Ingredients
- 2pound boneless skinless chicken breasts* To make vegetarian sub 10oz quartered baby Portobello mushrooms and 12oz quartered white mushrooms for chicken breasts.
- 5oz baby spinach
- 1/2cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1can (14.5oz per can) diced tomatoesundrained
- 1teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2teaspoon kosher salt
- 1tablespoon basil
- 24oz chicken broth (not needed until day of cooking)divided, 3 cups
- 8oz heavy cream1 cup, not needed until day of cooking
- 2tablespoons cornstarch (not needed until day of cooking)
- 3cups dry uncooked penne pasta (not needed until day of cooking)
Materials
To Freeze and Cook Later
- Label your freezer bag with the name of the recipe, cooking instructions, and “use-by” date (3 months from when you prepped the meal).
- Add all ingredients except chicken broth, heavy cream, and pasta to your freezer bag.
- Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.
To Cook in Instant Pot
- Add to Instant Pot with 1 cup chicken broth.
- Pressure cook 25 minutes. (Decrease to 15 minutes if using mushrooms.)
- Natural release.
- Shred chicken and stir.
- Add pasta and additional 2 cups chicken broth on top. Gently press the pasta under the broth. (Do not mix).
- Pressure cook 3 minutes. Quick release. (Wear an oven mitt.)
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and heavy cream. Stir into Instant Pot.
Nutritional info available soon.
Where are the labels for the bag?
Made this for lunch today. It was so good! I’ll definitely shred the chicken better next time.
I did this “fresh” (it was not a frozen meal). Since the cook time was for frozen I reduced the cook time on the chicken to 6 minutes (4 large breasts) and it was cooked perfectly!
I made this “fresh” also but didn’t think to decrease the time. It was wonderful anyway! I used gluten free pasta and it was perfect even if I did overcook the chicken. Like a creamy pasta soup. Will definitely make this again.
How do I change the recipe to 18 servings, so I can make 3 freezer meals?
Triple everything
I make three at a time. I use the same recipe but measure everything three times, putting one measurement of each per bag.
I did this fresh and it was wonderful! But how do I keep it from burning in my 8 qt instant pot?
Add the dairy products in after the chicken and pasta are cooked.
You need to add a cup of chicken stock first. Otherwise you’ll get a burn notice in your instant pot.
This was my first meal, chicken was dry 🙁 Used chicken breast but maybe will try chicken thighs next time.
If your chicken was thawed out then 25 min is a long time. I reduced the time to 15 min for completely thawed chicken and let it naturally release for about 15 minutes. It was great.
I made this last night and halved the recipe as instructed during the ‘meals for 2’ class. It was very good. Even my husband liked it and he’s not a fan of chicken. However, I would up the amount of minced garlic and add 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper. I might sub 1/2 cup if the chicken broth for white wine. The meal was good but needed a little more kick for flavor.
Hi….question….this is my second time making this dish and I’m waiting for the pressure to naturally release…..I’m at 44 mn now….is that normal? I don’t remember if it took this long last time to naturally release. Thanks!
I made the vegetarian version with mushrooms and found it very soupy. I suspect with the mushrooms giving off their own juices, it made it where there was too much liquid. The taste was on point, still, so we enjoyed it. But next time I would reduce the liquid or add either more noodles or even some cream cheese at the end to thicken it up.
Hi there! How long should the natural release take? I waited about 20 minutes and then just quick released the rest because my kids were getting hungry! Just wasn’t sure if there was a time to aim for. ☺️
I do 10-15 minutes – like you, it depends how hungry we are!
How long will left overs keep for this meal?
Can this one be made in the crock pot? What would you do differently to use the crock pot?
I wonder the same. I usually shares multiple ways to cook. I want to try this on but I do not have an instant pot.
Made this fresh on the stove and it turned out great! Love this recipe!
do you put the pasta in dry and let it cook all day or cook it and add at the end? Sorry. Newb here!
This is an Instant Pot recipe! So you DO add the pasta with everything else to the Instant Pot liner and make sure all the dry pasta is submerged in the liquid.
Can this be made in a crock pot?
I cooked the 3 min for pasta. It was not done, I am going 3 min more. Hope its not a mistake! maybe should have natural vented for 5? any suggestions?
Do you pressure cook on high or low.
“High” is our default for all recipes, which is what the “manual” button defaults to if you have the Manual button.