Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Pasta

Barbecue chicken transformed into a pasta with no magic wand required? Yes, please. This magnificent, tangy and cheesy pasta dish, known as Barbecue Chicken Pasta, will be done by using less than 10 simple ingredients, with little effort and in virtually no time at all!

Barbecue Chicken Pasta
Adding butter to Instant Pot
Take some butter…
melted butter
…add it to the pot and give it heat so it melts and bubbles.
Adding diced red onion to pot
Add a diced red onion to the pot…
Sautéing onion
…and sauté for a few moments until the color fades.
Adding chicken to pot
Then, add some bite-sized pieces of chicken (dark or white meat) to the pot.
Sautéing chicken
Sauté until pinkish-white in color.
Adding broth to pot
Pour in some broth of your choice…
Adding diced tomatoes to pot
…and a can of diced tomatoes.
Stirring pot
Stir the pot until everything is combined.
Adding pasta to pot
Add rotini (also known as rotelle) to the pot.
Smoothing out pasta in pot
But DON’T mix it! Just smooth it out so it’s mostly submerged in the broth (it’s fine that some may peak above).
Adding banana peppers to pot
Now it’s time to add a lovely (but optional) ingredient: banana peppers! Drain a jar of them…
Banana peppers on top of pasta.
…and add them on top of the pasta (reserving a few for garnish). Secure the lid and cook at high pressure.
Stirring cooked pasta
When done pressure cooking, give the pot a good stir.
Adding barbecue sauce to pasta
Add in some barbecue sauce
Adding shredded cheddar cheese to pasta
…and some shredded cheddar cheese.
Stirring pasta
Stir until all is well-combined.
Adding frozen corn kernels to pasta
If you want some corn in the pasta, you can either add some frozen sweet kernels in now or you could have also added them along with the banana peppers before pressure cooking – which is what I suggest and is what is reflected in the recipe card below (adding the corn was an afterthought but I liked it a lot). If you add the corn after pressure cooking as shown here, the heat of the pasta will quickly thaw it but it will cool the pasta. But no biggie – you can always give the pasta more heat by hitting the Sauté button and briefly stirring to get there.
Pasta in bowl
Serve it in a bowl…
Pasta topped with cheese and bacon bits
…and top it as you see fit (I like more banana peppers, bacon bits and cheese). You can also drizzle on some additional barbecue sauce!
Man holding fork with pasta
Grab a forkful…
Man eating pasta
…make contact…
Man reacting to pasta
…and enjoy the bliss! Barbecue Chicken Pasta is SO GOOD! Goes great with my beer battered onion rings!
Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Pasta
Yield: 6

Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Pasta

Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Pasta

Barbecue chicken transformed into a pasta with no magic wand required? Yes, please. This magnificent, tangy and cheesy pasta dish will be done by using less than 10 simple ingredients, with little effort and in virtually no time at all!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) salted butter
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs and/or breasts, sliced into bite-size chunks
  • 3 cups chicken or ham broth (e.g. Ham Better Than Bouillon)
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 pound rotini
  • 1 (12-16 ounce) jar sliced banana peppers, with some reserved for topping (optional)
  • 10 ounces frozen corn
  • 2-4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (see Jeff’s Tips)
  • 1 cup barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s)
  • Bacon bits, for topping (optional)

Instructions

    1. Add the butter to the Instant Pot. Hit Sauté and Adjust so it’s on the More or High setting. Once melted and bubbling, add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes, until softened.
    2. Add chicken and sauté until pinkish-white in color – about 2-3 minutes longer.
    3. Add the broth and diced tomatoes to the pot and stir well. Add the pasta but do not stir. Top with the banana peppers and corn (again, not stirring). Hit Cancel followed by Manual or Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release when done and stir the pasta.
    4. Add the cheese (see Jeff’s Tips) and barbecue sauce and stir until combined. Let rest for 5 minutes for everything to come together.
    5. Serve in a bowl and topped with additional (and optional) banana peppers, cheese and bacon bits, if desired.

Jeffrey's Tips

When adding the cheese in Step 4, start with 2 cups. If you feel you want it cheesier, you can definitely add up to another 2 cups!

You can also add some black beans with the corn!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michelle

    I’m waiting the 5 min right now as I write this, I can hardly wait to try it, I use 2 different sweet baby rays BBQ sauce

  2. Nikki

    My 13-year-old rated it an 8/10. He’s a foodie so this recipe is a keeper. I’ll definitely add black beans next time. Maybe a spicy BBQ sauce too.

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