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Nothing like a little cream cheese and parmesan in your chicken! This Instant Pot Creamy Parmesan Chicken is a simple dump and go dinner recipe. So little effort to make dinner but so rich and creamy and full of spinach. Toss it with your favorite pasta, and you have a meal the whole family will ask for more!
This recipe was originally published August 2019 and updated January 2025.
I am a firm believer that if you add cream cheese to anything, you instantly make it 100 times better. Please tell me that you do not disagree! (I mean, can we say cheesecake?)
And you better believe that’s exactly what I added to this Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken–a fresh and simple dinner recipe from the Instant Pot for a delicious and easy chicken dinner.
This is the creamiest, dreamiest, juicy parmesan cream cheese chicken for all of your simple dinner needs. And it is a perfect dump and go meal. (These Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos are perfect too!)
Looking for more easy Instant Pot recipes? Try these favorite recipes as well: Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Creamy Parmesan Instant Pot Pasta, or Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin.
Why You Will Love This Instant Pot Creamy Parmesan Chicken:
- It’s so simple to make! This is such an easy dinner recipe to make. Add the chicken to the pot and season, pressure cook, pull apart and then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Doesn’t get much easier!
- Minimal ingredients. Simple ingredients that you very likely have on hand make this a great last minute meal. Since the chicken can be frozen, this dish has saved me regularly.
- Very freezer friendly. This Instant Pot garlic parmesan chicken is a great one to make and then freeze for later. I like to serve half and then freeze just the creamy chicken for another time. I don’t add any pasta to the chicken I freeze for best results.
- Easy to vary how it’s served. Serve this creamy chicken over pasta, over rice, spoon it next to your favorite potatoes and some steamed broccoli, have it as a sandwich, and more.
Recipe Ingredients:
- chicken: you can use fresh or frozen chicken. So if you forgot to thaw your chicken or are making a very last minute dinner decision, you are still in the clear! This recipe is based on using boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- cream cheese: full fat cream cheese is strongly suggested for best results. Lower fat content can cause curdling.
- parmesan cheese: I opted for grated parmesan because that is what I typically have on hand.
- chicken broth: you could technically use water but the broth really adds flavor. I prefer a lower sodium or no salt added broth typically. Then I can adjust the salt as I want. Chicken stock will work as well.
- garlic powder: freshly minced garlic cloves would work, again, I went with something that is basically in every kitchen around!
- spinach: frozen or fresh will work
- salt and pepper
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Add chicken broth to the bottom of your pressure cooker pot. Add the chicken over top and season generously with sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- Close and seal your Instant pot and set to pressure cook for 8-10 minutes for thawed chicken breasts (chicken on the smaller side can go for about 8 minutes and larger breasts, opt for 10 minutes) or about 11-12 minutes for frozen.
- When timer is done, do a quick release. Open Instant Pot and check that internal temperature of chicken is 165°F. If it is not, you can cook another 2-3 minutes more.
- If it is at 165° Use two forks to pull the chicken apart into smaller pieces.
- Shift the Instant Pot to the sauté mode setting. Stir in the spinach, cream cheese and parmesan and continue to mix until the cream cheese is smooth and creamy and the sauce is thickened.
- You can add more chicken broth (the remaining ¼ cup or more) to thin out the sauce if needed.
- Toss cooked pasta with the mixture if desired or spoon over pasta, rice or serve as desired topped with freshly grated parmesan along with a nice side salad and you are set.
Storage:
Place leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerator for about 3-4 days for best results. If freezing, allow to cool completely before adding to a freezer safe container. Freeze the chicken in the cream sauce for up to 3 months.
Recipe Tips
- Use chicken that is uniformly sized. For even cooking, use chicken breast that are all about the same size. If one piece is much thicker than the others, pound it to thin it out a bit.
- For more of the cream cheese parmesan sauce, you can add more as desired. Play around with the thickness by adding more broth if you need.
- Cooking time will vary based on the size of your chicken breast and whether it is thawed or frozen. It is ok to add another minute or so at high pressure to cook until you reach a safe internal temperature.
- Make sure you read the manual to your pressure cooker and understand how to safely use it. The thing I honestly forget to do a lot is to put the knob to “sealing” and then I waste time because all of the pressure is seeping out.
How to serve this recipe:
- You could toss it with some freshly cooked (or leftover) pasta. Maybe some fettuccine? Penne pasta? Angel hair? All great, use your favorite pasta or even some zucchini noodles.
- If you served this chicken to me on a brioche bun I would more than likely love you forever. Think outside of the bowl with this creamy parmesan garlic chicken.
- Add a splash of white wine to the sauce.
- Serve it over top of mashed potatoes, these Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes are amazing.
