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.
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Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
Equipment
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
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.
Video
Recipe 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.
I’m rating this recipe as a 10 star! It is a super recipe!
Ps. I added Cajun seasoning to the herbs, as my husband is Cajun!
Yay! I’m so happy you guys liked it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I’ve tried so many instant pot recipes for chicken breasts, and none of them have come NEAR this one in terms of moisture and taste. I was also able to cook 1 lb new potatoes via PIP (pot in pot) and they were perfect with this timing. This is my new weekday favorite!!
This recipe is great. The first thing I made in my new Instapot. So quick and easy. I will never cook chicken in a fry pan again. I even made gravy that turned out delicious. I will make this again and again. Thank you for making my first time using my Instapot a success. 😁👍👍❤
I’m wanting to make this tonight, is it an issue if you don’t have a trivet for your instant pot? Will the chicken cooking in the broth be a problem?
I haven’t tried it myself for this recipe, but I think it should be ok. Let me know how it turns out.
Loved it! Used two boneless skinless chicken breasts and they were done perfectly. Will be using this recipe on a regular basis.
Great and easy recipe.
I was just curious on the difference between using chicken stock vs water if the chicken sits above the liquid on the trivet? Thanks!
No real difference, you can use water, I used broth because I ended up using the leftover broth to make some gravy, so it’s totally up to you. 🙂
Ah makes sense, thank you!
How do you make the sauce that was used on the chicken in this video?
The instructions are in the post under “How To Make Gravy”
lol oh my gosh I don’t know how I missed where it told you how to make the gravy lol Thank you Joanna! Can’t wait to make this tonight looks yummy!
That’s ok, let me know how you like it!
Do you get rid of the leftover olive oil before adding the broth to the pot?
Hi Diane,
You actually don’t need to get the olive oil out of the Instant Pot. You’ll add the broth over the oil and then the chicken will go on top of the trivet. It won’t be soaking in the broth mixture.
Let us know how it turns out!
Can I use chicken tenders instead of breasts? If so, does that affect the cooking time?
Hi Kim,
Yes, you can definitely use chicken tenders. Cook on Manual HIGH for 3 minutes, followed by a 6 minute natural pressure release before turning the knob to release the pressure manually. Let us know how you enjoyed them!