Creamy one pot pasta parmesan with garlic
This super delicious and easy one pot garlic parmesan pasta is fantastic just out of the pan but even better the next day. Serve with your choice of vegetables for the most delicious dish. It’s a very easy recipe so won’t take long to make and I love making this in my instant pot.
To be honest, I don’t eat pasta every day, but I still really think it is one of the best meals to eat. So when Charlotte and I had a cooking day recently and of course I wanted to try out my brand new instant pot, we went looking for a nice recipe for pasta from the instant pot.
One pot garlic parmesan pasta
We came across a recipe by Sabine from Oh My Foodness and it sounded so good that we had to try it! Plus, it was pretty simple so a great dish for our first pasta from the instant pot.
What goes into the pasta
Don’t be alarmed by the number of ingredients you’ll need for this recipe. They are simple ingredients and most of them will be in your cupboard. What will you need:
- chicken
- Onion
- garlic
- paprika powder
- garlic powder
- dried parsley
- bell pepper
- mushrooms
- olive oil
- pasta
- vegetable broth or chicken stock
- unsalted butter
- heavy cream
- parmesan cheese
- cream cheese
- fresh basil
Quite a few ingredients are needed for the parmesan sauce but it’s really mostly cupboard items. You also need an instant pot to make this although I will tell you how to make this in a regular large skillet as well later on.
Making the one-pot garlic parmesan pasta
Now making this pasta in the instant pot is super easy to do. You first start by chopping up all the vegetables and the meat. I have used chicken thighs here but you can use your favorite protein as well. Just keep in mind that cooking times may vary depending on which meat or fish you’ll use in the pasta parmiggiano.
First you start by putting the instant-pot on at the sauté function. You add a bit of olive oil in the pan and start by baking the chicken until it is golden brown and cooked. At that point you add the chopped onion, garlic, herbs and the spices and the bell pepper and the mushrooms. You sauté the whole until the vegetables are cooked and softened. As for the herbs I like to use Italian seasoning but any kind of herbs you like will work here. Thyme or rosemary are also delicious.
Now is the time to ad the uncooked pasta, chicken broth and heavy whipping cream to the pot. Stir through and place the lid on the instant pot. You now close the steam valve and pressure cook the dish for about 6 minutes. Let the steam release while opening the steam valve and take the lid off once all steam has gone.
Stir the rest of the ingredients into the pasta until the cheese is nicely melted and you’re left with a delicious creamy sauce. Instead of the cream cheese you can also use sour cream if you prefer. I love the creaminess of the cheese so I like to stick to that. Sprinkle with fresh basil or use some red pepper flakes to give it a spicy finish.
Preparing the pasta in a regular pan
Like I mentioned you can – of course – make this easy weeknight dinner in a regular skillet. In that case you follow all the instruction up to the part where you add the cheese and the pasta. If cooking this in a regular pan I use a separate pot to cook the pasta al dente before adding it to the rest of the dish. You could still use the same pan if you want though. You add the liquids and the pasta and you cook it according to the package instructions for about 10 minutes or so. Once the pasta is cooked you add the parmesan and the cream cheese and stir through until it is lovely and creamy. The total cooking time will just be a bit longer than with the instant pot. Keep around 18-20 minutes in mind when making it in a regular pan. Not too big of a difference in cook time to the instant pot, so choose whichever you prefer.
Slightly moist
In the recipe below, I followed Sabine’s original quantities. I might use a little less fluids for the next time I’ll be making it. It was good but maybe slightly a bit too much liquid. Also this will vary if you use a regular pan for making it. But if you’re using an instant pot I would decrease the amount of liquid of the chicken stock to 500 ml (2 cups) instead of the 750 ml (3 cups). The next day I liked the pasta even more and the liquid had absorbed into the creamy garlic parmesan pasta. So no longer too much moisture.
in terms of which pasta to use I like to go for short pasta. Longer pasta’s will work too but I find that becomes a little bit harder to eat. Might be just me.
Variations
If you want to make some variations you can definitely switch this simple dish around. You could replace the heavy cream with whole milk for instance to make it slightly lighter. You can use different kinds of fresh cheeses instead of the parmesan if you want to. Obviously the garlic is an essential part of this one pot garlic parmesan pasta but add a bit of ginger to give it a kick or add different vegetables to it. I like to add some spinach at the end too. Don’t add the spinach already in the beginning of the cooking process though. Right at the end will do fine. It will only need a few minutes to wilt.
Instead of the chicken thigh you can go for chicken breasts or use fresh salmon to change it up.
If you’re a fan of one pot pasta dishes? Make sure to check out this creamy ricotta pasta too.
One pot garlic parmesan pasta
Equipment
- Instant pot
Ingredients
- 400 gr chicken thighs diced
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 red bell bell pepper diced
- 250 g mushrooms sliced
- 500 g pasta
- 750 ml chicken stock
- 200 ml heavy cream
- 50 g butter
- 100 g grated parmesan cheese
- 50 g natural cream cheese
- 15 g fresh basil
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- Get your instant pot ready and set the setting to sauté. Now add the cubed chicken thigh with some olive oil and fry in the pan until the meat turns brown.
- Now add the chopped onion, garlic, herbs and spices, red bell bell pepper, butter and the mushrooms and fry for a while until the vegetables are soft.
- Then add the pasta, chicken broth and cooking cream to the pot. Stir once and turn the lid on the pot. Close the steam valve.
- Put the instant pot on position manual, high and set the timer to 6 minutes. So you are effectively using the instant pot’s pressure cooker function.
- As soon as the timer goes off, turn the steam valve open (carefully, preferably do this with utensils and not with your hands!). Release the pressure from the pot and unscrew the lid.
- Stir the rest of the ingredients into the pasta until the cheese is melted and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
