Instant Pot Chicken Breast
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Juicy, flavorful Instant Pot Chicken Breasts, ready in just 30 minutes and are perfect for lunch or dinner! Cook from fresh or frozen! They are so versatile and can be incorporated into your favourite dish or served as is, paired with your favourite sides – you can’t go wrong!
Perfectly Cooked Chicken Breasts
Chicken is a staple in most meals and this easy instant pot recipe will make it a staple in your life as well. Tender, juicy, mouthwatering chicken prepared and ready to serve in 30 minutes thanks to the instant pot? Sign me up.
I’ve made chicken many different ways and I must say chicken breast is probably one of the hardest that I notice people struggle with because most of the time it ends up dry. Cooking it in the Instant Pot, you are pretty much guaranteed with a moist and juicy chicken breast every single time.
Why Cooking Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot Works
QUICK AND EASY. Cooking chicken breasts in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) is super quick and incredibly easy. It only takes 5 minutes to cook under high pressure and you are guaranteed perfectly juicy chicken breasts. I prefer to sear my chicken first on both sides so that I brown them a bit, but if you’re simply using the chicken to shred to use in enchiladas or burritos, you don’t even have to do that.
COOK FROM FRESH OR FROZEN. That’s right, you can cook chicken breasts from fresh or frozen, so if you forgot to take that chicken out of the freezer this morning, no worries. The only difference is that you cook them for 5 minutes longer, so instead of 5 minutes cooking time, you’ll cook them for 10 minutes. Obviously, you won’t be able to sear them but they’ll be perfectly delicious regardless.
SUPER VERSATILE. Cooking chicken breast like this is great because you can enjoy it with some gravy or use it in any number of dishes, plus it’s perfect for meal prep. I have lots of chicken recipes on the blog where you need shredded cooked chicken, so this is the best and easiest way to get that done.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- CHICKEN BREASTS – You’ll need boneless skinless chicken breasts here, fresh or frozen chicken breasts will work.
- HERBS AND SPICES – I used Italian Seasoning, garlic powder and smoked paprika. These are usually my go to spices for cooking chicken. Feel free to use your favorite herbs and spices. Also if you’re just cooking the chicken to shred to use in other recipes, don’t worry so much about what herbs and spices to use, you might actually just want the chicken plain.
- SALT AND PEPPER – To taste.
- OLIVE OIL – If you don’t have olive oil you can use sunflower, safflower, avocado or vegetable oil. We only need some olive oil to sear the breasts. If you’re not searing them, you don’t need any oil at all.
- CHICKEN BROTH – I used a low sodium chicken broth in this recipe and the reason is because I made a gravy with the leftover juice and drippings. If you’re not making a gravy, go ahead and use plain water.
Can I Use Bone-In Skin-On Chicken Breasts?
Absolutely! All you really need to do is cook them a little bit longer. Go ahead and sear the breasts the same way, and instead of 5 minutes, it will take 10 minutes to cook the chicken on high pressure. Follow the rest of the steps as instructed.
How To Cook Fresh Chicken Breast In The Instant Pot
- COMBINE SPICES – In a small bowl combine the spices and rub the spice mix generously over each chicken breast. Since this is a spice mix I use often, I usually make a whole bunch and store it in a jar in my pantry, this way whenever I need some chicken spice, it’s all ready to use.
- SEAR CHICKEN – Set the Instant Pot to the Sauté setting and add the olive oil to heat. When the olive oil is hot add the chicken breasts and sear on all sides. You might have to do this in 2 batches. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and set aside. Remember if you don’t want to sear your chicken breasts and just want to shred it, you can skip this step.
- PRESSURE COOK THE CHICKEN – Pour the chicken broth into the Instant Pot, then place the trivet inside. Place the chicken on top of the trivet and close the Instant Pot lid. Seal the valve and set the Instant Pot to Manual/High Pressure for 5 minutes. Natural Release for 10 minutes, then quick release remaining pressure.
