One Pot Creamy Chicken Alfredo, I'm a food blog

Chicken Alfredo is perfect for a weekday dinner: super juicy chicken pieces in a smooth and creamy Alfredo sauce, extra cheese.

It's been so cold lately! I hibernated under our kotatsu (a heated Japanese table with a blanket to trap all that delicious heat; it's the best thing ever invented) and spooned out bowl after bowl of this creamy chicken Alfredo.

It's comfort food at its finest: scoop, cheese, cream and carbs. This dish is perfect. The Parmesan cheese is full of salty umami, the chicken is perfectly juicy, and the noodles are the perfect vehicle for the rich, flavorful, and buttery creamy alfredo sauce.

What is Alfredo sauce?

Classic Alfredo sauce has just three ingredients: butter, cheese, and pasta water. That's all! They come together in a rich, creamy sauce that's perfect with pasta (read more about classic Alfredo here!). But, like many lovingly adapted food products, today, especially in the United States, people think of Alfredo as a thick white cream sauce, made with heavy cream and garlic, at the Olive Garden. Alfredo is used as a general term for almost all Italian white sauces.

It's not really authentic and that's okay.

Italians, look away! I know what you're thinking, this Alfredo is a parody and in no way resembles your beloved three simple ingredient Alfredo. I totally agree with you! This is just a super simple evening shot of Alfredo that comes together in 15 minutes.

I know regular Alfredo is also very simple and only takes about 15 minutes, but this is the kind of recipe where you throw everything in a pan, set it and forget about it. There are juicy pieces of chicken, perfectly al dente noodles, and a rich sauce that clings to every piece of pasta. It's satisfaction in a bowl and it's all made in the Instant Pot.

Can you make pasta in the Instant Pot?

Yeah! You can put raw pasta in the instant pot and pressure cook it. As it cooks, it soaks up all the delicious creamy sauce you pressure cook it in. As an added bonus, the starches released help thicken the sauce, making it stick perfectly to the pasta. The best part is that cooking pasta in the Instant Pot means it's truly a one-pot dish with no drips or extra steps.

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo

1. Add ground chicken, penne (or pasta of your choice), chicken broth, and garlic powder in the Instant Pot insert. Stir well to combine and then cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
2. While the Instant Pot does its job, whisk a little cream with a little cornstarch in a small bowl. Take advantage of this time to finely grate the parmesan.
3. When the Instant Pot is ready, quickly release the pressure and then carefully open the lid. Turn the saucepan over medium heat and also add the cream-cornstarch mixture and the butter. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, then stir in the parma until melted and all the noodles are coated and creamy. Taste, season, pour into a bowl and enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Alfredo Ingredients

I love this recipe because it really only takes 9 ingredients. Heck, if you wanted to forget about parsley, that would be 8! All you need is chicken, penne, chicken broth, garlic powder, cream, cornstarch, butter, and grated parma.

• Pollo – I used chicken thighs because I love their juiciness, but you can definitely do that with chicken breast.
• Pasta – Short pasta is perfect in the Instant Pot and penne is great as the little holes are filled so delicately. Feel free to use short pasta or even fettuccine here. If you are using fettuccine, you will need to cut the pieces in half.
• Cream and cornstarch – We are going to help make our sauce super shiny with the help of heavy cream and cornstarch. The cornstarch will help thicken everything and the cream will add a wonderful creamy flavor.
• Parmesan – Go for grated! It melts better and tastes much better than what you buy pre-grated at the store.

I hope you have the opportunity to do this. It's so creamy and comforting, I could eat it FOREVER.
xoxo steph