Instant Pot Chicken and Bacon Carbonara
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Our family loves going out to eat, but we love saving money more. I crave the chicken carbonara at Olive Garden and I wanted to create an easier recipe that could be made at home to save money.
This one pot Instant Pot Chicken and Bacon Carbonara tastes great and is an easy dinner recipe!
If you like this recipe you may also enjoy our Pasta with Marinara and Alfredo and our Roasted Tomato Garlic and Basil Pasta.
Instant Pot Chicken and Bacon Carbonara Recipe
This make at home copy cat version of the Olive Garden chicken carbonara is very easy and very satisfying. Using this easy Instant Pot recipe means fewer dishes. We love that the ingredients are so budget-friendly too!
Our family loves going out to eat, but we love saving money more. That’s why we also enjoy making Copycat Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli Soup and Macaroni Grill Copycat Pasta Milano.
It’s also easier to eat at home and nice not to have to wrestle a toddler at the restaurant dinner table.
Everyone in our family likes pasta, chicken, bacon and peas so the combination is easy and delicious. The whipping cream and cheese add a nice richness in a very simple way. The 6 quart Instant Pot means no additional pans are needed to make a sauce, so clean-up is much easier!
How to Make Chicken Carbonara in an Electric Pressure Cooker
- Toss the chicken pieces in flour and set aside
- In the Instant Pot, use the saute setting, add the butter and vegetable oil. When the fats are hot add the garlic and floured chicken to the pot.
- Cook the chicken. If necessary cook in batches adding more butter and oil as needed.
- Return cooked chicken to the Instant Pot.
- Place uncooked pasta on top of the chicken and then pour the broth over the pasta. Be sure to add the liquid last and do NOT stir!
- Lock the lid in place and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. When the timer sounds, allow to natural release for 8 minutes.
- Stir the contents of the pot, then add the cream, Parmesan, peas and bacon. Garnish pasta with bacon and additional Parmesan if desired.
Tips for Making Instant Pot Chicken Carbonara
- Chicken can be cooked in batches, but I prefer to use chicken that covers the bottom of the Instant Pot in one layer. Cooking in batches takes more time and I like to make it quick!
- Using a jar of minced garlic can save time, but fresh garlic works well too.
- Follow all food safety guidelines and let ingredients get closer to room temperature to speed up cooking time
- Frozen peas and dairy products should be added AFTER the pressure cooking is done. Adding peas, whipping cream and cheese to a hot mixture will cook them almost immediately.
- Use the natural release for at least 8 minutes to help keep the chicken tender. Using the quick release can make meat tough.
- Return the lid to the pressure cooker and leave on keep warm for up to 30 minutes until you are ready to enjoy!
Other Easy Instant Pot Recipe Ideas
- Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe
- Old Fashioned Sausage, Potatoes and Green Beans in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cranberry Sauce
- Instant Pot Pork Chops Sauerkraut, Apples & Bacon
- Best Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Best Instant Pot Mozzarella Chicken
- Instant Pot Chinese Chicken Salad
- Farmhouse Instant Pot Loaded Lasagna
Printable Instant Pot Chicken and Bacon Carbonara Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken and Bacon Carbonara
Author: JenniferEquipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 – 4 chicken breasts cut into 1″ pieces
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound bow tie pasta
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 4 ounces shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 6 – 8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Toss the chicken pieces in flour.
- In the Instant Pot, turn on the saute setting, add the butter and vegetable oil. When the fats are hot add the garlic and floured chicken to the pot.
- Cook the chicken. If necessary cook in batches adding more butter and oil as needed.
- Return cooked chicken to the Instant Pot. Top the chicken with pasta and then pour the broth over the pasta. Be sure to add the liquid last!
- Lock the lid in place and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. When the timer sounds, let natural release for 8 minutes.
- Stir the contents of the pot, then add the cream, Parmesan, peas and bacon. Garnish pasta with bacon and Parmesan if desired.
Notes
- Chicken can be cooked in batches, but I prefer to use chicken that covers the bottom of the Instant Pot in one layer. Cooking in batches takes more time and I like to make it quick!
- Using a jar of minced garlic can save time, but fresh garlic works well too.
- Follow all food safety guidelines and let ingredients get closer to room temperature to speed up cooking time
- Frozen peas and dairy products should be added AFTER the pressure cooking is done. Adding peas, whipping cream and cheese to a hot mixture will cook them almost immediately.
- Use the natural release for at least 8 minutes to help keep the chicken tender. Using the quick release can make meat tough.
- Return the lid to the pressure cooker and leave on keep warm for up to 30 minutes until you are ready to enjoy!
- All cooking appliances and conditions are different, so you should test these times and guidelines first in your own appliance to determine what adjustments may be needed!
