Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo

 

I make 5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs every week as part of my carnivore meal plan. This week I made it with Alfredo, which is so wonderful that I can still have those flavors. 

I really don’t crave pasta in the way I once did. 

For this recipe, you make the chicken in the instant pot, then you’ll allow it to cool, and separate the meat from the skins and bones; and you’ll make the Alfredo in a skillet on the stove. 

I love “The Always Pan” for this. 

Note: This recipe makes twice the amount of sauce you would need for just the chicken, so if you don’t want extra sauce for noodles or zoodles, then cut it in half. 

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs. 
• 1 quart of heavy cream. 
• 1 lb of belgioioso parmesan cheese. 
• 3 tbsp minced garlic. 
• 2 tbsp dried minced onion. 
• 1 clam of fresh basil (stems removed), or 4 tbsp fresh minced. 
• 2/3 cup Vermouth. 
• Juice from 1 lemon. 
• Salt and pepper to taste. 

Directions:

1. Rinse all of your birdies well under the tap and place them into the instant pot. 
2. Pour over 16 oz of filtered water, and move your birdies around until they’re all lose, and submerged. You’ll also want to make sure none of them are skin-side down, because the skin can burn. 
3. Make sure the lid is closed, and the pressure valve is set to “sealed”.
4. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes, or use the poultry setting. 
5. When it’s done, don’t release the pressure for 15 minutes. 
6. Then you can release the pressure and remove all of your chickies with tongs, and transfer them to a separate bowl to cool for 15 minutes. 
7. Turn off the instant pot, and leave the liquid in the pot to cool. You will be discarding this later. 
8. After your chickies have cooled, separate all of the meat from the skins and bones with your hands. I like to discard any undesirable bits at this stage, like tough spots or arteries. 
9. You will put the meat in a separate bowl, and the waste in another separate bowl. 
10. The original bowl will be empty, except for the drippings, which you will pour into your Alfredo sauce later. 

~Now it’s time to make the sauce, which you could have done at any point while you were waiting on your chicken.~

1. Add your cream to your sauté pan, and heat over medium-high (6), while you grate your parmesan cheese. 
2. If you’re brave enough, you could cut the hard rims off, and run the rest of the cheese through the grater attachment of a food processor. 
3. Or, you could cut the cheese into 1 inch squares, and process it in the blend attachment of your food processor. 
4. Otherwise, just grate it meticulously by hand and get buff (or arthritis). 
5. Add the remaining ingredients for the Alfredo to the cream sauce (except for the cheese). 
6. Once the cream is bubbling, then you can add all the cheese. 
7. You do want to make sure your cream isn’t curdling, so if you’re not using a good pan, you might have to babysit it more, and reduce the heat as necessary. 
8. After you have added the cheese, you’re just going to stir it once every 2 minutes for about 20 minutes. 
9. Eventually, it’ll melt and homogenize. 
10. Pour the chicken drippings in (not the stock that got left behind in the instant pot), and stir well. 
11. Then add your shredded chicken. 
12. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. 

When ready to serve: cook some frozen zoodles in the microwave according to package instructions, minus 2 minutes. Add zoodles to each serving dish, and scoop the chicken Alfredo over it. Reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirring halfway through. Serve with rinsed Cherub cherry tomatoes.