This Instant Pot Pasta Cajun Chicken Alfredo is packed with flavor, and so easy to make! Cajun seasoned chicken breast and smoked sausage in a homemade alfredo sauce, cooked up in a snap in the Instant Pot.
This is the Instant Pot Pasta version of one of my most loved reader recipes, my One-Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo.
How to Make Instant Pot Pasta Cajun Chicken Alfredo
1. Start by browning the chicken breasts on the saute function, set to high. This will partially cook the chicken breasts and they will finish cooking in the Instant Pot.
2. Add smoked sausage and garlic.
3. Add low-sodium chicken broth, pasta and cajun seasoning to the pot.
4. Close and lock Instant Pot lid into place. Set Instant Pot to Manual mode High Pressure for 6 minutes. Quick release and remove chicken breast, set aside to slice. Add warm heavy cream to pasta, followed by parmesan cheese. Stir sliced chicken back into Instant Pot pasta.
Sprinkle with additional Cajun Seasoning and fresh flat leaf parsley.
Instant Pot Pasta Cajun Chicken Alfredo Tips
- Use freshly shredded parmesan cheese for smooth melting. A microplane is the best tool for finely shredded parmesan cheese.
- Add warmed heavy cream after the pasta has cooked to avoid overfilling the Instant Pot and spray from the vent release.
- Use a gourmet cajun seasoning that is coarsely ground for best flavor.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 chicken breasts, about 1 pound total
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 14 oz smoked turkey sausage, sliced
- 1 quart of low sodium chicken broth
- 1.5 tbsp gourmet Cajun Seasoning
- 1 pound of uncooked penne pasta
- 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz of freshly shredded real parmesan cheese
- flat leaf parsley minced for garnish
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Set 6 Qt Instant Pot to Saute function and hit Adjust button until More is lit. This heats Instant Pot to highest heat for searing.
Heat olive oil until hot, then sear chicken breast in Instant Pot for several minutes on both sides until evenly browned.
- Remove chicken from pot and set aside to be added back in with the rest of the ingredients.
Add sausage and garlic to pot and cook for about one minute.
- Add chicken broth and use wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add uncooked pasta and cajun seasoning.
- Return chicken breasts to Instant Pot and stir all ingredients together.
- Hit off button to end Saute function, then lock lid in place with Pressure valve set to sealing.
Cook on Manual, High Pressure for 6 minutes. Instant Pot with take 10-15 minutes to come to pressure and then count down from 6 minutes.
- Once cooking is complete, use Quick Pressure Release.
- Since we are cooking a pound of pasta, there may be some starches and liquids that start to splatter. If that happens, use wooden spoon or an oven mitt to quickly close pressure valve. Wait one minute and try again.
- Once pressure pin drops, unlock lid and remove chicken breasts. Use a meat thermometer to ensure they have reached 165 F degrees. Set aside to rest.
Stir pasta mixture together and add warm cream. Slowly add in freshly grated parmesan cheese and stir until melted.
- Slice chicken breast and combine with pasta.
Serve with additional shredded parmesan and chopped flat leaf parsley.
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If i just wanted to use sausage and no chicken would i change the cooking time?
Same cooking time! ?
Awesome, love these 10 minutes of prep recipe! Can’t wait to try this for the kids. Thanks!
This was my very first attempt at cooking in my new IP, and it turned out great! Six of us ate it for dinner, and declared this recipe a winner! It makes a lot, plenty of leftovers.
That’s great! So glad you enjoyed the Cajun Alfredo!
Dish tasted good but my parmesan separated and was gooey. What did I do wrong?
Did you make any changes to the ingredients? It’s important that there is enough fat in the sauce for the cheese to melt smoothly. That can also happen if you use bagged, pre shredded cheese as it has thickeners and doesn’t melt as well. Hope that helps!
This turned out well. It didn’t thicken very well though.
My only change is I added more seasoning and used pre cut chicken.
This is my go to recipe to cook for others when there is a death in the family or when someone is having a baby.
Everyone has asked for the recipe afterwards because it is so delicious!
*Sauce is thin if you serve it immediately. I have learned to let it all sit for about 30 minutes after cooking and the sauce will thicken up and absorb into the pasta and it is perfect!
*When I make it for others I usually grill the chicken instead. It gives it an extra flavor and isn’t dry at all.
Note that the recepie doesn’t say what to do with the olive oil it calls for. We used it to saute in the beginning.
It must have been corrected, because it now shows up in Step 3. 😉
I want to make this with shrimp how would I do that? I’m new to the IP community!
What if I wanted to add broccoli? Just add it when you add the noodles ?
I tried this recipe today and it was a huge hit! While sautéing the chicken, there was quite a bit of splatter. I used Old Bay seasoning and couldn’t be happier. This will be a regular in our kitchen recipe box. Thanks so much for sharing!
How many cups of penne would equate a pound?
This is our new favorite recipe! It was shared by a friend who made it for a pot luck and said she used mozzarella by mistake so that’s how we’ve made it and oh my goodness…. So so good! I look forward to trying it out with parmasan. Great recipe! Thank you!
I’m making this tonight. Can’t wait. You say “add warm cream”. Am I supposed to microwave the whipping cream before adding?
Loved this recipe and my husband is asking for it again a week later. My only complaint is there was still a ton of leftover chicken stock after cooking everything. Adding the cream made it even more soupy. I ended up dumping everything in a large skillet to boil down the liquid and add the cheese to make it thick. I followed the recipe to a T. Any ideas??
Elizabeth – did you leave it on warm while adding the cream and parmesan? Mine came out perfectly creamy. Maybe the heat from the “warm” setting helped. I’ve made other recipes that call for turning it to saute when you put the cream in but I find it gets too thick and kind of goopy with saute.
Love this recipe but could I use frozen chicken instead? (For those nights I crave this but didn’t take out chicken haha) If so, how would I change the cooking time?
I think you could, but I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t say the cooking time for sure. ?
This recipe is amazing!! I just made it and tried it and It’s probably my new favorite!!
Thanks so much for sharing!!
This is absolutely amazing! It’s way better than anything I’ve had in a restaurant. I’m in love! I actually used more chicken and no sausage. I’m going to try it with sausage next time!
WOW! I made this tonight for a quick dinner. It was definitely quick and SOOOOO tasty! I might have to bring this to my next food day at work!
I first made this recipe when it was “one pot” Cajun Chicken Alfredo. Now I make it in my Ninja Foodi. We have this at least once a week! ( tonight ) The only thing I do differently is I use Andouille sausage, and if I’m In a pinch I use frozen cooked diced chicken. It’s perfect every time.
Cooked this tonight, it is amazing! Great recipe that I will be cooking again for sure.
This recipe is one of mine and my boyfriends favorites in the Instant Pot. It is soooooo good! I am actually having him pick up ingredients as I type 🙂
My whole family loved this recipe and asked me to keep it in our regular rotation. It was easy to make and felt like a very indulgent meal. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
The whole family loved this meal! It is super easy and full of yummy goodness!
Cajun flavors are so good! I love the sausage with the chicken, It’s a tasty, filling meal the whole family enjoys!