- SERVE – Transfer the chicken to a cutting board or serving platter. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing or serving.
How To Cook Frozen Chicken Breast In The Instant Pot
- COMBINE SPICES – In a small bowl combine the spices and rub the spice mix generously over each chicken breast. Since this is a spice mix I use often, I usually make a whole bunch and store it in a jar in my pantry, this way whenever I need some chicken spice, it’s all ready to use.
- PRESSURE COOK THE CHICKEN – Pour the chicken broth or water into the Instant Pot, then place the trivet inside. Place the chicken on top of the trivet and close the Instant Pot lid. Seal the valve and set the Instant Pot to Manual/High Pressure for 10 minutes. Natural Release for 10 minutes, then quick release remaining pressure.
- SERVE – Transfer the chicken to a cutting board or serving platter. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing or serving.
How To Make Gravy
I actually love to make some gravy with the leftover liquid in the Instant Pot. Trust me there is a lot of flavor there and it’s wonderful over this chicken breast.
To make the gravy, simply make a slurry with 2 tbsp of water and 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Set the Instant Pot to the Saute setting and bring the leftover liquid to a boil. Add the cornstarch slurry and whisk well. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened. That’s all!
Natural Release Versus Quick Release
This basically refers to the method of depressurizing the Instant Pot after cooking. For natural release you do nothing. Just let the Instant pot gradually come down in pressure on its own.
For quick release, you have to open the steam release valve which forces the Instant Pot to depressurize the pot quicker.
What Size Instant Pot Can I Use?
That’s 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. Don’t pile up the breasts, this could result in undercooked chicken.
What’s The Difference Between The Poultry Setting And High Pressure?
It’s really the same thing. The difference is that the default poultry setting is pre-programmed to set the pot to cook at HIGH PRESSURE for 15 MINUTES.
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 chicken salad, quesadillas, casseroles, sandwiches, pastas, and more! You can even serve this chicken with a variety of sauces such as teriyaki sauce or barbecue sauce. Here are some side dishes that I love to pair with these instant pot chicken breasts:
- Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower (as seen in the photos)
- Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms
- Garlic Herb Red Potato Salad
- Thyme Skillet Potatoes
- Ultimate Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
- Creamy Garlic Parmesan Orzo
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
How to Store Leftovers
You can keep your leftover chicken sealed for up to 4 days in the fridge. This is great for quick lunches and dinners for the rest of the week!
If you’d like to keep your chicken for longer, store in the freezer in an airtight container, freezer bags, or wrapped tightly in aluminum foil or freezer wrap.
When thawing cooked chicken from frozen, it’s best to leave your chicken in the fridge overnight and then you can reheat in the microwave or oven. If you don’t want to use your microwave; keep in mind when reheating your chicken in the oven, you want to keep it covered so it doesn’t dry out. Cover the chicken and cook at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
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Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 2 pound chicken breasts (about 4 to 6 breasts, boneless and skinless)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chicken broth (low sodium or no sodium added, or water)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
- Rub the spice mix generously over each chicken breast.
- Set the Instant Pot to the Saute setting and add the olive oil to heat.Set the Instant Pot to the Sauté setting and add the olive oil to heat. When the olive oil is hot add the chicken breasts and sear on all sides. You might have to do this in 2 batches. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and set aside. Remember if you don’t want to sear your chicken breasts or are using frozen chicken breasts and just want to shred it, you can skip this step.
- Pour the chicken broth into the Instant Pot, then place the trivet inside. Place the chicken on top of the trivet and close the Instant Pot lid.
- Set the valve to sealing and set the Instant Pot to Manual/High Pressure for 5 minutes. If using frozen chicken, set the Instant Pot to Manual/High Pressure for 10 minutes.
- When the time is up, let the Instant Pot release naturally for 10 minutes then quick release remaining pressure.
