Check out our recipe for Instant Pot Parmesan Garlic Chicken Pasta made with Buffalo Wild Wings Sauce! Using store-bought sauce adds amazing flavor and makes this recipe super easy to make without having to buy a bunch of extra ingredients.
At our house, we LOVE pasta, chicken, and chicken wings. My go-to flavor for chicken wings is a medium sauce or garlic parmesan sauce. I like to have a little kick to the wings, but not so hot that you can’t taste anything for days. I was so pleasantly surprised when I came across the Buffalo Wild Wings sauces at the store the other day….and they had my two favorites!!
The last time I went to the store, I picked up a couple of bottles of the Buffalo Wild Wing spicy garlic sauce and the Buffalo Wild Wing garlic parmesan sauce. If you haven’t seen these sauces yet, check out your local grocery store, Costco, Walmart, or Amazon. I have bought them at multiple locations and there are several different flavor variations available.
My garlic parmesan chicken pasta recipe uses the parmesan garlic sauce (because it is soooo good! I think I could literally eat it by the spoonful….(don’t try that at home lol). When you mix the Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan Garlic sauce with pasta, chicken, and cheese, you end up with a super rich and delicious dish that is super easy to make and makes for a great dinner!
Some similar recipes call for using an entire bottle of parmesan garlic sauce. My recipe does not use nearly as much. And if you would prefer a milder dish, just reduce the amount of sauce that you use and replace it with a little extra chicken broth.
I did find that the Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan Garlic sauce had a little bit of a kick at the end that I was not expecting. For some reason, when I eat the sauce on the wings, I haven’t tasted any heat but the sauce alone does have a bit of spice to it.
But, when the focus is on the sauce, you can taste a little heat. This sauce comes together really well with the chicken to make one of the best-tasting pasta dishes! I should preface this by saying…it’s delicious but it’s not exactly a low-carb or keto pasta dish.
Tips for making Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Yes, you can. However, you will still need to cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes, otherwise, the chicken will not cook throughout during the time that it takes the pasta to cook. Large pieces of chicken and whole chicken breasts take substantially longer to cook than pasta does, so it is not recommended to use whole pieces of chicken. I would recommend buying boneless skinless chicken breasts, cutting them up into small pieces and then freezing them in a Ziplock bag or an airtight container. When you are ready to make this recipe, you will have the chicken ready to be cooked.
Yes! You can double this recipe. When doubling, double all ingredients except the chicken broth. Instead of doubling the chicken broth, only add an additional 3 cups instead of 3.5 cups.
Technically, yes. But, the chicken broth adds so much extra flavor to the pasta. If you use water, the flavor will be more “watered down” and not as rich and delicious.
No problem! Simply use this calculation for al dente pasta: Take the recommended cooking time that is on the box of pasta and divide by 2 and then subtract 2. Pressure cook for that many minutes. For example, if the box recommends 10 minutes of cook time, divide 10 by 2=5. Subtract 2. 5-2=3. Pressure cook for 3 minutes.
If you prefer your pasta cooked a little more: Take the recommended cooking time that is on the box of pasta and divide by 2 and then subtract 1. Pressure cook for that many minutes. For example, if the box recommends 10 minutes of cook time, divide 10 by 2=5. Subtract 1. 5-1=4. Pressure cook for 4 minutes.
If you prefer your pasta completely cooked and tender: Take the recommended cooking time that is on the box of pasta and divide by 2. Pressure cook for that many minutes. For example, if the box recommends 10 minutes of cook time, divide 10 by 2=5. Pressure cook for 5 minutes.
Yes! You can use whatever type of sauce you would like. It doesn’t have to be Buffalo Wild Wing’s brand. Although, I would recommend that you stick with a mild and creamy sauce for this recipe. The parmesan garlic sauce works really well with the parmesan and cream cheese.
The main ingredients are cloves of garlic, parmesan, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning herbs, and usually some form of mayonnaise. You can make your own homemade version, or you can buy it pre-made in the store. I prefer to buy it pre-made because I just love the Buffalo Wild Wings version! Because I use a pre-made sauce, there are a lot of ingredients due to it being shelf-stable. If you are looking to make your own homemade version, check out this recipe from The Spruce Eats.
You can either throw the leftovers into a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for about a minute- increase if you are reheating a lot of the pasta all at once. Or, you can reheat all of the leftovers by adding them back into your Instant Pot (or in a large skillet, large pot or pan on the stovetop over medium heat) and warming on the sauté function for a couple of minutes. You can even reheat it using the slow cooker/crockpot function. You may need to add some additional broth to make it less thick. If you’d like, you can freeze the leftover pasta. Put the leftover parmesan garlic chicken pasta in freezer-safe, plastic storage containers. When ready to eat, thaw and heat. Leftover pasta should stay good in the refrigerator for several days and in the freezer for about 3 months if you store leftovers in a properly sealed container.
Looking for more Instant Pot Chicken Pasta Recipes?
Ingredient substitutions for making Instant Pot Buffalo Wild Wings Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta:
The full ingredient list is found at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Olive Oil-Vegetable Oil or canola oil can be used instead if you prefer.
Chicken Breasts– I prefer to use boneless skinless un-cooked chicken breasts for this recipe. You can use chicken cutlets or chicken tenders if you prefer. Cutting the chicken into 1-inch cubes ensures that the chicken will cook in the same amount of time as the pasta. I would not recommend using full chicken breasts for this recipe as a full chicken breast would need substantially longer to cook than pasta. You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs, just make sure that you cut them into small pieces so they cook in the same amount of time as the pasta.
Chicken Broth- Water can be used, but the beef broth adds extra flavor.
