How To Cook 1 Pound Chicken Breast In Instant Pot

Why Make A Roast Chicken In The Instant Pot

• It is faster than cooking a whole chicken in the oven. You can make roast chicken for dinner on a weeknight!
• Pressure cooking makes the chicken so juicy, tender and flavorful!
• You can safely cook a frozen whole chicken in your Instant Pot no thawing required!

For all of you Instant Pot fans, I have more delicious recipes and resources to help you get quick and healthy meals on your table! If you are just getting started with your pressure cooker, read my Instant Pot manual. Then check out these easy Instant Pot recipes to help you meal plan:

• 29 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes

Chicken Breast Instant Pot Cook Times

BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN BREASTS

Fresh Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

• 8 minutes, vent immediately to release any remaining pressure
• Based on 10-ounce boneless chicken breasts

Frozen Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

• 12 minutes, vent immediately to release any remaining pressure
• Based on 10-ounce boneless chicken breasts

BONE-IN CHICKEN BREASTS

Fresh Bone-In Chicken Breasts

• 10 minutes, natural release for 5 minutes
• Based on 12-ounce bone-in chicken breasts

Frozen Bone-In Chicken Breasts

• 25 minutes, vent immediately to release any remaining pressure
• Based on 12-ounce bone-in chicken breasts

Some Tips And Tricks For Cooking Frozen Chicken Breasts In Instant Pot

• Instant Pot size matters: I have tested these cook times in 6 and 8 quart Instant Pot. I recommend to add 3 minutes cook time to 3 quart models because it comes to pressure faster.
• Turn into Instant Pot shredded chicken: Save a bit of cooking liquid to rehydrate when shredding. You can shred with forks or in a bowl of stand mixer.
• Jazz it up: After cooking frozen chicken breast in Instant Pot, your chicken is essentially a blank canvas for mixing with barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, creamy sauce, you name it! Thats why not much seasonings for cooking are necessary. Even adding salt and pepper on cooked plain poultry tastes different than adding it before try it!
• Freeze for later: Cool completely then freeze in freezer safe bags for up to 3 months for easy meals again. I like to cube or shred before freezing. Perfect way to meal prep.
• Do not discard broth: Use it to make healthy soups, further cook in Instant Pot chicken stock or save for everyday cooking.

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Fresh Instant Pot Chicken Breast

Cook Time> High Pressure > 8-12 minutes > Quick Release.

When preparing raw, fresh chicken breast in the Instant Pot, there are a few things to keep in mind before you begin.

• The bigger the chicken breast, the longer the cook time will be.
• Be sure to check the internal temperature of the chicken breast before eating it. If its not done, cook it for a few more minutes in the Instant Pot.
• Dont skip using the metal trivet and water. If you skip these steps you will most likely end up with a burn notice!
• If you want a little extra flavor use the sauté function of your Instant Pot, add olive oil, and brown the outside of your chicken before you pressure cook.
• For a faster pressure cook time, sauté your chicken first!

Flavor Options Are Endless

The last thing you want is to get a burn notice on your Instant Pot. A burn notice happens when there isnt enough liquid in the bottom of the Instant Pot.

If you dont have enough liquid in the bottom of the Instant Pot, it may burn the bottom of the Instant Pot, and cause the burn notice to go off. Youll avoid this by using enough liquid when making your Instant Pot shredded chicken as well as placing the chicken on top of the trivet inside your Instant Pot.

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Need Chicken Fast The Pressure Cooker Is The Way To Go This Method Is Fast Simple And Foolproof Keep The Seasoning Simple Or Mix It Up Depending On How You’re Serving The Chicken

It’s so convenient to have already-cooked chicken in the fridge. You can use it for salads, sandwiches, last-minute pasta dishes…or any time you are trying to round out a meal with a some protein, really!

And the easiest way method for cooking your chicken? In the Instant Pot, of course!

How To Make Shredded Chicken In A Pressure Cooker

If youre on the fence about pressure cooking chicken, now is the time to try it. This Instant Pot chicken breast recipe is probably the easiest and most versatile one to start with. It requires just three ingredients, plus salt and pepper to your liking. It doesnt get any easier than that! Its the fastest, best way to make shredded chicken.

Place all the ingredients in your pressure cooker, push a couple buttons, and youre all set. Ten minutes later, youll have perfectly juicy chicken breast. Shred it with two forks, or one of the other methods below. Voila!

Quick and easy pressure cooker chicken breast.

