand! I love making homemade tomato sauce, but since you are really jazzing this one up, a high quality store bought sauce works great too. I used peppers and onions in this version of chicken rigatoni, but you can throw in mushrooms, as well! They add a great hearty texture to this meal! If you are trying to reduce your meat intake, you could replace the chicken with the mushrooms completely for a vegetarian Instant Pot meal!
Can you cook fresh vegetables in the Instant Pot?
Yes, you can, but there are a few simple rules. When cooking fresh vegetables in the Instant Pot, make sure to cut them in large pieces. Small pieces will cook too much, even with only a 5 minute cook time, and they will get lost in the sauce. Keep your peppers and onions in large chunks for best results! I don’t recommend using any vegetable that has a high water content, such as zucchini or yellow squash. They release a lot of water and will add too much liquid to your recipe.
Looking for more Instant Pot Recipes?
Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Instant Pot Bacon Wrapped Balsamic Pork
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Rigatoni
This easy pasta recipe in the Instant Pot has so much flavor and will become a go to for your family!
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound rigatoni pasta
- 1 pound chicken cut into bite size pieces
- 24 oz marinara sauce keep jar to fill half way with water
- 2 bell peppers cut into large pieces
- 1 yellow onion sliced
- 3/4 cup half and half or heavy cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
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Heat Instant Pot to Saute. Add olive oil. Once pot says HOT, add chicken. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and then let cook till brown on one side, about 2-3 minutes. Stir and make sure no chicken pieces are sticking to the bottom. Hit cancel.
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Add peppers and onions on top of the chicken. Add pasta. Add marinara sauce and then fill jar halfway and add water, about 1 cup. Push any noodles that are above the sauce into it.
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Put lid on the Instant Pot and turn to sealed. Use the manual function and change the timer to 5 minutes. Let cook. Once finished, do a quick release then add the half and half and parmesan cheese. Stir to distribute. Add additional seasonings to taste. Add basil and serve.
Recipe Notes
I recommend using rigatoni for this recipe. If you substitute a different noodle, you may need to adjust amounts and cook time.
That looks amazing!! I can’t wait to try this one! We tried spaghetti once and it was just a mess.
Honestly, I had a terrible time with spaghetti. I find that rigatoni works way better!