Pasta- Do not use already cooked pasta. I used penne pasta but you can use your favorite pasta for this recipe. I would recommend using short pasta like penne, rigatoni, ziti, or rotini instead of long pasta like spaghetti. If you are using a different shape of pasta, follow these instructions to determine the proper pressure cooking time: Take the recommended cooking time that is on the box of pasta and divide by 2 and then subtract 2. Pressure cook for that many minutes. For example, if the box recommends 10 minutes of cook time, divide 10 by 2=5. Subtract 2. 5-2=3. Pressure cook for 3 minutes. If you choose to use a pasta substitute such as gluten free pasta, your cooking times will vary as not all kinds of pasta cook the same.
Cream Cheese- You can use regular or reduced-fat cream cheese for this recipe.
Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan Garlic Sauce- If you prefer, you can use another type of mild wing sauce for this recipe. I would encourage you to still use a milder sauce like the parmesan garlic because it goes so well with the cream cheese! 🙂 For a milder flavor, feel free to reduce the amount of sauce and increase the amount of broth instead.
Milk- I used whole milk but feel free to use skim, 1% or 2%. If you want it to be extra rich, you can even use heavy cream instead.
Parmesan Cheese- Shredded or grated Parmesan cheese works fine. I used about ½ of each and both combined well with the sauce! If you don’t have Parmesan cheese, you can sprinkle in a little bit of mozzarella cheese instead, just be sure to stir while it melts otherwise the mozzarella cheese may clump up.
Optional:
Salt and pepper. The sauce and parmesan cheese is already pretty flavorful, so you may not need any salt or pepper.
You can add in veggies or additional seasonings if you would like. Some of the most common add-ins are mushrooms, spinach and sun dried tomatoes.
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve with your favorite salad or garlic bread.
Directions for making Instant Pot Parmesan Garlic Chicken Pasta:
- Turn Instant Pot on sauté, high for 15 minutes.
- Pour in Olive Oil.
- Once the Olive Oil is hot, pour in the chicken. Sauté chicken until lightly browned on all sides.
- Once the chicken is lightly browned, pour in chicken broth. Stir and lightly scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any browned chicken bits. If using a nonstick pot, use a silicone spatula.
- Add the pasta on top. DO NOT STIR PASTA! Simply just push all of the pasta down, so most of it is covered by the liquid.
- Close the pressure cooking lid and move the valve to the seal position. Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes.
*If you are using a different shape of pasta, follow these instructions to determine the proper pressure cooking time: Take the recommended cooking time that is on the box of pasta and divide by 2 and then subtract 2. Pressure cook for that many minutes. For example, if the box recommends 10 minutes of cook time, divide 10 by 2=5. Subtract 2. 5-2=3. Pressure cook for 3 minutes. - Once the timer beeps and the Instant Pot is finished pressure cooking, move the valve to the vent position and release the pressure. If a lot of liquid starts to come out of the Instant Pot, close the vent, wait 3-5 minutes and then try to release the pressure again. Continue to do this until all pressure has been released.
- Stir chicken and pasta together. Don’t worry if all of the pasta isn’t cooked all the way. It will continue to cook as you add the additional ingredients. Turn Instant Pot on saute mode and add cream cheese, parmesan garlic dressing, milk, and parmesan cheese. Stir well until all ingredients are evenly combined.
- Serve and enjoy!
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Recipe
Instant Pot Parmesan Garlic Chicken Pasta-Buffalo Wild Wings Sauce
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Olive Oil
- 2 (2) Chicken Breasts (Boneless; Skinless; Cut into one inch cubes)
- 3 ½ cups (828 ml) Chicken Broth (Low Sodium)
- 16 ounces (453 ⅗ g) Pasta (I used Penne, but any short pasta may be used.)
- 8 ounces (226 ⅘ g) Cream Cheese
- 8 ounces (226 ⅘ g) Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesean Garlic Sauce
- ⅔ cup (157 ¾ ml) Milk
- ½ cup (50 g) Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot on saute, high for 15 minutes.
- Pour in Olive Oil.
- Once the Olive Oil is hot, pour in the chicken. Saute chicken until lightly browned on all sides.
- Once the chicken is lightly browned, pour in chicken broth. Stir and lightly scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any browned chicken bits. If using a nonstick pot, use a silicone spatula.
- Add the pasta on top. DO NOT STIR PASTA! Simply just push all of the pasta down, so most of it is covered by the liquid.
- Close pressure cooking lid, and move valve to the seal position. Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. *If you are using a different shape of pasta, follow these instructions to determine the proper pressure cooking time: Take the recommended cooking time that is on the box of pasta and divide by 2 and then subtract 2. Pressure cook for that many minutes. For example, if the box recommends 10 minutes of cook time, divide 10 by 2=5. Subtract 2. 5-2=3. Pressure cook for 3 minutes.
- Once the timer beeps and the Instant Pot is finished pressure cooking, move the valve to the vent position and release the pressure. If a lot of liquid starts to come out of the Instant Pot, close the vent, wait 3-5 minutes and then try to release the pressure again. Continue to do this until all pressure has been released.
- Stir chicken and pasta together. Don't worry if all of the pasta isn't cooked all the way. It will continue to cook as you add the additional ingredients. Turn Instant Pot on saute and add cream cheese, parmesan garlic dressing, milk, and parmesan cheese. Stir well until all ingredients are evenly combined.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only.
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Lisa Jeambey says
This was very good…but so much left over and it is just my husband and myself. Do you think this would freeze well?
Lauren Cardona says
Generally, I don’t like to freeze meals that have cooked pasta in them because they get mushy when thawed out. But, if you have to freeze it, I would put it in a casserole dish of some sort, freeze it, and then when ready to eat put it in the oven to thaw and warm up. Otherwise, freeze it in individual serving containers and microwave it when ready to eat. Try not to stir it too much when reheating otherwise the pasta will break up and get very mushy.