- Add on top of rice, a nice seasoned rice pilaf would be delicious.
- Another pro-tip: stir in some chopped fresh basil before serving
Slow cooker Variation:
Do not worry if you don’t have a pressure cooker. You could just as easily let this sit in the crock pot all day and have dinner ready in the evening. I just know that it is not suggested to add frozen meat into a crock pot so that is something to consider.
If you opt for the slow cooker, cook the chicken on high 4-6 hours and low 6-8 hours. Shred and add spinach about 30 minutes before serving.
Check out these other Instant Pot Recipes:
- Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice
- Creamy Instant Pot Pasta
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Pressure Cooker Carnitas
- Butter Herb Instant Pot Salmon
- Easy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Garlic Parmesan Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
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Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
Ingredients
- 1½ lb boneless chicken breasts (fresh or frozen)
- ½-¾ c chicken broth, more as needed
- 1 tsp garlic powder (plus more to taste)
- ½ tsp cracked pepper
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 4 – 6 oz. cream cheese, cubed
- ½ c grated parmesan
- 1 c freshly chopped spinach
- 1/2-1 tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Add ½cup chicken broth to the bottom of Instant Pot. Place chicken breasts on top. (you can use trivet if desired).
- Season chicken with desired amount of sea salt and then sprinkle pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic over to cover.
- Close Instant Pot and move vent to "sealing." Set to pressure cook high for 8-10 minutes for thawed chicken and 11-12 minutes for frozen chicken.
- When timer is done, do a quick release. Open Instant Pot and check that internal temperature of chicken is 165°F. If it is not, you can cook for a few minutes longer.
- If it is at 165° Use two forks to pull the chicken apart into smaller pieces.
- Shift the Instant Pot to the "sauté" setting. Stir in the spinach, cream cheese and parmesan and continue to mix until the cream cheese is smooth and creamy and the sauce is thickened. You can add more chicken broth (the remaining ¼ cup or more) to thin out the sauce if needed.
- Toss pasta with the mixture if desired or spoon over pasta, rice or serve as desired topped with freshly grated parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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So easy and absolutely delicious. My family flocked to the kitchen before it was done. I put a little bit of butter in the pot with the chicken broth and used fresh pesto in place place of the spinach. This is going to be a new family favorite!
Love it so much! thanks for sharing!
used 3 breast, cooked it at high pressure for 12 min from frozen as instructed, came out just a tad bit undercooked/frozen. i did put back in for 6 additional minutes to equal 18 min, as i cooked chicken from frozen before using poultry button @ 18 min which cooked all the way thru. new to instant pot so figured i’d try this way to see if it mattered and worked lol. (it did)
overall, this is delicious. i skipped the spinach as my friend doesn’t like spinach and substituted cream cheese for sour cream as i didn’t have any cream cheese at the time lol (the struggle is real) but it all still turned out great. i paired it with air fryer roasted potatoes and left over peas with some white wine. definitely adding to my recipe collection!
Yes, cooking time can vary based on chicken size and if they are frozen sometimes. Glad it all worked out!
Is it possible to convert this to a slow cooker?
Absolutely! You should be able to just add everything in the slow cooker and set it to low for about 6 hours or high for about 4. Shred the chicken when it is ready and you are set! I don’t think it is necessary to wait to add the cream cheese in the slow cooker but you can wait until the chicken is cooked if preferred.
I know it will be delish, but I did 15 minutes for frozen and they’re still crunchy inside, registering half cooked on my thermometer. Trying another 8 minutes on high to cook them. Added some lemon and a couple shakes of Tabasco, plus herb and garlic cream cheese during cook time for an extra kick. Only star deduction is for frozen timing, must be off a bit due to weight, my additions as well.
Hope it worked out in the end for you! Chicken sizing can certainly make for issues with timing.
Easy & Delicious! Used 3 frozen but separate chicken breasts (total of 2 lbs) that took longer than the 12 minutes to be done, so I returned them to the IP on Sauté for a few minutes. Other than that, all went smoothly. Used almost all of a 10 oz pkg of frozen chopped spinach. Since I tend to use less salt in general, I did not use the 1/2 tsp sea salt and didn’t miss it. I also sautéed mushrooms separately that we added on top….yum! Thank you for a keeper recipe!
So wonderful to hear!! Thanks for sharing! And thanks for the feedback on the typos!
Tasted great and really simple to make. I was drinking white wine while i was cooking and decided to add a little to recipe, worked well.
Ohhhhh, I like where your head is, Dawn. Going to try that next time!
Need to finally dig out my instant pot for the season! Great reminder of how easy it is to get great flavor ASAP!
Oh yes you do indeed!
We love using our Instant Pot! This is for sure in our monthly rotation now!