- Open the lid and transfer the chicken to a cutting board or serving platter. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing it or serving.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- If using frozen chicken breast, make sure they are separated, the chicken still needs to be in a single layer.
- If you’re not making gravy, feel free to use water instead of chicken broth.
- You can keep your leftover chicken sealed for up to 4 days in the fridge. This is great for quick lunches and dinners for the rest of the week!
- If you’d like to keep your chicken for longer – store in the freezer in an airtight container, freezer bags, or wrapped tightly in aluminum foil or freezer wrap.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Easy and delicious!
I have an 8 qt instant pot, and I’m afraid I will overcook the chicken if I follow the times here because the large size pot takes longer to heat up. Should I reduce the cook time or perhaps the natural release time?
I’m not sure, but I don’t think the time should matter. To be certain though, you can refer to the manual that came with your IP and see what the cooking time is for chicken breast.
This was such an easy recipe to prepare and it came out amazing. Thank you I am just starting to use my instant pot more and will definitely try more of your instant pot recipes among others on this site. Delicious!
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!
I normally don’t leave ratings/reviews for recipes. But I loved this meal so much I figured I should. It was unbelievably good considering how much effort went into it. I used a store bought seasoning (Kinders butcher’s all purpose) and water instead of chicken broth. I did 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to mix with the drippings. I did not know such a simple gravy could be so good! and the chicken came out so juicy. I will be making this at least once a week probably for the rest of my life. Love the huge payoff from such minimal ingredients and simple steps here. Thank you so much for the great recipe!
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Thank you so much for this healthy recipe.
I wanted to ask would it be possible to double the recipe in a 6-qt instant pot? would it fit all the chicken breast at once ?
You should be able to, I would still try and arrange the breasts to be in a single layer as much as possible, otherwise you should be fine.
Perhaps a silly comment but i’m a newbie to the IP. If I just have 2 chicken breasts, do I need to adjust the time?
No, you don’t, the time will be the same. 🙂
The whole family liked this chicken. It was easy, flavorful and juicy. The pan gravy is really nice with the chicken and some mashed potatoes.
How did you make the gravy?
Disregard, I found it lol
Hands down one of the best chicken recipes I’ve had in a while (my kids asked for seconds!!). It was simple, quick, and very easy to make. The gravy was amazing too!! It reminded me of Thanksgiving Turkey dinner!
Easy recipe and delicious. The chicken had so much flavor. Almost reminded of Thanksgiving.
Tjis was the first recipe that I tried in the Instapot. I had no idea even how to use it. Your recipe was explained perfectly and everyone Loved it !! ( even my picky kids ) So thank you for making my first Instapot experience amazing !
My pleasure, so glad you liked it.
Hello Jo!
I love your recipes. I get one every day in my email. Your recipes are so easy, one pot meals so that even I (cooking is NOT my strength) am willing and also excited to try new things. My sight is 2% in one eye quarter and I am so thankful for that and your instant pot meals. Makes sense right? And, the meals are so delicious! All my grown up ‘kids’ say that! Thank you for your blog!
Irene Swain, Halifax
My pleasure, Irene! So glad to hear you’re enjoying my recipes!
Can I use a 3 1/2 lb bone in Veal Breast in this recipe instead of Chicken Breast? Would I follow the same cook time? I cannot find any recipes for Veal Breast in an Instant Pot. I don’t want to stuff the breast and this recipe is exactly how I want to cook the Veal.
Hi Roberta! I have not cooked veal breast in the instant pot, but I would think it would take about 30 minutes to cook on high pressure, then do a natural release for 10-15 minutes.
Perfect recipe! I used different seasonings to enhance the salads I’ll be making with the chicken, but followed the base recipe and it was PERFECT! Thanks so much!
My pleasure, so glad you liked it!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I did add to the cooking time and natural release (7 min & 10 min) because I have those absurdly large Costco chicken breasts and it worked very well. Will definitely put this in regular rotation!