Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe
How many times have you come home and realized youve forgotten to pull the chicken from the freezer for tonights dinner? If youre like me, its way too many.
But since I discovered how to cook both frozen chicken breasts and/or fresh chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, those days are over.
It seems like all too often us recipe creators, aka food bloggers, get caught up in creating that totally unique recipe.
The recipe that intrigues.
The recipe that nobodys ever thought of before.
But the reality is, while those recipes are fun to bookmark and make every so often, its the basics for daily cooking that we really need. Like how to cook the basic boneless chicken breast, and how to cook it fast.
Ive shared my recipes for the Best Grilled Chicken Breast and the Best Baked Chicken Breasts and you guys love them. So when I received requests for an Instant Pot version, how could I not oblige?
And once I started cooking chicken breasts STRAIGHT FROM THE FREEZER in my Instant Pot, I realized I needed to share with you how you can do the same.
So lets talk basics.
Variations On The Traditional Chicken Salad Recipe
- You can bake, grill, or boil your chicken for this recipe.
- You can also get a rotisserie chicken from the store.
- You can even use canned chicken in a pinch.
- Adding nuts to your recipe, almonds, pecans, or walnuts.
- Adding red, white, or dark red grapes.
- Substituting 1/2 of the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt.
- Add small chunks of apple or pineapple.
- add dill pickle relish & red onion.
- Serving on your favorite sandwich bread, bagels, crackers, lettuce wrap, or as a round scoop on the side of a salad.
- For a low carb option, serve on apple slices.
The ideas are endless, just use your favorite flavors and your imagination. If you have little ones at home just a plan simple recipe will work best if they are not too adventurous.
What To Serve With Chicken Breast
Chicken is so universal. You can pair it with almost anything, which is why this recipe is great! It can be served as is or accompanied by your favourite side dishes. You can use these chicken breasts in a variety of different recipes such as quesadillas, casseroles, pastas, and more! Here are some side dishes that I love to pair with these instant pot chicken breasts:
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Can I Use Frozen Chicken
No time to thaw your chicken or you just forgot ? The Instant Pot can take care of that for you, too. However, I would recommend you thaw the breasts a little in the microwave first. Otherwise, the spices and parm will not stick to your breasts the way they should in this recipe if they are frozen solid. From there, you can follow the rest of the instructions, but increase cooking time about 20 minutes.
More Instant Pot Recipes To Try:
- Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe : Instant Pot beef stew will provide you with winter comfort food in a fraction of the time. Made with protein-rich beef and lots of veggies, it will be satisfying on cool nights.
- Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe: This Instant Pot Short Ribs recipe lets you enjoy the tender flavorful ribs without the hours of cooking time usually required. This set-it-and-forget it recipe makes it easy to cook the perfect meat.
- Instant Pot Keto Chili Recipe: Keto chili has all the great flavors of traditional chili without the extra carbs. Enjoy this healthy recipe that gives you everything you crave on cold evenings.
- Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup: Make a hearty vegetable beef soup in no time with this Instant Pot soup recipe. Goodbye to all-day simmering, this is a quick and easy dinner for any busy weeknight. This delicious soup is also Whole30, paleo, and gluten-free.
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Tips For Making Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
Like any pressure cooker recipe, allow extra time for the pressure cooker to come up to temperature. This typically takes about 5 to 7 minutes, but depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts and how many you stack in the insert, it could take longer. I dont have the exact time for this since each of you are different, so you will have to play with it.
With this Instant Pot chicken breast recipe using 3 boneless chicken breasts, theres no need for any additional time needed for the instant pot to natural release the steam.
Also note that you can make chicken stock in an Instant Pot as well.
Stock from chicken cooked in the Instant Pot is incredibly delicious, especially when using bone-in chicken breasts for all that rich flavor that comes from bones. If youre interested in making homemade chicken broth in an Instant Pot instead of just chicken breasts, follow the directions in my recipe for the Best Chicken Stock ever.
