Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta + listen to me read the newsletter!
An easy recipe for cheesy pasta lovers + a cookbook I'm in love with and a new audio addition to the newsletter
I’m trying something new this week! Directly above, at the top of this newsletter, you’ll notice an audio link that says “listen to post.” Click on the link and you can hear me reading the Dinner Last Week section of the newsletter. I talk about all the meals my family ate last week. Go ahead, give it a listen, and let me know what you think!
Hi there!
It’s the day after Valentine’s Day, which means that my chocolate high has turned into a chocolate coma. I’m feeling a little bit sluggish today, but nothing that another cup of coffee can’t fix.
I’ve always liked Valentine’s Day (with the exception of my middle school years, which were the height of Valentine awkwardness). It makes me happy to see people walking around with flowers and balloons and sharing candy hearts with silly messages. I like it when the world has to stop for a minute to be sweet and romantic.
I also love a holiday that revolves around dessert, but after all that chocolate I’m ready for a savory pasta dinner.
The recipe I’m sharing today is Instant Pot chicken parmesan pasta, for all you pasta lovers out there. Eating this cheesy pasta feels like getting a warm hug - it’s cozy, comforting and indulgent.
This chicken pasta combines the three main elements of traditional chicken parmesan in one pot. You get tender pieces of chicken, marinara sauce and melted cheese.
When you're craving lasagna or cheesy baked pasta but don't feel like putting in much effort, this Instant Pot chicken parmesan pasta is the perfect dinner. You just dump all the ingredients into the pot, no prep work required.
Pour a thin layer of olive oil in the Instant Pot. Add chicken tenders. Season with salt and garlic powder.
Pour marinara sauce on top of the chicken.
Add penne pasta in an even layer. Don't stir! Add water. Press down on the pasta so the noodles are covered by water.
Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes, with a quick release. The pasta will look watery and might be too firm when you remove the lid. Don't worry! Stir the pasta well and take out the chicken tenders.
Cut the tenders into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt if needed. Add the chicken back to the pasta.
Add shredded mozzarella or pizza cheese. Stir well and set the lid back on top of the pot. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so before serving, to melt the cheese and thicken the sauce. The pasta will also finish cooking and get softer as it absorbs more of the liquid and sauce.
For detailed recipe instructions and ingredient amounts, find the full recipe here.
Dinner Last Week
I’m trying something new! At the top of this post you’ll find an audio link where you can listen to me read this section of the newsletter. I talk about all the meals my family ate last week. Give it a listen (or just continue reading below).
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.
With the exception of Monday, all of our meals this week were recipes that I’m testing for Kitchen Skip or paid newsletter subscribers.
Monday: Veggie burgers and fries (I still had 4 veggie burgers in the freezer from a big batch I made in January).
Tuesday: Baked miso chicken in coconut rice, with a simple cucumber-seaweed salad and roasted Brussels sprouts. The sprouts were about to go bad so I needed to cook them, even if they didn’t really go with the rest of the dinner.
I make the cucumber-seaweed salad by rehydrating wakame seaweed in water, then draining it and gently squeezing out excess water. I add thinly sliced cucumber and season the salad with a few drizzles of mirin, rice vinegar and soy sauce (or just salt).
The baked miso chicken is a recipe I’m working on for paid subscribers. It’s almost ready, but not quite perfected yet.
Wednesday: We ate leftovers from Tuesday, plus I served a small portion of miso mushroom pasta that I had made earlier in the day. I hope to publish the recipe for the miso mushroom pasta next week. Sorin and I loved it, but the kids weren’t all that excited about mushroom pasta.
Thursday: I tested a recipe for creamy gnocchi soup and was happy with the results. I need to test it a few more times before I publish the final recipe. A vegetarian stove-top version might be coming to paid subscribers soon, and an Instant Pot chicken version will probably show up on my blog.
Friday: Tofu tacos, from Kitchen Skip. Every once in awhile I do some quality control and re-make recipes from my blog. My recipe for tofu tacos still gets a big thumbs up! The crumbled tofu is a really flavorful taco filling (also delicious in burritos and rice bowls).
Cookbooks
I haven’t yet tried any recipes from Tenderheart by Hetty Lui McKinnon because I’m taking my time and reading it cover to cover first. It begins with a touching story about her father, who died when she was 15. He woke at 3 a.m. every morning to work at a wholesale fruit and vegetable market and is a man she remembers as “tenderhearted, generous…kind and playful.”
Tenderheart has been called, “A love letter to vegetables and almost a memoir through recipes.” I’m really enjoying the memoir aspect of this vegetarian cookbook and I’m also bookmarking dozens of recipes to make. Out of all the cookbooks I’ve checked out from the library this year, Tenderheart is the first one that I’ll probably buy to keep on my own shelf.
You can also follow Hetty Lui McKinnon’s Substack newsletter, To Vegetables, With Love.
That’s it, friends! Hope you had a fun Valentine’s Day and have a wonderful weekend.
xo
Jenny
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