What do you get when you mix leftover spinach and artichoke dip with chicken breast and gluten-free pasta in an instant pot? A quick and easy spinach artichoke chicken instant pot recipe to save dinner on a weeknight.
This Christmas I received an instant pot! As excited as I was for it, I was very intimidated. The box didn’t leave the living room for a week. Once the pot made it to the kitchen, it sat there for another week. Then one night, I decided to pull something from the freezer. Something I would normally make in my crock pot. Forty minutes later, we sat down to eat boneless ribs! I’ve used it every night since.
It wasn’t long after that I decided to come up with my own recipe. Despite the speediness of the instant pot, I still prefer minimal ingredients and prep time. Personally, I consider chopping and marinating or whatever else needs to be done before the food starts cooking as a part of the time it takes to make the meal. Just because it can be cooked in less than 10 minutes it isn’t a quick meal for me if I have to gather 20 ingredients and spent half an hour getting everything ready.
I Should Back Up
First off, I didn’t understand the hype if an instant pot initially. I’m a skilled crock pot chef. I’ve got the whole prepping tons of meals ahead of time down. Putting something in the crock pot in the morning and having the meal ready when I get home is normal for me. And say I forget to do that? My prep meals always include a few things I can defrost in 5 minutes in the microwave and then toss into a skillet. Twenty minutes to dinner, no problem.
But using it for canning, that sparked my interest. This past summer my mom and I canned peaches, some preserves and even homemade blueberry BBQ sauce! And I’m enjoying them now in January.
So I got one for Christmas (yep, I bought it, wrapped it and told IronFish it was what he got me!).
Except
I hadn’t realized instant pot was a brand! I thought it was just a new name for electric pressure cookers. Oops! It wasn’t until I was following my first recipe that I realized I didn’t have a saute button.
I panicked for about two minutes. Then did a quick Pinterest search. It didn’t take long to realize my Pressure Cooker XL was just as awesome. Sauteing means I can pick any button and just not put the lid on. Adjusting my cook times to an instant pot recipe isn’t really an issue. If I need to enter a manual time, I just start with something close and add a few minutes.
Moving On
This past fall I adjusted my meal prep recipes to larger portions. In the past, a recipe that served 4 was plenty. O-Man and Tasha basically eat the equivalent of one person. Or are, I should say. They have been eating more and I bumped up my portions to feed 6. If leftovers happen, they usually disappear pretty quickly.
I know as the kids keep growing, I’ll need to increase my portions a bit more. Their taste buds are changing a bit as well. Tasha has an interest in cooking. So maybe the instant pot needs to be the new cooking plan.
Time to Experiment
After a few great days of putting my frozen meals into the instant pot, I decided to make a recipe up and try it.
It partially came about because I couldn’t find a recipe already done with what I had in mind! Tasha loves spinach artichoke dip. Since I bought a large container of it at Costco a few weeks ago, I wanted to use what I had. Despite us liking spinach artichoke dip, we weren’t sitting around eating it. I didn’t want to waste it.
A few minutes on Pinterest and all the “chicken spinach artichoke instant pot recipes” landed me with way too many ingredients. None of them started with leftover spinach and artichoke dip!
I found a few recipes that started with chicken and pasta and added a cream sauce. They helped me calculate cook time.
Just a Few Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta (I used gluten-free penne)
- 2 lbs chicken tenders or breasts sliced into strips (because I wasn’t looking for shredded chicken as the end result)
- 1/2-1 cup premade spinach artichoke dip (because I wanted it creamy, I think I used about 3/4 cup, I just mixed in spoonfuls until I liked the consistency)
- Olive oil
- 3 cups Water or chicken broth
- Seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, paprika, and basil are what I grabbed from the pantry and used)
Season the chicken strips. Add oil to the bottom of the pot.
Saute for a few minutes, I tossed the chicken around for about 2 minutes until it started to turn white on both sides.
