A cheesy, spicy Instant Pot chicken spaghetti recipe featuring tender chicken breast, crunchy onions and peppers, and shredded Monterrey Jack cheese.
Man, is it really Wednesday already? Once again, we're halfway through the week and the weekend is really close.
With that being said, there's still a lot that needs to be done and the last thing you want to do is spend all evening in the kitchen. Fortunately, we're sharing a quick Instant Pot chicken spaghetti recipe that's done in less than thirty (30) minutes.
Meaning, you and your family can enjoy a home cooked meal in less time than it takes to wait for delivery. Now, just to be clear, this dish is spicy.
At least, I feel it's a spicy dish due to the chilies. I've added a few tips at the bottom just in case you want to tone down the heat for your first attempt.
Shall we get started?
Chicken Spaghetti Instructions:
First, grab your Instant Pot and place the liner into the machine. After that, break the dry spaghetti into halves or thirds.
That way, it can all stay below the liquid. Next, drop the dry pasta into the liner long with the chicken broth.
Then, lay the raw chicken tenders on top of the uncooked pasta.
Once that's done, dump in the chilies, onions, peppers, and tomatoes and green chilies combination.
At this point, you can place the lid on the cooker and set the valve to, "sealed."
Go ahead and press the, "manual or high pressure cook," button for a five (5) minute cook time.
When the timer goes off, let the appliance complete a five (5) minute natural release before opening the valve.
With the steam fully vented you can remove the lid and take out the chicken. Carefully, shred or chop the chicken and place it back into the liner.
Last, toss in the shredded Monterrey Jack cheese and cream cheese. Stir the ingredients to create a cheesy, creamy sauce for the pasta.
That's it, you Instant Pot chicken spaghetti recipe is done and ready to serve!
Kim and I hope you enjoy this meal and wish you all the best 🙂
Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti Tips:
- After the dish pressure cooks, there might be a lot of liquid in the liner. However, you don't have to worry about it; because, the liquid will get soaked up as the pasta cools.
- This dish can be made with a variety of spice levels. For example, if you prepare the recipe as it's written, it would be considered spicy (for people who aren't used to eating spicier dishes). On the other hand, you can tone down the spiciness by either draining the liquid from the chilies and tomatoes OR doubling the Monterrey Jack cheese. For the mildest version, drain the liquid AND double the shredded cheese.
- You might be wondering how we were able to fully cook chicken breast in five (5) minutes. Well, the answer is that we used chicken that has been cut into tenders. Should you decide to use full breasts for the recipe, then you would need to cut them into small pieces before the cooking process. Otherwise, they may not be fully cooked in time frame we used for our recipe.
- Don't have an Instant Pot? Try to baked chicken spaghetti instead. The ingredients are slightly different, but it's just as good!
Other Instant Pot pasta recipes you may love:
Recipe Card with Ingredient Amounts and Instructions
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti noodles, broken into halves or thirds or other short dry pasta
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into tenders
- 1 cup white onion, diced
- 1 cup bell peppers, green, red, yellow varieties, diced
- 10 ounces diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained; 1 can Rotel
- 7 ounces diced green chilies, undrained
- 4 ounces block-style cream cheese
- 4 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Break the spaghetti noodles into halves or thirds and lay them crisscross over each other in the liner of the Instant Pot. Pour the chicken broth over the noodles.8 ounces spaghetti noodles2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Next, place the chicken tenders onto the noodles, then top with onions, peppers, tomatoes and green chilies, and extra green chilies.½ pound boneless skinless chicken breasts1 cup white onion1 cup bell peppers10 ounces diced tomatoes and green chiles7 ounces diced green chilies
- Close the lid, and make sure the valve is set to sealing. Use the manual (pressure cook) button to adjust the time to 5 minutes. After the time is up, allow a 5 minute natural release before opening the valve to release any remaining pressure.
- Remove the chicken and cut into cubes or shred. Return the chicken to the liner along with the cream cheese and Monterrey Jack cheese. Stir until the cream cheese and Monterrey Jack cheese are both combined. Serve hot!4 ounces block-style cream cheese4 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese
Trevor says
After looking at least 10 recipes online for cheesy chicken spaghetti in the instant pot and I decided to go with this one and I’m GLAD I did! It’s the most comparable to the flavor I had growing up and also the easiest (if you buy chicken breast tenders then you don’t have to cut/cube the chicken yourself… which I hate doing). As other reviews said, it turned out GREAT! I didn’t find it too spicy using the original recipe and I used both original rotel and a small can of green chilis. I’m confident the recipe as written is delicious, but I did make two very small changes for my own personal tastes:
-I used an entire 8oz block of shredded sharp cheddar cheese instead of 4oz of Monterey Jack
-I cut the 8oz block of cream cheese into 6 squares and put all of them **on top** of the Rotel before pressure cooking. I felt safe to do this because one of my favorite IP recipes (white chicken chili) calls for putting the cream cheese on top of everything as the final step before pressure cooking. The cream cheese can be tougher to fully melt so it helps it get a little creamy.
