Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Today we made Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta and I have to tell you, that the pot was empty within minutes. In fact, I may have had to break up a small fight at the end of dinner. And it all started about an argument on who got the last helping!

To say that this recipe was family approved, is an understatement! In fact, before the night even ended I was asked if I would make more sometime within the next week.

Of course I agreed, as it was so easy to make! But we won’t let that secret out. I enjoy letting them think that I spent hours on a recipe when it really only takes minutes when made in the Instant Pot!

But I have to admit, my family has always liked the taste of Buffalo Chicken. From Buffalo Wings, Buffalo Chicken Wraps, and even to Buffalo Cauliflower wings they love it all!

So when I decided to make Buffalo Chicken with pasta, I assumed that the family would love it just as much.

And for me, it was great because I used my Instant Pot 6 quart Duo and made it all in one pot!

Although we alternate who does the dishes each evening, it makes it nice to have only one pot to clean!

Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta Recipe

However, before you make this recipe there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

First of all, you can use whatever pasta that you have on hand. We had a box of Rotini pasta, so that is what we used. Although, we have also made this recipe using Penne and Bow Tie pasta as well.

Whatever pasta that you choose is up to you. However, be aware that the cook time may slightly alter based on your choice.

The rule of thumb when cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is to cook it for half of the time listed on the instructions. For instance, if it says to boil for 9-11 minutes, take the lower number and divide it by half, and round down if it is an uneven number.

Therefore, the actual Instant Pot cook time would be 4 minutes in the case listed above.

My Rotini pasta instructions stated 12 minutes for al dente pasta. Therefore, when I made my Buffalo Chicken Pasta in the Instant Pot, I set my cook time to 6 minutes.

Use Thin Chicken Breasts

The second thing to remember is to use THIN chicken breasts. We buy standard size chicken and then slice each breast in half, parallel to the cutting board. This way we end up with double the number of chicken breast that we originally purchased.

Because the actual cook time is based on the pasta, the chicken needs to be as thin as possible to make sure that it is cooked properly as well.

And finally, you may have heard to never pressure cook a dairy product. Although that is true in many instances, we do add the cream cheese before the pressure cooking process in this recipe.

However, we don’t stir it in with the other ingredients. We just cut it in small sections and let it melt as everything cooks.

Once the the cook time is up, we release the pressure on the Instant Pot, remove the chicken breasts and then stir the Buffalo Chicken Pasta.

Then we will shred the chicken and place it back in the pot along with cheese and ranch dressing. Give it one final stir before serving.

Enjoy!

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