This Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is made lighter with packaged ranch seasoning, turkey bacon and Greek yogurt!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – any neutral oil can be used in place of olive oil
- Chicken breast – chicken thighs can be used as well. Note: chicken thighs will need a different cook time than chicken breast.
- Garlic – fresh or jarred minced garlic is recommended for this recipe
- Ranch seasoning packet – you can use homemade ranch seasoning or replace it with a minimal amount of ranch dressing.
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
- Water – use chicken broth or vegetable stock in the Instant Pot when cooking the chicken for extra flavour.
- Rotini pasta – any short pasta shape that you prefer will work.
- Greek yogurt – plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt is best. Use any plain yogurt of your choice.
- Parmesan cheese – asiago is a great alternative to parmesan but feel free to use a substitute you like or leave it out altogether.
- Broccoli – replace broccoli with a veggie of your choice or leave it out altogether.
- Parsley – fresh parsley to garnish is recommended for this recipe.
- Turkey bacon – turkey bacon is a leaner option but if you prefer to use pork bacon, you can go ahead!
How to make chicken bacon ranch pasta in the Instant Pot
- Add the first 7 ingredients to the Instant Pot in order.
- Cook on high pressure, then do a quick pressure release.
- Cook the turkey bacon.
- Stir in the Greek yogurt and parmesan.
- Mix in the broccoli, parsley and turkey bacon.
- Serve and enjoy!
Top tips for this pasta
This Instant Pot chicken bacon ranch pasta is already super easy and delicious, but there are a couple of tips that will really take this dish to the next level:
- Make your own homemade ranch seasoning – it's super easy!
- Grate fresh parmesan instead of using the pre-shredded or store-bought stuff.
- Use any kind of short pasta shape. I wouldn't suggest a longer shape as it won't cook in the same amount of time.
- Swap out the chicken for another protein source like turkey or sausage.
Frequently Asked Questions
This chicken bacon ranch pasta is basically a whole meal on its own, but if you're looking for side dish ideas, it'd be delicious with some fresh crusty bread, garlic bread or cornbread. You could also serve it with a side salad like this brussels sprouts salad.
Yes! You can make this pasta up to 5 days in advance, which makes it a great option for meal prep. Store individual serving sizes in the fridge for easy reheating.
You can find ranch seasoning in the spices aisle of the grocery store. You can also make your own homemade ranch seasoning and store it in the pantry.
If you have leftover cooked chicken you need to use, you can leave the chicken out of this recipe and just add the olive oil, garlic, ranch seasoning, salt, pepper and water to the Instant Pot. Stir in the cooked chicken at the end along with the broccoli, parsley and turkey bacon.
Storing and reheating
This chicken bacon ranch pasta will last in the fridge for up to 5 days. To store, I prefer to do so in individual servings in glass meal prep containers. This is so that you can reheat directly in the container itself, and ensure you are getting a proper portion size. When you're ready to enjoy it, reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and sprinkle water overtop to ensure the pasta doesn't dry out.
Freezing this recipe
You can freeze this pasta for up to 3 months in airtight glass bowls or meal prep containers. I'd suggest storing individual serving sizes – that way, when you're ready to enjoy, all you have to do is pull one out of the freezer. You can let the pasta defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat as normal, or reheat from frozen in the microwave for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring halfway through.
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More Instant Pot pasta recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
is the version I use in this recipe. - Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on packing this pasta up for lunch!
- This is the pasta I used in this recipe.
- And of course I get all my free-range chicken breasts from Butcher Box!
- **Get my full list of tools here**
is the version I use in this recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium-sized chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ranch seasoning packet
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 4 cups water
- 1 lb rotini pasta
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 0% but you could use 2%)
- 3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
- 8 slices turkey bacon, chopped and cooked
Instructions
- Add olive oil, chicken, garlic, ranch seasoning, salt and pepper, water and pasta to Instant Pot in that order. Cook on high for 3 minutes, then do a quick pressure release. Instant Pot will take 10-15 min to preheat then cook for 3 min on high pressure.
