Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti

Let’s talk chicken spaghetti. I don’t know about you, but my only memories of consuming this classic casserole was at church potlucks or in cafeteria-style heaps on a styrofoam tray at band camp. If chicken spaghetti was on the menu, the garlic bread was always the main event on my plate. Needless to say, I was never a huge fan of the stuff.

I dabbled in the world of cooking in college and decided to try my hand at the Pioneer Woman’s classic chicken spaghetti recipe. It tasted great. But it took 4 years and a bachelor’s degree to finish the dang thing. Talk about a recipe with 50 ingredients and 5 billion steps…chopping, dicing, browning, boiling, sautéing, seasoning, combining, baking……it goes on and on! Not to mention you need certified biceps just to lift that casserole dish out of the oven when it’s done! And then after eating the stuff twice a day for 14 days, you realize you’re not even half way through the pan. (This was when I lived alone, I have a feeling I wouldn’t have that problem with Bryan in the house.) I quickly realized it just wasn’t worth the time and effort.

But listen up friends, I’m about to share some revolting insight: marriage is all about sacrifice.

I’m always in charge of meal planning and grocery shopping for our house and I always ask Bryan if anything in particular sounds good to him. He usually has no preference or will say something classic like tacos or spaghetti. (I could feed him Bar S hot dogs and water and he probably wouldn’t complain). But, one fateful Sunday afternoon, he requested the dreaded chicken spaghetti.

I wasn’t sure if life could go on.

I had vowed that I would never put myself through that torture ever again.

But I had also vowed to my husband that, for better or worse, I would try to make him happy. Even if it meant slaving the day away to deliver a pan of chicken spaghetti.

Because of my previous encounter with this stuff, I had the genius idea to search for an Instant Pot version (because that sucker is sent straight from heaven and I believed this would be my saving grace). Pinterest did not disappoint, however, I failed to find a recipe with a list of ingredients that I was on board with. NO VELVEETA FOR ME PLEASE. So, I took two recipes and mashed them together, as any normal human would, right? It took a bit of a learning curve to adapt the ingredients and instructions, but I did it.

My greatest accomplishment to date? Bryan’s stomach might say yes.

Two trials (and lots of leftovers) later, and I have a DELICIOUS and SPEEDY Instant Pot chicken spaghetti recipe that I am ready to share with the world. Prepare to be rocked.

P.S.

I’ve never tried it, but I think this recipe could also be a great vegetarian option if you omit the chicken and use two cans of cream of mushroom instead of the combination mentioned in the recipe! Add extra bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, or any other preferred veggie. It still packs in all the flavor and cheesy goodness. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chicken broth, divided

• 2-3 large chicken breasts, diced into cubes

• Green bell pepper, chopped

• Sweet onion, chopped

• 1 can rotel (diced tomatoes with green chiles)

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• small jar of diced pimientos

• 1 tsp garlic salt

• one can cream of chicken

• one can cream of mushroom

• *8 oz of spaghetti noodles, uncooked

• 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

• red pepper to taste

*NOTE: I tried lightening up this recipe by using multi grain spaghetti noodles and it didn't turn out as well as it did using regular ol' noodles. Some of the noodles stuck together. Not a major problem, just be conscious and maybe add an extra 1/4 c water on top of the multi grain dry noodles in the pot.

Instructions:

1. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth to bottom of pot.

2. Add cubed chicken, diced green bell pepper, chopped onion, rotel, minced garlic, pimientos, and garlic salt to pot. Stir until combined.

3. Break spaghetti noodles into 3 equal parts and sprinkle on top of chicken. DO NOT STIR.

4. Whisk together cans of chicken soup, mushroom soup, and remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth. Pour over noodles and again, DO NOT STIR.

5. Close lid of the instant pot and set the pressure valve to sealed

6. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes

7. Quick release the pressure and open lid.

8. Stir contents and break apart and noodles or chicken that are stuck together, then set your pot to Saute mode.

What the cooked chicken, veggies, and noodle combination looks like before adding cheese.

8. Add shredded cheese to pot and stir continuously until all cheese is melted and incorporated. Be careful to watch it and turn saute mode off if it appears it is burning. I always have to turn mine off after only a minute or so.

9. Add red pepper to taste and allow the flavors to combine for 10 minutes before serving.

Look, it's not about the quality of the picture, it's about the quality of food, okay? :)

There you go! A simple, much easier take on the classic chicken spaghetti. 8 minutes in the Instant Pot plus a few minutes for the pressure to build and release and BOOM. You just saved yourself from slaving away in the kitchen for four years.....all you have to do is figure out what to do with all that free time! Bonus points for minimal dishes, cook time, and no velveeta....at least in my book ;)