Feel free to customize the spices in this Instant Pot shredded chicken recipe to your liking. There are really two main ingredients chicken and chicken broth. But, I find that adding Italian seasoning as the third ingredient makes it so much better.

You can get as creative as you like with the spices. I like to keep it simple, so that the chicken can be used in a variety of recipes later. Italian seasoning works with pretty much anything.

One thing I do recommend is to make sure you use chicken broth and not water. Some people make shredded chicken with water, but you get a lot more flavor using chicken broth. This makes the biggest difference when the chicken itself is white meat, like chicken breast.

This is also the reason that this pressure cooker chicken breast recipe doesnt call for much salt. The chicken broth already adds most of the sodium needed.

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Storage Instructions For Frozen Chicken Breast

While you can totally freeze your chicken in the packaging that it comes in from the store, we actually like freezing ours in a freezer-safe Ziplock bag instead. Here are our best tips for freezing and storing frozen chicken:

This recipe will get you perfect frozen chicken breast in the Instant Pot every time!

• Amber Goulden

• Frozen chicken breast, 1-6 pounds

How Long To Cook Chicken In A Pressure Cooker

People have been asking me how long to cook chicken breast in a pressure cooker for making various amounts of shredded chicken. And thats such a great question!

Surprisingly, I couldnt find this information anywhere, not even from Instant Pot directly. I had tested my original recipe with 4 pounds, but what if you have 1, 2, 3 or 5 pounds of chicken instead?

Lucky for you, I did the testing myself! After a couple tests with each weight amount and over 20 pounds of shredded chicken later , I have your answers.

The chart below shows you exactly how long to cook Instant Pot chicken breast, so you can make it for any amount you have from one to five pounds of chicken breast!

Note that these are the times you enter on your Instant Pot, and dont include time required to build pressure.

A couple more notes about this

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What Temperature Should I Aim For

Official recommended safe temperature for chicken breast is 165°F .

Aim for 161°F 163°F at the thickest part of the chicken breast when you remove it from the pressure cooker. Get a food thermometer if you dont have one!

Rest the chicken breast for 5 8 minutes to let the carryover heat elevate the center temperature to 165°F.

Why Make This Recipe

• its made with simple pantry staples and budget friendly.
• ready in less than 20 minutes.
• can be made with fresh or frozen meat.
• Can be added to soups, stews, salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes, lunchboxes and more.
• great for meal prep and freezer friendly.
• Diet trends Suitable for Gluten free, Keto, Paleo and Whole 30 diets, or any diet with a focus on lean proteins and unprocessed foods.

Ready to learn how to make chicken breast instant pot? Gather up the ingredients and I will show you

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Why Does My Instant Pot Say Burn

• A BURN warning on an Instant Pot occurs when the heat sensor reads a high temperature on the bottom of the pot, which can indicate scorching. This causes the pot to stop heating until it is resolved.
• Make sure you are using the required amount of water for your Instant Pot model. You shouldnt have a problem with this if you follow the instructions here, because this method uses enough water to prevent the warning.

How To Shred Chicken Breast

Once youve made your Instant Pot chicken breast, it should already be very tender. If the cooking time is right, it will be pretty easy to shred it. This is similar to a slow cooker method.

Of course, how long to cook chicken breast in a pressure cooker will vary depending on how big your chicken breasts are. This recipe is based on a typical 6-8 ounce size. If yours are larger, you will need to increase the time by a few minutes.

Getting the cook time right is important to be able to make shred chicken breast easily. If its too dry, it will be hard to shred. Obviously, you dont want to under cook it, either. To remove the guesswork for you, Ive repeatedly tested the pressure cooking times below for fresh and frozen chicken.

Other than the cook time, the pressure release mechanism will impact how easy it will be to shred your Instant Pot chicken. Natural release results in the most tender meat and the most effortless shredding, so use that if you can. At the very least, use the natural release for five minutes prior to using the quick release option.

After cooking, you can shred the chicken breast directly in the pressure cooker using two forks. Hold the piece of chicken steady with one fork, while pulling and tearing away the shredded pieces with the other fork. Repeat the process until all your chicken is shredded.

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More Healthy Instant Pot Recipes

• How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot
• Instant Pot Sour Cream Pork Chops | THM S
• Low Carb Instant Pot Lemon Chicken
• Instant Pot Pot Roast

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback! You can also follow me on , or . for my email list, too!

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What Is The Deep Poaching Method

The Deep Poaching Method involves cooking food submerged in liquid at a relatively low temperature.

This method allows the proteins to denature without pulling too much moisture out of the food. Thats why poached food comes out so juicy and tender!

