Monterey Chicken Pasta
Servings: 8 Servings
Ingredients
- 3 chickens breasts sliced thinly
- 8 slices of bacon broken into small pieces
- 16 oz pasta small
- 2 cans Rotel tomatoes and green chilis undrained
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 green onions sliced for garnish
- For the marinade:
- 3 TBSP honey
- 3 TBSP soy sauce
- 3 TBSP Worchestershire sauce
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- I start by marinating my chicken breasts and then cooking them and the marinade together in the Instant Pot on manual for 10 minutes. Then I slice them into thin pieces. This is entirely optional!
- Fry your bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven. I cut my bacon into pieces before frying. You can fry the whole slices and break them up later. When done, remove to drain on paper towels.
- Place sliced chicken, onion and minced garlic in pot with bacon drippings. Cook over medium high heat until chicken is golden brown and onion is soft. When done, remove from pot and set aside.
- Add pasta, tomatoes, chicken broth and about 1/4 – 1/2 cup of marinade (if you used it) to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 – 12 minutes, until pasta is soft. Stir occasionally, making sure pasta is covered by liquid while cooking.
- When pasta is tender, stir in chicken and cook until warmed through and excess liquid is absorbed.
- Stir in BBQ sauce and 1 cup of cheese until well combined.
- Top with remaining cheese, bacon and green onions.
Notes
I start by marinating my chicken for about 6 hours and then cooking the chicken, along with the marinade, in my Instant Pot for 10 minutes on manual. You don’t have to do this! It’s entirely up to you if you want to marinate the chicken and if you want to cook your chicken in the Instant Pot. I love the flavor the marinade gives the chicken, it’s the same one I use in my Monterey chicken recipe. I sometimes like to precook my chicken in the Instant Pot to give myself a headstart on cooking.