Use the stock to make gravy or use as a soup base, by adding these additional ingredients:
- chicken boullion cubes
- root vegetables such as parsnip or turnips
- garni of herbs like parsley, thyme, bay leaves
- 5-6whole peppercorns
Can You Bake Potatoes In An Instant Pot
If you like the idea of potatoes in an Instant Pot but you only want to bake potatoes, you can do that, too. An Instant Pot can hold about three pounds of potatoes at a time . Set the cleaned, whole potatoes on the rack and then add a cup of cold water. Cook on high pressure for 15-20 minutes, depending on how big your potatoes are. Release the pressure according to your pots directions. If you want a crispier skin, you can follow up the cooking process in the oven with a little olive oil glaze.
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S For Cooking Frozen Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot
Here’s What You’ll Need:
- An Instant Pot or any electric pressure cooker
- Frozen chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Other desired seasonings
How Long To Cook A Whole Chicken In The Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
- Cook a fresh chicken for 6 minutes per pound. This means that a 4 pound chicken will take 24 minutes to cook, a 4.5 pound chicken will take 27 minutes, and a 5 pound bird will take 30 minutes, at high pressure.
- Follow the cook time with a 15 minute natural release. This means just leave your Instant Pot alone for 15 minutes and then quick release any remaining pressure by turning the steam release valve to the venting position before opening the lid.
- Always use an instant read thermometer to check that your chicken has reached a safe internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F. You want to insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the leg, not touching the bone. Using the Instant Pot to cook a whole chicken is pretty foolproof, and mine has always been perfectly cooked and juicy after pressure cooking for 6 minutes per pound.
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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 Make Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Cooking chicken in the instant pot is a simple process. After adding the ingredients to the Instant Pot make sure you cook on manual mode for 15 minutes and let it natural release. This will ensure the chicken comes out tender.
There are two important tricks for this recipe. First, use a combination of boneless skinless chicken thighs and boneless skinless chicken breasts for maximum flavor. Second, add the spices on top of the chicken, and dont mix the chicken with the spices. This helps avoid the spices sticking to the bottom and getting the Burn error message.
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How To Cook Chicken From Frozen In The Instant Pot
Cooking times are based on 1-2 pounds of frozen medium-sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
We found frozen chicken breasts are at a safe cooking temperature at 15-20 minutes using a quick release method. We always use the manual function . When cooking food from frozen in the Instant Pot, we recommend starting at the shorter end of the time range and then adding more minutes if its not done.
The only variation to this cooking time is when chicken is in a soup. We found that because it takes so much longer for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, the chicken takes LESS time to cook. Likely 5-6 minutes. It feels a bit counter intuitive since there is more in the pot when cooking a soup recipe but we consistently found that chicken was done quicker this way.
Tips For The Best Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken:
- Cook the chicken for 6 minutes per pound and allow a 15-minute natural pressure release. Releasing the pressure gradually will ensure your chicken is fully cooked through and rested for the juiciest chicken. It also prevents foam from shooting out of the valve.
- Weigh the chicken to ensure the proper cooking time . Overcooking the bird will cause it to fall apart and will make it difficult to transfer.
- Make sure your chicken fits your instant pot size. Our 6 qt instant pot fits up to a 5 lb chicken. An 8 qt pressure cooker is better for the larger sized chickens.
- Use a Trivet for even cooking and to help remove the chicken from the instant pot.
- Broil the chicken for a crisp salty skin
- Do not discard the drippings they make the best gravy to pour over your chicken.
- Keep the carcass and bones for Instant Pot Chicken Broth.
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Instant Pot Chicken Breast
Did you know that you can make a juicy, tender and flavorful chicken breast in your Instant Pot? It only takes 5 minutes of pressure cooking time and 5 minutes of pressure release. A quick sear on each side ensures the chicken breast is juicy and the gravy is flavorful. I love serving the chicken with mashed potatoes and salad or roasted veggies. This Instant Pot Chicken Breast is a must-try recipe for beginners and pressure cooking fans!
Best Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
The best instant pot chicken recipes are simple, easy, and quick. These recipes are packed full of flavor, tasty, and beginner-friendly.
Pressure cooker chicken recipes are quick and these ones are ready in under 25 minutes. They are budget-friendly, make use of few ingredients, and are family dinner-focused.