Looks delicious – can’t wait to try this one for sure!!!
Oh dang that looks good. You might convert me into liking my instant pot haha.
Can you replace cream with Greek yogurt
I haven’t tried that yet, but it sounds like an interesting substitution. If you try it please let me know how it tastes. Thanks!
5 starts…. Only one problem that I have is we recently discovered my wife doesn’t handle dairy well. Has anyone tried any substitutes for the cheese and cream?
So, it’s UNCOOKED bowtie pasta that you are adding to the pot at the end, and just keeping it warm it will absorb enough liquid?
Good question! You’ll definitely want to cook the pasta in the Instant Pot. In step 4 you’ll want to put chicken on the bottom (sometimes it needs cooked in batches, if so put it all back in the bottom of the pot), uncooked pasta and then pour broth over the top but do NOT stir. Then follow cooking times in additional instructions.
I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy the meal!
We followed the recipe exactly and the top half of our pasta was still raw and uncooked
My family loves this!
Great! Thanks so much for sharing!
This is one of my favorites. I love a good easy comfort food meal!
This recipe is absolutely delicious!! Thank you for sharing this 🙂
Thanks so much for letting us know it worked out well for you!
Is it possible to double this recipe?
Hey there! Great question! I haven’t tried that yet, but I think it would be pushing the limit on how much the Instant Pot can hold. I always stay below the fill line for best results. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
This turned out really good. I followed all directions exactly, I just added salt, pepper and garlic powder at the end because I love garlic.
So glad to hear you enjoyed the meal. I love the idea of adding some garlic! Thanks for your kind note!
Can you use different pasta like spaghetti ? Thanks
Hey there! I haven’t tested it, but I’m also curious to know. Just be sure not to stir the pasta and liquid before cooking. If you try a variation please let me know.
Dude the pasta was not cooked. Had to cook again.
So sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you. It is so natural to stir the broth and pasta, but that can really affect how the pasta cooks (or doesn’t), so if you try pasta in the Instant Pot again be sure not to stir. Also some pots take longer to cook than others and the only way to learn that is trial and error.
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback.
Is the nutritional info on the recipe per serving and what is one serving?
Thank you,
Jana
Followed the recipe exactly but my pasta wasn’t cooked through had to had more liquid and add more time . But came out really food !
The meal was delicious but the pasta at the top didn’t cook. Next time I will add more chicken stock/broth.
Making this for dinner this week. Just want to make sure – the chicken is fully cooked when the pasta and broth is added, correct? Not just browned?
Hey there! Great question! Depending on the size of your cubes browning will likely cook, or nearly cook the chicken. So I brown/cook the chicken and then return to the Instant pot before pressurizing with the pasta, broth, etc. Have always ended with fully cooked, safe to eat chicken. Just be sure not to overcook the chicken in step one.
Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as our family does 🙂
Delicious and easy. Best dish ever.
*I used thighs instead of breasts, only browned the chicken on both sides, and did not cube it. When stirred it shredded on its own and was absolutely perfect.
Thanks so much for sharing your tips and this feedback. So glad to hear this recipe works well for you!
I added roasted red peppers along with the bacon and peas to copy Olive Garden.
I followed the recipe exactly, didn’t stir pasta, and the pasta still wasn’t cooked at the end.
I’m sorry to hear that. This recipe can take a couple of tries to get right in each person’s kitchen as appliances can vary quite a bit.
My noodles weren’t done either. I didn’t stir…hmmmm
You have to make
Sure the pasta is covered in liquid. So you may need to add some instead of following the recipe exactly – hope this helps
I followed the directions to the letter. Sadly, the bow tie pasta was not cooked. I added one cup of chicken broth, set the IP to 4 minutes, and once the timer beeped, I then let it it natural release for 5 minutes. Al dente pasta! Just the way I like it(:
Nowhere near enough liquid! You need to easily double it the liquid.All the pasta must be in liquid. Many have told you this but still no change to recipe. Reevaluate.
Pasta was not fully cooked, and I followed the instructions, not stirring after adding the broth. I even added more broth because I’m always worried about the “burn warning” with not enough liquid, so back in it goes! I’m glad I gave myself extra time for “round 2” to cook the pasta in case it wasn’t done, based on other reviews. Hopefully my chicken won’t be overcooked now… I also only browned the chicken instead of fully cooking it via sauté. This will definitely be tasty, but I might just cook the pasta separately and add it in with the cream if I try this recipe again. Also wondering if I could have added mushrooms, but I might find a different recipe for my slow cooker next time anyway. Not bad, but not perfect. Thanks for sharing your recipe anyway!
Any tips to avoid the burn notice?