John says
Thank you Trevor! Kim and I are thrilled you enjoyed the IP spaghetti. Also, the changes you made with cheddar and cream cheeses sound like great ideas. Thank you again for sharing your experience and rating the recipe! Have a wonderful day.
Betty says
I left out the can of green chilies. Spicy enough without them. Also added some shredded Swiss cheese. Love this recipe! Delicious!
John says
Thank you Betty, we're glad you enjoy the recipe. Have a lovely day 🙂
Kaley says
This recipe was delicious! We doubled the recipe but still have a lot of leftovers. Could we freeze this?
Thanks!
Kimberly says
Hi Kaley!
We haven't tried to freeze it, but it should be fine. When you want to reheat the chicken spaghetti, heat it over low heat to prevent it from drying out. Thanks so much for giving it a try. John and I hope you have a great weekend!
Cathy says
Is this recipe for a 3 quart or 6 quart instant pot?
John says
Good Morning Cathy, great question. It's for a 6-quart Instant Pot. Have a lovely day 🙂
Christine says
This looks amazing, would it be bland if I left out the green chillies? Should replace it with something else. We dont like super spicy food.
John says
Good Morning Christine, we talked a little bit about how to reduce the spice levels in the post. You have a couple of options, you can drain the liquid in the Rotel (tomatoes and chilies) for a milder version. To cut the spice back even more, you can double the Monterrey Jack cheese and drain the liquid. If you leave out the Rotel, the dish will be a little bland and there's nothing we know of that would replace that flavor without adding heat. I hope this information helps. Kim and I wish you a lovely day 🙂
Bonnie Ambrose says
I made this tonight and it was fabulous! Both my husband and I loved it. Of course as usual I didn't follow part of the directions but it came out great anyway. I have to have leftover onion or green pepper so I just put it all in - they were little so it wasn't a problem. But when I put the cream cheese in I put the whole block in! My husband happened to come in because he followed the good smell and asked me if I put it all in and of course I said yes. He said you were only supposed to put I half!! Oh well! And I dumped all of the cheese that was in the pack! It was soooo good! It will definitely be on our dinner rotation!! (mistakes and all!!)
John says
Good Morning Bonnie, thank you for commenting and rating the recipe card! Kim and I are thrilled the chicken recipe worked out for you and your family enjoyed it. We appreciate your comment and we wish you a lovely day 🙂
Bonnie Ambrose says
I made this tonight and it was fabulous! Both my husband and I loved it. Of course as usual I didn't follow part of the directions but it came out great anyway. I have to have leftover onion or green pepper so I just put it all in - they were little so it wasn't a problem. But when I put the cream cheese in I put the whole block in! My husband happened to come in because he followed the good smell and asked me if I put it all in and of course I said yes. He said you were only supposed to put I half!! Oh well! And I dumped all of the cheese that was in the pack! It was soooo good! It will definitely be on our dinner rotation!! (mistakes and all!!)
Bonnie Ambrose says
I made this tonight and it was fabulous! Both my husband and I loved it. Of course as usual I didn't follow part of the directions but it came out great anyway. I have to have leftover onion or green pepper so I just put it all in - they were little so it wasn't a problem. But when I put the cream cheese in I put the whole block in! My husband happened to come in because he followed the good smell and asked me if I put it all in and of course I said yes. He said you were only supposed to put I half!! Oh well! And I dumped all of the cheese that was in the pack! It was soooo good! It will definitely be on our dinner rotation!! (mistakes and all!!)
Debby says
What would the time be if i doubted the recipe?
John says
Good Morning Debby, that's a good question. Fortunately, the time would be the same. Thank you for asking and have a lovely day 🙂
Jackie says
How would the cook time change if I just used a chicken breast and didn’t cut it into tenders?
John says
Good Morning Jackie, that's a good question. If you don't cut it into to tenders (or pound it out to about 1/2 inch thickness) then you'll need to increase the cook time to about 7 to 8 minutes. However, please be aware that your pasta will be over cooked and might be mushy. Thank you for your question, have a lovely day. 🙂
Mike says
Could I just cut it into bite sized pieces before cooking?
Kimberly says
Hi Mike!
Yes, cutting the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces would work as long as they aren't too thick.
John and I hope you have a great evening!
Kellye says
Hello! How would this recipe change if I used frozen chicken?
John says
Good Morning Kellye, that's a good question. If you used frozen chicken, it would take longer for the cooker to come to pressure. Also, you may want to increase the cook time by 1-2 minutes. Now, that can result in soggy noodles. Just something to be aware of. Additionally, the water solution in the frozen chicken may add extra liquid to the dish, making it runny. One way to counter both of those issues would be to substitute whole wheat pasta noodles. They tend to take longer to cook and absorb more liquid. If you decide to use the frozen chicken, do you mind coming back to tell us how it went? Thank you again for dropping by with question. Have a lovely Thanksgiving 🙂
Bambi says
This was delish I didn’t have the green chili’s so I left that out great meal
John says
Thank you, Bambi! Kim and I are thrilled you enjoyed the spaghetti. Thank you again for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card. Have a lovely weekend!
Bambi says
This was delish I didn’t have the green chili’s so I left that out great meal
Bambi says
This was delish I didn’t have the green chili’s so I left that out great meal