Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta with chicken and smoked sausage in a creamy, spicy sauce makes an easy and flavorful family meal. It can be made start to finish in under 30 minutes.
Since I got an Instant Pot in January, I have tried making lots of different things in it and I have been impressed with every single one. This is the second pasta dish I have made. Creamy Shells and Beef was my first. I especially like making pasta dishes in the Instant Pot. The pasta turns out so flavorful, but not overcooked.
Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta Recipe
This Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta is full of onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, Cajun seasoning, paprika, and Italian seasoning. It also has chopped pieces of chicken, and diced tomatoes. At the end, Parmesan cheese, a little heavy cream, and some cream cheese are mixed in and they make the pasta so creamy.
How To Serve
This is a rich pasta dish that will serve 6 people. I like to serve it with steamed broccoli or a garden salad with Creamy Italian dressing. Some yeast rolls are a great addition.
How To Store
Leftovers can be kept for 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in a microwave.
Recipe Tips
- This instant pot cajun pasta dish will be a little bit soupy. As it cools, it gets thicker. Leftovers reheat really well.
- For the smoked sausage, you can use either andouille sausage or kielbasa sausage.
- Instead of penne pasta, you can use rotini pasta.
- To reduce the sodium some, use an reduced-sodium chicken broth.
- Chicken thighs can be used instead of chicken breast.
- Leave the cayenne pepper out if you want it less spicy.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Swiss Chicken
- Instant Pot Jambalaya
- Instant Pot Mississippi Roast
- Instant Pot Caesar Chicken
- Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef
- Instant Pot Creamy Lemon Chicken
Watch the short video below to see how easy this recipe is.
Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium sweet or yellow onion,, diced
- 1 green bell pepper,, diced
- 6 white mushrooms,, sliced
- 1 (14-ounce) package smoked sausage,, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves,, minced
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (14-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 tablespoon Cajun or Creole seasoning, I use Tony Chachere’s
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 12 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- 4 ounces cream cheese,, softened and cut into pieces
- 1 cup freshly grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot on “Saute” mode. Add oil and butter.
- Add onion and green pepper and cook until starting to get soft, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add mushroons, sausage and garlic and cook another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add chicken, paprika, Italian seasoning, chicken broth, tomatoes, Cajun seasoning, and cayenne pepper.
- Add pasta and use a wooden spoon to push it all down into the liquid.
- Place lid on Instant Pot. Make sure the valve is in “sealing” position. Cancel the “Saute” mode and set to Pressure Cook on HIGH for 5 minutes.
- Manually release the pressure. Remove lid and stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and heavy cream until the cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle parsley on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally posted July 5, 2018.
Recipe adapted from: Simply Happy Foodie
When do I put in the mushrooms?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!!??!?!
Please update recipe!
Do you cook chicken before adding?
I usually do not comment on recipes but on this one I had to. This was so good!!!!! I had wanted to try it since you posted it and finally got around to it on my to do list. Thank you so much for such a tasty recipe!!
Ok, yum! I snuck a bite before adding the cheese and that was also delicious! I did add the cheese and half and half instead of heavy cream, but next time, i think I’ll just add parmesan. So good!!
Wonder dish. My wife says it’s not diet friendly but it has not slowed her down when it comes to eating this dish. It’s an easy to prepare so I give it high marks. (I’m the house husband, cook, janitor and bottle washer.) The family loves the taste. It’s a comfort food. Great meal Christin.
So happy you and your wife enjoy it Frank. Not diet friendly, but so good. 🙂
The whole family enjoyed this and it was so easy! We were fighting over the leftovers.
This was amazingly easy and delicious! It has a kick that we loved but that others might find too spicey. So know your guests’ tastes. We will be making this again for certain! BTW, I cooked the sausage separately so that we could drain the grease (over 1/2 cup!). Also I added the mushrooms in with the other vegetables. Perfect!
It doesn’t say when to put in the mushrooms…aaahhh…I for to put them in
Is the chicken store to be cooked before I put it in?
I wasn’t sure either. To be safe, I browned it first before startinging. It turned out good.
I didn’t read this until after I made it, but I cut mine up in bite sizes and cooked the entire recipe for 7 min. It came out cooked perfectly. I did not precook the chicken.
My kids crave for this since first making it!
Thanks for this deliciously simple recipe.