Instant Pot Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine Pasta with a simple, fresh creamy lemon yogurt sauce; a Mediterranean dish easily made in your pressure cooker.
Creamy and lemony and buttery and pasta. What more is there to say?
Like my Instant Pot Dijon Shrimp Linguine recipe, Instant Pot Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine is a comforting meal, which you can easily and quickly make Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.
The ingredients are few and the steps are easy.
Hey everyone. I’m going to show you how you can make a very simple pasta recipe with some kitchen staples and my famous Instant Pot Greek Yogurt, which should be a refrigerator staple.
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Ingredients to Instant Pot Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine
- Fettuccine
- Greek Yogurt
- Butter
- Fresh Lemons – if you don’t have fresh lemons, please use True Lemon Crystallized Crystal with water to make what will taste like very fresh lemon juice. Really!
- Fresh Garlic
Pro Tip: Any type of pasta noodle can be used. However, for maximum deliciousness, De Cecco brand is highly recommended. It holds up best under pressure.
Preheating a stainless steel cooking pot before adding a fat, will help to make your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker non stick.
To save time, hit your sauté button and then go and gather the ingredients.
By the time you are ready to cook, the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker will be nice and hot.
Just a quick sauté of the garlic in the oil and butter will release the oils in the fresh garlic and add nice flavor.
How to Add Chicken to Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine
- If you want to add chicken to this recipe, please see the notes section of the recipe card below.
Even though we have plenty of lemon trees around my home, we still keep a bottle of True Lemon in the pantry.
There are times when I want a deeper lemon flavor without adding liquid and the crystals are perfect. They truly taste like you just stepped outside and picked a lemon off your tree.
What Type of Lemons are Used in Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine?
- We use Eureka lemons as they are full of juice and the tart taste pairs nicely with the yogurt and the garlic.
- Meyer lemons are delicious, but they will add a sweeter taste, as well as a bit of an orange flavor, which is a result of being a hybred from the pairing of citron and the orange/mandarin fruit.
A burst of lemon juice after sauteing the garlic will add nice flavor to the fettuccine.
Along with the fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper is add to the cooking pot and cooked with the pasta and water, so that the pasta, linguine in this case, will take on this special flavor.
Once pasta is cooked, any flavoring is just in the sauce, as opposed to being cooked into the pasta.
This adds another layer of flavor.
Depending on the size Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker you are using, will determine if you need to break the fettuccine in half.
Pro Tip: Breaking the linguine in half allows the linguine to be submerged under the water. This will help in even cooking.
Can I use Another Pasta for Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine?
- Of course you can. In pretty much any recipe which uses a particular shape of pasta, you can use one of your choosing. The most important thing for pasta is to use a good brand. De Cecco is the one of the only brands of pasta I recommend. It holds up well under pressure and tastes great.
- There are instances where one type of pasta is better than another type of pasta.
- Sometimes the sauce in a recipe is delicate so a delicate noodle would be best. Other times a recipe is more hearty and a pasta with a more hearty bite would be best.
For instance, my Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese [Instant Pot] recipe, where I use Cavatappi Pasta, so that the cheese fills the hollow pasta and each bite is filled with warm cheese.
In my Instant Pot Baked Ziti (Pressure Cooker) recipe, I chose Ziti noodles, as it pairs so well with ziti and a heartier noodle is preferred.
To get the feeling of a Philly Cheesesteak, I used Gemelli Pasta in my Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Pasta recipe, since the Gemelli is solid and with a bite, much like biting into a sub sandwich.
As I wanted a clean taste, I used fresh water.
Pro Tip: A teaspoon or two of Better than Bouillon Chicken Base would be nice here and give a more hearty flavor with hints of chicken.
Extra liquid is to be expected, so don’t freak out when you open the pot. As the sauce is being made, the fettuccine will continue to absorb the liquid.
This gives you time to add the rest of ingredients, while the pasta is finishing cooking, without worrying about over cooking the pasta.
No one like mushy pasta and you can’t undo mushy.
If you have some of my homemade Instant Pot Greek Yogurt (Thick and Creamy), it is perfect for this recipe. Whole milk yogurt makes for a thicker sauce and therefore you may need less yogurt.
One or two percent yogurt contains less fat and you may need more yogurt than what is called for in the recipe.
Just play it by ear and add enough yogurt according to your taste buds.