Therefore, poaching is most commonly used for cooking delicate or fragile food that might easily fall apart or dry out using other cooking methods, such as eggs, fish, or poultry.

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For Sliceable Chicken Breast

We don’t recommend making more than 2 pounds of frozen chicken breast if you’d like your chicken breast to be sliceable. We found that over 2 pounds, the chicken cooks unevenly. You’ll wind up with raw chicken breast in the center and sliceable breast on the outside, and if you continue cooking the outside will shred while the inside is more of a sliceable consistency. So, if you have over 2 pounds of chicken, just cook it to a shreddable consistency, or defrost and bake it!

As with shreddable chicken, youll simply place the frozen chicken in the Instant Pot along with a cup of water, and set it to cook for a set amount of time. Easy peasy!

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes

• Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken–The best method for cooking a whole chicken in the Instant Pot this recipe produces flavorful, juicy, tender “roast” chicken.
• Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken–Tender chicken that is perfectly spiced with buffalo seasoning, this recipe is a great base for numerous dishes.
• Instant Pot Chicken Tacos–Made with just 4 ingredients and a few minutes of prep, this is one of the easiest, tastiest Instant Pot chicken recipes.
• Instant Pot Chicken Thighs–This is a great basic recipe for cooking bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
• Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken–This easy instant pot recipe can be made with chicken thighs or chicken breasts and is coated in a delicious sweet and savory teriyaki sauce.

If you enjoyed this Instant Pot Chicken Breast recipe, please be sure to take the time to leave a comment and a review.

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How Long To Cook Frozen Chicken In The Instant Pot

The cook time for boneless, skinless chicken breasts depends on the weight and thickness of the chicken breasts. Bone-in chicken will take longer to cook. Always cook chicken at high pressure.

The Instant Pot will take longer to reach pressure when you are cooking frozen foods as compared to non-frozen foods. When the contents of the pot are cold it takes longer to heat up and pressurize. So frozen chicken gets a few extra minutes of cook time while the pot comes to pressure.

When the cook time ends, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes. The chicken will continue to cook during this time.

Here are the estimated cook times for different sized pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Instant Pot Cooking Times for Frozen Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

• small frozen chicken breasts cook 11-12 minutes at high pressure, plus 10 minutes natural release
• medium frozen chicken breasts cook 13-14 minutes at high pressure, plus 10 minutes natural release
• large frozen chicken breasts cook 16 minutes at high pressure, plus 10 minutes natural release

It is always good practice to use an instant read thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken has reached a safe 165 degrees F.

What Size Instant Pot Can I Use

Thats the great thing, you can use any size. This will work for 3 quart, 5 quart, 6 quart or 8 quart. I have an 6 quart Instant Pot. With the smaller Instant Pots you may need to cook less chicken breasts at a time because you want to make sure they are in a single layer. Dont pile up the breasts, this could result in undercooked chicken.

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How To Cook Fresh Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot

A tutorial on How to Cook Fresh Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot. This is seriously life-changing!

With the holidays, our upcoming wedding, and saving for a down-payment on a house, Jeremy and I have been trying to reign in our spending. We even went as far as foregoing Christmas presents for one another this year. So when Black Friday rolled around, I told myself that I was not going to be sucked in by any amazing deals. But then 50 bazillion people posted on Facebook and Instagram about how the life-changing appliance for all Paleo foodies was on major sale. What is that life-changing appliance, you ask? Why, the Instant Pot, of course!

I had been wanting an Instant Pot for quite some time , and even put a less expensive pressure cooker on our wedding registry because I decided the Instant Pot was a bit out of most peoples price range. Said pressure cooker has since been removed, and I have been loving my $78.00 Instant Pot ever since.

The first thing I decided to cook with my Instant Pot was chicken breasts. I wanted to make chicken salad and decided it would be more delicious and less expensive to use fresh chicken than canned chicken.

How to Cook Fresh Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot

Start by placing one pound of organic, pasture-raised chicken breasts into the stainless steel cooking pot of the Instant Pot.

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How Long To Cook Chicken In The Instant Pot

Boneless chicken breasts and thighs cook in the same amount of timejust 10 minutes at high pressure will do it! Just be sure to arrange the meat in a single, even layer in the pot, as it cooks more evenly that way. It should reach about halfway up the chicken.

This timing works for a 1 1/2 to 2 pound batch of boneless chicken. If youre cooking more meat , increase the cooking time to 15 minutes to ensure that it is cooked through. For a smaller amount of meat , decrease the cooking time to 8 minutes.

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