This Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is made lighter with packaged ranch seasoning, turkey bacon and Greek yogurt!
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How to make this recipe
- Add olive oil, chicken, garlic, ranch seasoning, salt and pepper, water and pasta to Instant Pot. Then pressure cook for 3 minutes.
- Cook turkey bacon with a bit of olive oil in a large skillet. Chop into small pieces and set aside.
- When the pressure cooking is finished and it has cooled a bit, mix in Greek yogurt and parmesan cheese until well combined.
- Mix in broccoli, parsley and cooked turkey bacon then let sit for 5-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
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 – replace with a minimal amount of ranch dressing or use a combination of these spices: parsley, pepper, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder and dry buttermilk powder for a creamy taste.
- 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 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!
Storing and reheating
This recipe 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 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 pasta
You can freeze this pasta too! Which is what really makes it a great meal prep or make ahead recipe! This pasta will keep in the freezer for three months. To reheat from frozen, simply sprinkle some water overtop and microwave for 7-9 minutes, stirring halfway through. You can also allow the pasta defrost in the fridge overnight and then reheat as instructed above.
More Instant Pot chicken recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- 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!
is the version I use in this recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
This Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is made lighter with packaged ranch seasoning, turkey bacon and Greek yogurt!
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Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 410kcal
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!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 410kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 2768mg | Potassium: 283mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 200IU | Vitamin C: 18.2mg | Calcium: 190mg | Iron: 1.8mg
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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 🙂