Parmesan or Asiago cheese can be used interchangeable in recipes. We usually use Asiago, but here we used Parmesan cheese.
It is super easy to buy a block of cheese and use a ribbon grater and grate or shred the cheese yourself. It is fresher this way and in my opinion, tastes better.
However, if you prefer to buy a bag of already shredded Parmesan cheese, please do what you like. Just make sure to use real cheese here, not the powdered stuff.
Watch the video below as I walk you through every step and detail of this recipe. I’ve given you a ton of information above, but sometimes a visual of the process helps so you can follow along. I have my own cooking show on my YouTube Channel, so be sure to check it out and subscribe!
Watch my video and then scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe card.
Tips and Tricks for Instant Pot Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine
- Finely mince the garlic
- Use True Lemon Crystalized if you do not have fresh lemon and add 1 teaspoon to 3/4 cup fresh water.
- Parmesan or Asiago cheese can be used. Buy it in a block and shred yourself.
- Wear loose clothing, as you will want a second helping.
Another cozy comfort food recipe to enjoy is my Instant Pot Creamy Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken. It is so delicious and it is low carb!
Get your comfortable clothes on and cozy up with a bowl of Instant Pot Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine.
Squeeze some more lemon on top for a nice fresh taste.
More Instant Pot Creamy Comfort Food Recipes to Make:
- Instant Pot Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken
- Pressure Cooker Creamy Mexican Macaroni and Cheese
- Instant Pot Spicy Crack Chicken (Pressure Cooker)
- Instant Pot Chicken Jalapeno Popper Soup (Pressure Cooker)
What is your favorite comfort food?
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
- Rachael Ray Stoneware EVOO Oil Dispensing Bottle
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
- Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & Compartments
- Microplane Artisan Ribbon Grater
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Instant Pot Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine
Print Pin Save RateIngredients
- 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 ounces Butter (divided)
- 4 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
- 1/2 cup Lemon Juice
- 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 3.75 cups Fresh Water
- 1 pound Fettuccine Noodles/Pasta
- 1.25 cups Greek Yogurt
- 6 ounces Parmesan ( or Asiago Cheese), freshly grated
- 1/4 cup Flat Leaf Parsley
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Instructions
- Select Sauté or Browning on Instant Pot and allow pot to fully heat.
- Add oil, 2 ounces of butter and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add freshly squeeze lemon juice or the True Lemon mixed with 3/4 cup water into cooking pot.
- Add salt, pepper, water and fettuccine to cooking pot. Hit cancel.
- Lock on lid and close pressure valve. Cook at high pressure for 3 minutes. When beep sounds, wait 5 minutes and then slowly release the rest of the pressure.
- Remove lid and add the rest of the butter (2 ounces butter), Greek yogurt and stir to make the creamy sauce. Fettuccine will continue to absorb the liquid and a creamy sauce will form.
- Slowly stir in shredded Parmesan cheese and when combined, mix in chopped parsley.
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon over top.
Video
Notes
This Old Gal's Pasta Rule of Thumb
- Look at package of pasta and find the variable cook time. Choose the lesser time given and then subtract 2 minutes. For example, if your package of pasta says "cook for 8 - 11 minutes," take that 8 minute number and cut it in half, which is 4. Then subtract 2 minutes from the 4 minutes and you will end up with the proper cook time. In this case the cook time will be 2 minutes.
- After the 2 minute pressure cook time is up, wait 5 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure.
- If the variable cook time on your package of pasta is 11 - 16 minutes, err on the lesser side. In this instance, the cook time would be 3 minutes. It is better to end up with overly firm pasta rather than mushy because you can continue to cook the pasta, but if it is mushy, there is nothing you can do to correct.
- If the pasta is too firm or al dente for your taste, simply put the lid back on the pot and let the pasta sit in the hot pot. The residual heat will continue to cook the pasta. Check after a few minutes to see if the pasta has reached the perfect firmness for your liking. If not give it a stir and let sit some more.
How to Add Chicken to Instant Pot Lemon Butter Fettuccine
- For dark meat - add strips or chunks of chicken into the pot right after adding in the garlic and follow the same instructions.
- For white meat - add chicken into pot after pot has been deglazed.
- Reduce water (or chicken broth) by 1/2 cup (assuming you are using at least one pound of chicken).