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    Instant Pot Chicken

    In about 20 minutes, you can cook boneless skinless chicken breasts—even frozen ones—and they’ll be tender, moist and delicious! How? Say hello to the best Instant Pot chicken recipe ever.

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    instant pot chicken that was cooked in the pressure cooker with seasoning on a black plate

    The Best, Basic Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe

    Versatile and simple, this Instant Pot chicken breast recipe results in super tender, moist and flavorful chicken breasts in just about 20 minutes! You can use the lightly seasoned chicken breasts as the base of a super straightforward, healthy meal—sometimes a simple, spartan dinner of chicken breast and salad is exactly what the doctor ordered. Or, treat this recipe as a no-brainer do-every-week chicken breast recipe for your weekend meal prep session (if you’re one of those brilliant people who has one of those). The cooked chicken breasts will keep beautifully in the fridge for about 4 days, which means you’ll have plenty of time to use them to bulk up lunch salads, as the foundation of some easy dinners, or even in sandwiches throughout the week ahead. Grab your Instant Pot and let’s cook some chicken!

    3 raw chicken breast on parchment paper, next to 1 cup chicken stock, garlic powder, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning
    3 raw chicken breasts in a bowl with salt pepper and seasoning.

    Simple Ingredients For A Fast, Simple Chicken Breast Recipe

    Nothing too fancy here. Actually, nothing fancy AT ALL. Just some really basic ingredients for making the best, basic Instant Pot chicken recipe ever. The herbs you use can be any mix of simple dried herbs that you have in the cupboard and that you love. We think Italian seasoning is especially nice, because with herbs like marjoram and parsley in the mix, it’s got a little extra oomph. But if all you’ve got is some dried oregano, that’s OK too! The Instant Pot will still work its chicken-cooking magic, and you’ll still be blown away by how easy it is to cook chicken breasts this way.

    • Chicken stock
    • Boneless, skinless, chicken breast
    • Italian seasoning, oregano, basil or thyme
    • Garlic powder
    • Brown sugar
    • Kosher salt
    • Pepper
    instant pot chicken that was cooked in the pressure cooker with seasoning on a black plate

    Pssst—Yes, You Can Use Frozen Chicken Breasts

    Yep! One of the best things about this Instant Pot chicken breast recipe is that it works just as well with frozen chicken breasts as it does with thawed. It’s an ultra speedy way to get dinner going, or get a good jump on your weekly meal prep. Just be sure to separate the chicken breasts before you season them, and know that with frozen chicken breasts, the pot may take longer to come to pressure. Otherwise, you’re good to go!

    How to Cook Chicken in the Instant Pot

    Instant Pot chicken breast—another reason to love the Instant Pot! Here’s how to make it:

    1. Put the trivet insert in the Instant Pot (or skip it if you don't have one) and pour in some chicken stock.
    2. Season chicken breasts with all of the spices and herbs.
    3. Put the chicken into the pot! Close the lid and put the vent in the closed position.
    4. Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes (for fresh) or 15 minutes (for frozen).
    5. Next, you can wait for the pressure to release naturally or *carefully* move the vent a little at a time for a quick release.
    6. To confirm doneness, use an instant-read thermometer to check the chicken breast internal temperature. If it reads 165°, you’re done!
    instant pot chicken that was cooked in the pressure cooker with seasoning on a black plate
    pressure cooker chicken that was cooked in the instant pot with seasoning on a black plate

    Tools You’ll Need

    More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes We Love

    Instant Pot plus chicken equals the most basic, no-brainer dinner ever and we’re SO HERE for that. Sometimes it’s just got to be that way, right? Here are three of our absolute go-to weeknight Instant Pot chicken recipes:

    sliced instant pot chicken that was cooked in the pressure cooker with seasoning on a black plate

    Sometimes Basic Is a Beautiful Thing

    Try this perfect, basic Instant Pot chicken breast recipe, and let us know how you like it, OK? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!

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    Instant Pot Chicken

    December 10, 2020

    • Serves: 6
    • Prep Time:  5 min
    • Cook Time:  25 min
    • Calories: 234
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    Ingredients

    • 1 cup chicken stock
    • 2-3 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breast
    • 1 tsp Italian seasoning, oregano, basil or thyme
    • ½ tsp garlic powder
    • 1 tsp brown sugar
    • 1 tsp kosher salt
    • ½ tsp freshly cracked pepper

    Method

    1. Line an instant pot with the trivet insert. Pour the chicken stock into the base of the instant pot.
    2. Place the chicken into a large bowl (if using frozen chicken, make sure the breasts are separated). Sprinkle with the italian seasoning, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt and pepper toss to coat. Place the seasoned chicken into the instant pot (in a single layer), secure the lid and put the vent in the closed position.
    3. Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes (for fresh) or 15 minutes (for frozen). It will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure. When the cook time is finished, you can wait for the pressure to release naturally or carefully move the vent a little at a time for a quick release. Do a quick check to make sure the chicken’s internal temperature registers 165° on an instant read thermometer.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories234
    • Protein43 g
    • Carbohydrates1 g
    • Total Fat5 g
    • Dietary Fiber0 g
    • Cholesterol138 mg
    • sodium272 mg
    • Total Sugars1 g

    Instant Pot Chicken

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

    or
    • Lisa

      How does it taste if you freeze a bunch of it?

      Freezes great!

    • Robert

      Can I cook carrots with this recipe

      In theory ye, we haven't tested the cook time with carrots to see if that would need adjusted.

    • Betty

      My Instant Pot is not a pressure pot. Is there a difference?

      All instant pots have the ability to pressure cook. There should be a button that says "pressure cook." If not you can google your specific model to check how the pressure cook option is labeled on yours.

    • Meg

      I see the macros per serving but there is no specification on what a serving is (# of grams or lbs). The amount of chicken is also vague, 2-3 lbs.

      How much is a serving for the nutrition information given?
      Thanks!
      Meg

      We used 2.5 lbs of chicken in the nutrition information. Getting yield on our recipes is something we are working towards but for now the nutrition information would just be 1/6th of the recipe so about 6.5 ounces. Hope you enjoy Meg.

    • Tiakay

      Does it matter if I use a trivet? I don't have one

      You can still make it. Hope you enjoy Tiakay!

    • Robert

      Recipe was easy to follow, but I'm still waiting for it to cook. Then I'll write a comment.

      Can't wait to hear the outcome!

    • Catherine

      This came out really well! I did bump up the amount of seasoning and used a little white wine in place of some of the stock. The chicken tastes great and I am going to use the "juice" that was left after cooking as a soup base. Thank you!

      Thank you Catherine! We are so happy you loved it!

    • Kathy

      I tried this chicken for dinner tonight. It was AWESOME!! Folled the recipe exactly and the chicken was so tender and juicy, with such flavors. I served with sautéed green beans, penne pasta with garlic butter and fresh apple salad from my apple trees. Superb!

      So glad you liked it Kathy, sounds like a delicious meal!

    • Anita

      We made this for dinner tonight, and it is so good. My daughter likes it too!
      Will definitely make this again!

      Thanks Anita, so glad you all enjoyed it!

    • Anita

      We are making this tonight, still cooking at this time. But my house smells so good! Will come back and update with a review after we have eaten our dinner.

      Thanks Anita!