Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Name: Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 17 min
Ingredients: 1/2 lb spaghetti (uncooked); 4 cups water; 4 chicken breast (boneless and skinless); 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp salt (divided); 1/2 tsp pepper (divided); 1 tsp garlic powder (divided); 1 tsp onion powder (divided); 1 tbsp Italian seasoning (divided); 1/4 cup honey BBQ sauce; 14 oz diced tomatoes; 2 cups heavy whipping cream; 2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded); 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

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Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti is scrumptious and easy to make. Essentially it’s a dump-and-go recipe. Chock full of chicken, cheese, and other fabulous ingredients, this dish is hearty and filling.

My son always loved spaghetti. What kid doesn’t? Well, he loved it, even more, when I switched up the tomato sauce to a creamy and cheesy sauce. Ken and Patrick gobbled this recipe in a record amount of time.

clear glass plate filled with instant pot chicken spaghetti

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

What is cheesy chicken spaghetti you ask? Well, it’s similar to Mexican spaghetti I would say. Creamy sauce instead of tomato-based sauce, and chicken instead of ground beef or ground sausage. This recipe tastes nothing like traditional spaghetti but my oh my is it delicious.

Ingredients

This pressure cooker recipe requires a handful of ingredients but you should also have most of these ingredients on hand. One of the highlights of this recipe is that it’s pantry-friendly!

spaghetti noodles
chicken breasts
olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
Italian seasoning
honey barbecue sauce
diced tomatoes
heavy whipping cream
cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Ready to make this family-friendly recipe? Follow these eight simple steps and you will have a delicious and tasty meal that your kids are going to love.

Step 1: Fill the instant pot

Place spaghetti into your Instant Pot in a criss-cross pattern. Add water. Place trivet above spaghetti.

Step 2: Season the chicken breast

In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning. Stir until chicken is evenly coated.

Step 3: Cook the chicken and pasta

Place lid on and pressure on high for 6 minutes. Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then quick release. Remove chicken. Brush with BBQ sauce, cut into small chunks, and set aside. Strain pasta.

Step 4: Stain the tomatoes

While still in the strainer, add diced tomatoes to the pasta. Stir, allowing the tomato juice to strain as well.

Step 5: Make the cream sauce

Pour heavy whipping cream into your empty pot with ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½tsp garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning. Saute on high.

Step 6: Add the cheddar cheese

Next, add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Stir contents together and allow to cook for 3 minutes.

Step 7: Add remaining cheese

Add remaining 1 cup of cheese and stir together. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Allow to cook and thicken for about 5 minutes.

Step 8: finish the dish

Continue stirring often. Add pasta and tomatoes. Stir together until the pasta is coated with sauce. Add chicken and serve!

clear glass plate filled with instant pot cheesy chicken spaghetti

Substitutions

Don’t have the correct ingredients on hand? Or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change this Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti Recipe.

Rotel– want to add a spicy kick to your chicekn spaghetti use rotel instead of diced tomatoes. If you are usiing rotel don’t drain it.
BBQ Sauce – Out of bbq sauce? Skip it all together your dish will still turn out great.
Milk – don’t have heavy whipping cream? use milk in it’s place.

Variations

Want to personalize this cheesy chicken spaghetti recipe? Here are some of my tried and true tips for changing up this recipe.

Spicy – add chili pepper flakes to your sauce to add even more of a kick.
Chicken– boneless skinless chicken thighs will work for this recipe if you are out of chicken breast

If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy this Instant Pot cheesy broccoli rice recipe.

Equipment

You only need four kitchen tools to help you make this family-friendly Instant Pot casserole recipe. Once you make this recipe you will want to add this to your regular meal plan rotation.

instant pot
spoon
trivet
collander

Storage

Do you have leftover chicken spaghetti? That’s an amazing feat, as we never have leftovers in our house. Have no fear, you can store the leftovers in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to three days.

Tips

Want to make sure that your recipe turns out well? Here are my best tips for this Instant Pot recipe.

If your chicken breasts are extra thick you may need to add some cooking time at the end of making this recipe, or chop them up very small.
Have leftover rotisserie chicken? Use that shredded and skip the steps about cooking the chicken. Just make sure you still cook the pasta!

More Instant Pot Recipes

Do you like Instant Pot recipes? Here are some recipes you may also like to try

FAQ

Do you have questions about instant pot cheesy chicken spaghetti? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about this kid-friendly instant pot recipe.

How do I reheat?

Reheat leftovers in the microwave for one to two images or until completely warm.

Can I freeze this recipe?

Sadly, no this recipe requires too much dairy to be frozen.

Can I make this recipe on the stovetop instead?

Yes! You will want to cook the chicken and the pasta separately and then combine and cook the sauce but making this old-fashioned cheesy chicken recipe on the stovetop is possible.