The chicken produced are packed full of flavor, and delicious. No bland or boring chicken here.
Chicken is high in protein, nutritious, and delicious which makes it a healthy meal option.
You will love these instant pot chicken recipes that are tried and trusted.
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How To Cook Fresh Chicken Breast In Instant Pot
- Add 1 cup water and place trivet on top.
- Lay chicken breasts in a single layer, sprinkle with spices and rub onto each other.
- Press Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 10 minutes under 2 thickness and 15 minutes over 2 thick breasts.
- Do Natural Release for 5 minutes and then turn pressure valve to Venting.
Ingredients For Shredded Chicken
To keep the shredded chicken as versatile as possible, this recipe calls only for the necessities:
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken to start, youll want to grab either boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs, or tenders. Any of the above will work great! We recommend grabbing 5 pounds of chicken if youre looking to have enough shredded chicken for 12 adult servings meals). If youre not looking to cook that much chicken, feel free to reduce the amount of chicken based on the amount you do need.
- Water or Broth in order for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, youll need to add some kind of liquid to the pot to the pot before securing the lid! 1 cup of water is perfect regardless of the amount of chicken youre using.
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How To Cook Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot
Cooking times are based on 1-2 pounds of medium-sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
We found that chicken breast is at a safe cooking temperature after about 7 minutes using a quick release method. We always use the manual function . If the chicken breast is a bit on the larger size, add another minute or two. If its on the smaller size, subtract a minute.
Tip: These 7 Chicken Marinade Recipes all have Instant Pot cooking instructions. Try them out!
Instant Pot Chicken Breast Variations:
- Chicken is one of my favorite proteins because it can take on a wide variety of spices, seasonings and sauces! Mix things up with your seasoning blend or use a bottled blend that you love for a new flair.
- Slice and toss in barbecue sauce for easy Instant Pot BBQ Chicken.
- This seasoning blend and cooking method works just as well for a combination or breasts and thighs if you have a chicken thigh lover, toss in some boneless, skinless chicken thighs with your breasts and everyone is happy!
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Cooking Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot
Using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot to cook any ingredientespecially when youre meal prepping nutritious meals is a time saving game changer.
Using a pressure cooker shaves off valuable hands-on cooking time, and unlike cooking on the stove top, theres no monitoring with a watchful eye for liquids boiling over, or turning the temp down, or even stirringinstead, cooking can be a completely hands-off affair.
But the real beauty of cooking chicken breasts in the Instant Pot is you can use either fresh or still frozen chicken breasts and literally toss them into the Instant Pot with no defrosting needed.
Thats why this method has been my whats for dinner meal saver more than once.
see more: 20 Healthy Dinners to Make In the Instant Pot
How To Make Shredded Chicken In Instant Pot
The Instant Pot is wonderful for many reasons, and chief among them is the amount of time that it saves. That, and the fact that *most* Instant Pot recipes are, essentially, hands-off, saving even more of our time! Heres how youll make simple shredded chicken in the Instant Pot:
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Basic Not Boring Chicken Breast In The Instant Pot
There are a lot of ways to cook chicken in the electric pressure cooker, but this method is specifically for plain chicken breast that you can use as meal prep for building salads and grain bowls or for using in recipes that call for cooked chicken.
Yes, this recipe below is just chicken, salt, and chicken broth or water, but you can totally add your own flavors before cooking with dry spice rubs or citrus, or dress up the cooked chicken with sauces or salsas. Theres no need to adjust the cooking time when adding any of these for flavor.
It will take about 12 minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to temperature and then another 10 to 15 minutes of cook time. Depending on how youd like your chicken cooked, youd add up to five minutes of natural release time. Your total cook time, including prep? Thirty minutes. See? Better, faster meal prep awaits!
Can I cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot?
Yes! This method works with frozen chicken as well. Just plan for frozen breasts to take longer to come to temperature about two to five minutes extra depending on the number of breasts. The cook time under pressure doesnt change, but it does extend the amount of time it takes the pot to come up to pressure to about 15 minutes.
