Instant Pot Fettuccine Alfredo

Instant Pot Fettuccine Alfredo is an easy, inexpensive classic favorite! Simply add the ingredients to the Instant Pot and start for a rich, creamy, and delicious one-pot meal.

Can you cook pasta in the Instant Pot?

If you’ve been around here long enough, you know that Instant Pot pasta is a controversial topic.  In my opinion, cooking noodles in the Instant Pot does NOT produce the same result as stovetop pasta. 

Check out this post for a convenient breakdown of the pros and cons of cooking pasta in an Instant Pot.

It’s true. I don’t always enjoy Instant Pot pasta dishes. However, I love Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo.  Here are the reasons:

• It’s a one-pot dish! The fettuccine pasta absorbs the liquid as it cooks. No need to strain the pasta.
• Set it and forget it. This recipe allows you to dump the ingredients, start the machine, and walk away. There’s no need to stand around watching to ensure the pot doesn’t boil over.
• Adding back starch is a chef’s trick to thicken pasta sauces. Pressure-cooked noodles cook so quickly they don’t have time to release starch. The starch in Instant Pot Fettuccine Alfredo makes it extra thick, creamy, and delicious.
• Fettuccine, linguine, and pasta shell noodles actually cook significantly better in the Instant Pot vs. spaghetti noodles. So if you’re going to cook pasta in the Instant Pot, I recommend using anything but spaghetti.

How to make fettuccine Alfredo in Instant Pot

• Add chicken broth, cream, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, and butter to the Instant Pot.
• Break the fettuccine noodles in half so they will fit in the Instant Pot.
• Scatter the noodles over the liquid, alternating the direction of the noodles to prevent sticking.
• Pat the noodles down slightly to submerge them in as much liquid as possible.
• Lock the lid, turn the knob to sealing, then pressure cook on high pressure for 7 minutes. Allow a 5-minute natural pressure release.
• Remove the lid, and stir the noodles and sauce together. Slowly sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese and mix to combine. Serve immediately.

Tips for Making Instant Pot Alfredo

• Do not substitute the cream with milk or half or half. I usually recommend against using dairy as your cooking liquid for pressure cooking. However, this recipe works because the heavy cream is diluted enough by the chicken broth to not burn. Cream (vs milk) has very little to no sugar in it (it is basically butter in liquid form), so it doesn’t burn or curdle as easily. 
• Scatter the noodles as evenly as possible. Having anything clumped will make the noodles stick together and they will not cook evenly.
• Use shredded parmesan cheese. If you grew up using a green can of parmesan cheese on spaghetti like me, just remember to use that for red sauce or for topping. To make this Instant Pot Alfredo recipe, use freshly grated parmesan cheese, or pre-shredded parmesan cheese. It will incorporate better and taste better in the sauce.
• Slowly add the cheese. If you add cold cheese to boiling hot liquid, it will seize, curdle, or clump. For best results, stir the noodles after pressure cooking to release some of the heat and redistribute the sauce, then add the cheese slowly while mixing. Do not add frozen cheese to the dish (I actually like to take the cheese out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature before adding to sauces like this).

What to add to fettuccine Alfredo

The most popular additions to fettuccine Alfredo are chicken and shrimp + a few other ideas!

• Instant Pot chicken Alfredo: adding chicken to fettuccine Alfredo makes it an especially hearty and filling meal. For a quick chicken Alfredo, add my frozen instant pot chicken, canned chicken, or shredded rotisserie chicken. You can also add chicken tenderloins to this recipe by laying them on top of the noodles during pressure cooking. You can season and sear them first to add more flavor, but at the very least season with salt and pepper!
• Instant Pot shrimp Alfredo: it’s very easy to learn how to make shrimp Alfredo in the Instant Pot. Simply make the Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo recipe, then dump a bag of shrimp into the pot and stir. Replace the lid and let steam for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid and stir the noodles until the shrimp are pink and fully cooked. Check out the full recipe post here.
• Instant Pot ham Alfredo: if you have leftover ham, it’s a delicious addition to Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo.  Dice the ham into small, bite size pieces.  Add to fettuccine Alfredo immediately after cooking to thoroughly warm the ham.
• Instant Pot tuna Alfredo: if you like seafood pasta, another option is to add a can of tuna.

Quick Tip: My hungry kids tend to get impatient waiting for hot meals to cool.  So I just add some frozen vegetables, like corn or peas, to their bowls! I usually use this trick for my soup recipes, but it applies perfectly here too.

Mix the fettuccine Alfredo and frozen veggies together and let it sit for a couple minutes.  Mix again, and it’s the perfect temperature for kids! 

The hot noodles and sauce warm up the frozen veggies, and the frozen veggies cool down the fettuccine.  My favorite vegetable to add to fettuccine Alfredo is frozen peas. Yum!

How to store and reheat Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo

If you have leftovers, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Just like other pastas, fettuccine Alfredo dries out a bit after refrigeration, so you can add a little milk before reheating to add back some moisture. 

What to serve with fettuccine Alfredo?

If you were at a fancy Italian restaurant, you would likely be served fettuccine Alfredo alongside baked or grilled chicken, grilled or sautéed shrimp, a crisp green salad and a dry white wine. 

Now you can recreate this experience at home at a fraction of the cost with Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo!

I also love to serve this dish with crusty bread or breadsticks.  Perfect for mopping up every last drop of creamy Alfredo sauce.

Instant Pot Italian/Pasta recipes

If you like Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo, here are a few other dishes to try!

• Chicken Con Broccoli (Olive Garden Copycat)
• Spaghetti Squash with Lemon Cream Sauce
• Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
• Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Egg Noodles (Instant Pot or Stovetop)
• Instant Pot Easy Mac