Instant Pot chicken pastalaya
Louisiana’s pasta cousin of jambalaya, with penne cooked right in a spicy tomato broth with peppers, celery and chicken.
- 40 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.37 a serving
- 490 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 3½ cups chicken broth
- 1 lb penne
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles
- 1 can tomato sauce, 8 oz
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 490 calories, 30 g protein, 67 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $2.37 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No penne? Rigatoni or elbow macaroni works.
- No tomato sauce? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, pepper and celery, the garlic, and the chicken.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Shred. Shredding means making thin strips, either on the big holes of a grater or by pulling cooked meat apart with two forks. Shreds soak up sauce and mix evenly through a dish.
How you’ll know: Cooked chicken pulls apart into strands with little effort, and cheese comes off in long, loose strips.
Set the Instant Pot to and heat the oil. Add the onion, pepper and celery and cook 4 to 5 minutes, , until .
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Timer: 4 min 30 sec
Add the garlic and Cajun seasoning and 30 seconds, .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Pour in the broth and from the bottom, then turn off .
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Dolly’s tip: A clean bottom is what keeps the pot from flashing a burn warning later.Add the penne and salt and press the pasta down under the liquid. Pour the Rotel and tomato sauce over the top and don’t .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Dolly’s tip: Tomato on the bottom can scorch. Sitting on top, it cooks into the pasta without burning.Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
Timer: 4 min
Dolly’s tip: It takes about 10 minutes to build pressure before the countdown starts, so don’t worry when nothing happens at first.Carefully turn the valve to Venting to release the pressure, keeping your hand and face away from the steam, then open the lid and .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
in the chicken, put the lid back on loosely, and let it sit 3 minutes, until the chicken is hot.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Timer: 3 min
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
again, taste for salt, and serve topped with green onions.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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