Add the pasta uncooked and the water or chicken broth. I used water, I think I’m out of my homemade chicken broth! But, I hear I can make chicken stock in an hour in an instant pot or pressure cooker.
Put the lid on and set the pressure cooker to rice. Once finished, let the steam out. Stir in the spinach and artichoke dip until you reach a consistency you like.
Enjoy!
My family was busy and hungry on this particular night. Sitting down as a family is important to me. More important than staging a great picture. So this is the best picture I’ve got of the finished meal.
It disappeared. My family said it needs to go on the regular menu rotation!
We don’t usually have Costco size containers of it (it never ended up being put out when we had company). But I will now be more likely to buy the dip when I am planning a get-together, knowing that extras won’t go to waste!
Have you joined the instant pot craze? What’s your go-to recipe?
Looks yummy. I will have to try this recipe. My family would love it. Thank you.
I hope they do love it!
I’m just now hearing about this instant pot thing. What is the difference between it and a crock pot?
The instant pot or pressure cooker cooks food really fast. Mine has a slow cooker option, so I can use it like a crock pot too, but I like being able to have a meal on the table in under 10 minutes. Or I can put something in frozen and have it fully cooked in much less time than if I defrosted it and baked it.
Looks wonderful! I bet I could modify this (I am a veg) and lust leave out the chicken or add a meat substitute. Thank you for the inspiration!
I’m sure you could leave the meat out!
This is a great and easy recipe for a busy mom like myself. I love and thank you for sharing. I am pinning to try this.
Thanks!
Looks very tasty and I look forward to trying it. I really need to get my hands on an instant pot/pressure cooker. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
It’s so worth it!
I am one of the few people left in the world who didn’t get an instant pot for Christmas last year! But now that I see all these yummy recipes, I may have to gift one to myself. Thanks for sharing your spinach artichoke chicken instant pot recipe at the #HomeMattersParty this week!
I’m kinda surprised I didn’t get one earlier!
Yep, I need to make that..Im hungry now 🙂 #homemattersparty
haha!
After seeing a lot of people talk about how awesome IP is, I need one too. Waiting for the day 😉 Your recipe looks awesome. #HomeMattersParty
You really do! I love mine
Emily, this sounds so delicious! I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for co-hosting #homemattersparty
I hope you do try it!
I have never heard of an instant pot. I am not into cooking so I want meals that are healthy, fast and all natural. This sounds like a great new investment I need to go look for one.
Thanks for sharing this at the #HomeMattersParty Leanna
That’s one of the great things about the instant pot, it’s easy to make healthy, fast and natural meals!
Ok. So I keep hearing how amazing this insta pot is. I really need to get with it. This looks so good. Do you like it better than a crock pot? Thanks for sharing. #HomeMattersParty
It’s so much better than my crock pot, it’s fast, but I can use it as a slow cooker too
Looks very tasty – I really must invest in an Instapot
I can cook, but dislike every second of it. I have not splurged on an instant pot yet, but they certainly seem to be well liked. This recipe looks delish, chicken is a big favorite around here.
Sounds very tasty and I love Spinach with Pasta
I have yet to get an instant pot. Shame on me. I love chicken and spinach so this simple recipe would be a big hit at our house. Yum.
The instant pot is worth it!
This recipe sounds so good. I love spinach artichoke dip. #HomeMattersParty
We do the same thing buying the huge dip at Costco but not eating it all that fast. This is such a great idea to use it in your chicken recipe. And I’m back on an Instant Pot kick, so I need to give this a try. #HomeMattersParty
I love spinach artichoke dip but I would not have thought to mix it with chicken and noodles. It looks absolutely delicious though! I pinned it for inspiration when I FINALLY get an Instant Pot. #HomeMattersParty
What a great combination of flavors! And it looks amazing! Always good to party with you at the #homemattersparty 🙂
That was so delicious, thank you for sharing the recipe! We tried it with my daughter last weekend, didn’t look as good as in your pictures, but it tasted heavenly!
Oh, it doesn’t always look pretty, lol