Instant Pot Creamy Italian Chicken

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Instant Pot creamy Italian chicken is a classic meal served with rice, making for a quick and easy dinner! Cream cheese and Italian salad dressing mix create a creamy sauce for tender chicken–perfect for your busy weeknight!

white bowl filled with rice and creamy Italian chicken made in the Instant Pot

This Instant Pot creamy Italian chicken is comfort food at its finest–served with aromatic rice for a hearty dinner your family will love!

Let’s face it–sometimes, the dinnertime hour can be hectic.

Depending on how well the little ones napped that afternoon (or if they napped at all!), how well-stocked your fridge and pantry are, and how much time you have on your hands, the chaos can really throw a wrench into your best-laid intentions.

I know how unpredictable these days can be!  Especially with back-to-school season and trying to get into the swing of new schedules after the relaxing days of summer, getting dinner on the table can be challenging.

That’s why I rely so heavily on quick and easy meals, because I’m probably not going to have hours to spend in the kitchen, and you probably aren’t either. 

I turn to my Instant Pot to help in this arena ALL the time. It just makes practically everything so much faster and easier!

Such is the case with this creamy Italian chicken recipe.  It’s a recipe I used to make in the slow cooker, but I recently adapted it to be made in the Instant Pot…so instead of taking hours to cook, it’s ready in mere minutes.

Why You’ll Love This Creamy Italian Chicken and Rice

Tender chicken and bell peppers are covered in a creamy sauce seasoned with Italian dressing mix, then served over rice for a hearty and delicious meal!

To make preparation even faster, I paired it with this tasty Mahatma® Ready to Serve rice. It’s easy and quick to prepare and easy to clean up, so it makes it simple to get dinner on the table in a flash on your busy nights.

Interested in trying out the Mahatma® Ready to Serve Rice offerings? Hover over the photo to click through to Walmart.com for purchasing. 

Mahatma® is the number one selling rice brand in the U.S and it’s grown in the USA. I’ve been using Mahatma® rice for years, and the Ready to Serve varieties can be easily found in the rice aisle at Walmart (and it’s also easy to find online if you do online grocery shopping).

Mahatma Ready to Serve rice on a shelf at Walmart

It comes in three different varieties–Garlic and Olive Oil (which paired perfectly with this Italian chicken!), Jasmine, and Cilantro Lime (which would go great with my Instant Pot taco chicken!).

You can click here to purchase the Garlic and Olive Oil variety at Walmart! Life is hectic but meals don’t have to be!

white bowl filled with creamy Italian chicken cooked in the Instant Pot

How to Make Creamy Italian Chicken in the Instant Pot

To start, you’ll add some cubed chicken breasts to the insert pot of the Instant Pot.

In a small mixing bowl, combine cream of chicken soup (you can either use a can of condensed cream of chicken soup or homemade cream of chicken soup) with some water and Italian dressing mix.

Pour that mixture over the chicken breast pieces and top with chopped bell peppers.

Close the lid and set the vent to the sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 3 minutes, followed by a 5 minute natural release. Perform a quick release of remaining pressure and carefully remove the lid.

Add in some cubed cream cheese and replace the lid, allowing the heat inside the pot to melt the cream cheese for a few minutes.

Give everything a good stir, breaking up any clumps of cream cheese. It’s okay if some small clumps remain–you just don’t want any large clumps floating around.  Then, use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce a bit.

While the sauce is thickening, grab your packages of Mahatma® Ready to Serve rice and microwave them according to the package directions.

Serve the chicken and sauce over the rice (or, if you want more of a casserole-like dish, mix the rice into the sauce and stir everything together, as seen in the photo below).

Top with some fresh basil and enjoy!

Instant Pot creamy Italian chicken and rice casserole in a white bowl

Notes and Adaptations:

  • I used regular cream cheese, but you could also use reduced fat cream cheese if you prefer.
  • If you are using condensed cream of chicken soup, be sure to mix it with 1/2 cup of water (in addition to the 1 cup of water). If you are using homemade cream of chicken soup, you don’t need the extra 1/2 cup of water.

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Instant Pot Creamy Italian Chicken and Rice

white bowl filled with rice and creamy Italian chicken cooked in the Instant Pot

This creamy Instant Pot Italian chicken and rice is a saucy classic served with garlic and olive oil rice, for a deliciously easy meal.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup mixed with 1/2 cup water OR 2 cups of homemade cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup water
  • 0.7-oz packet Italian dressing dry mix
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 8-oz block of cream cheese, cubed
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water
  • 2 packages Mahatma® Ready to Serve Rice (I used Jasmine Garlic and Olive Oil variety)
  • Fresh basil, chiffonade, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. In the insert pot of the Instant Pot, add cubed chicken breast pieces.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together cream of chicken soup (either 1 can + 1/2 cup of water OR 2 cups homemade cream of chicken soup), 1 cup water, and Italian dressing mix until smooth.
  3. Pour mixture over the chicken. Top with chopped bell peppers.
  4. Close the lid and set the vent to the sealed position. Select a 3 minute cook time at high pressure.
  5. Once the cook time is complete, allow a 5 minute natural release of pressure followed by a quick release of remaining pressure.
  6. After pressure has released and the valve has dropped, carefully open the lid. Add in the cubed cream cheese and replace the lid, allowing the cream cheese to rest in the hot liquid for 5 minutes.
  7. Remove the lid again and stir, breaking up the cream cheese. Continue stirring for a couple of minutes, allowing the cream cheese to melt into the sauce (there may be some very small clumps that remain, but that's okay! We just don't want any big clumps floating around).
  8. Add in the cornstarch slurry, stirring to combine and allowing the sauce to thicken.
  9. Heat the Mahatma® Ready to Serve Rice in the microwave, following the package instructions.
  10. Either serve the rice topped with the chicken and sauce, or mix the rice into the chicken and sauce for a casserole-type dish.
  11. Top with fresh basil if desired.

Notes

  • I used regular cream cheese, but you could also use reduced fat cream cheese if you prefer.
  • If you are using condensed cream of chicken soup, be sure to mix it with 1/2 cup of water (in addition to the 1 cup of water). If you are using homemade cream of chicken soup, you don't need the extra 1/2 cup of water.
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    Nutrition Information:

    Yield:

    6

    Serving Size:

    1

    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 635Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 169mgSodium: 1647mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 45g

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.

    Want more delicious recipe ideas?

    Check out even more mealtime inspiration on my Pinterest boards!

    white bowl filled with rice and Instant Pot creamy Italian chicken

    white bowl filled with rice and Instant Pot creamy Italian chicken

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