- While Instant Pot is preheating, cook turkey bacon with a bit of olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat, cooking for 3-4 min per side. Remove from skillet when finished and chop up when cool enough to handle. Set aside.
- When pressure gauge is down and it is safe to do so, remove lid and stir in Greek yogurt and parmesan cheese until well combined. Mix in broccoli, parsley and cooked turkey bacon then let sit for 5-10 minutes (this will give broccoli time to steam and cook). Serve and enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Claire says
I somehow manage to butcher any meal I make. This is the first cooking blog I found where the meal was “Claire-proof”. I have made three of meals from this blog and they’ve been delicious and easy! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!
Taylor Stinson says
That makes me so happy to hear hahaha thank you so much! That means a lot 🙂
Jessica Austin says
I did this exactly to the recipe (bar adding 2 tbs cream cheese at the end as well and setting it to ‘keep warm’ for the last 10 mins) and it turned out better than I expected! I only got my instant pot today and so this was my first trial run to get used to it. I was worried that the broccoli wouldn’t steam in time and I was worried there would be too much water, but neither was true! Plus the chicken was perfectly done.
After needing a little more seasoning on the plate my partner went for thirds! A fool proof recipe we’ll repeat and I’ll expand on to create my own variations!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed! 🙂
Stefanie says
The wording in step one is a little confusing. I am just cooking high pressure for 3 minutes, correct? Then quick release? The final sentence about preheating for 15 almost had me thinking I was needing to do something additional. It is more of an explanation of how the IP works, correct?
Taylor Stinson says
I have had several people complain and express concern that they don’t think the food will cook in 3 minutes so I added in that additional explanation of how the Instant Pot will take 10-15 minutes to preheat and will then pressure cook from there.So yes, pressure cook for 3 min then quick release as you said. Looks like trying to help caused additional confusion 🙁
Candice says
It was good, but Definitely too much water for me. I will use 2 cups next time!
Taylor Stinson says
Hmm I’m wondering if you didn’t use a full pound of pasta (I know some boxes can be 340g instead of 454g, which is closer to 1lb). I find there’s no excess liquid at all with 4 cups of water. Glad that you liked it overall Candice!
SF says
What is the serving size please?
Taylor Stinson says
There are 6 servings so divide it all in 6, then each one is a serving; unfortunately I’m not able to provide exact measurements such as “1 cup”
Katie says
The pasta was delicious but i’m very disappointed reading the nutrition facts. One serving of this dish has 115% of your daily sodium allowance. No meal should ever consume your entire daily allowance. I wish I had read that before I made this dish but at least I know now. It’s a delicious dish but i’ll never make it again knowing there’s so much sodium in it.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Katie – I use a plugin to calculate the nutritional facts so this may be a glitch or miscalculation…the only areas where I see this meal being so high in sodium is the ranch packet and chicken broth and honestly I’m not sure if it’s a matter of these two ingredients being THAT high in sodium alone or if the plugin is miscalculating. The plugin may even just have a low threshold for what a daily sodium allowance should look like. There are a number of variables that could account for this reading of 115%. While I’m sure this meal would not exceed your daily allowance as my plugin suggests, it is still probably on the higher end. That said, not all recipes are going to fit perfectly into your nutritional needs and if you have a strict desire for a lower level of sodium, fat, sugar, calories, etc you could always look up the ingredients on a more accurate app like Myfitnesspal or My Plate ahead of time to ensure you know exactly what you’re eating.
Bogart says
I used 4 cups of water and it finished with a lot of water left. I could of probably used 2 cups of water and cooked it for 4 minutes.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m wondering if you maybe used a slightly different/smaller pasta shape (I know rotini can come in a smaller variety) or if you had just under 1lb of pasta..I’ve tried this manner of cooking pasta in the Instant Pot several times and I’ve never had a problem. Sorry it turned out watery for you Bogart!
Janet VanDusen says
A question: do you use natural pressure release for this recipe? or quick release? Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Janet! It’s quick release 🙂