Instant Pot Chicken Recipes – a perfect one-pot meal that requires little effort and preparation, making your busy weeknights more at ease! Super yummy chicken instant pot recipes can be combined with numerous fancy ingredients. Green veggies, mashed potatoes, creamy cheese, or any flavorful stuff you want, everything comes together so perfectly! If you are finding a way that can make various instant pot chicken breast recipes and instant pot chicken thigh recipes with basic steps, I’m sure you’re gonna love our favorite instant pot chicken recipes below!
Poor Girl Eats Well are going to give you the 3 best instant pot chicken recipes with the most concise information to make it easier and more straightforward for you to start cooking. All what you need about chicken instant pot recipes are right below. Scroll down, guys!
Reasons To Cook Chicken In The Instant Pot
The instant pot is definitely not new for every kitchen. With this amazing appliance, your cooking will become more effortless than ever. Obviously, the instant pot cooks chicken much faster than other types of non-pressure, and it does better with longer cook times for meat. The final result texture and flavor of these instant pot recipes chicken is so moist, tender, and juicy, meeting every appetite.
Another reason that makes the instant pot become your amazing right-hand man is your chicken instant pot recipes won’t fall apart and have the “slow cooker taste” as being cooked in a slow cooker. So ideal for the first kick-off!
Related Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Breast Video.
Cooking Tips for Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
Before you dive into these new instant pot chicken recipes, keep these cooking tips in mind.
- For instant pot chicken breast recipes, the size of the individual chicken breast will determine the cooking time. Surprisingly, if you slightly overcook your chicken, the final taste will still be tender and delectable!
- The best way to check if your chicken is done is to use an instant-read thermometer. 165° F is the safe internal temperature for both the white meat and dark meat.
- For instant pot frozen chicken recipes, you do not need to thaw your frozen chicken before cooking. Since the instant pot cooks quickly at high pressure, it’s entirely safe to use it to cook frozen chicken!
- Another fantastic characteristic to make the instant pot recipes chicken more conveniently is the sauté function. You can thicken the sauce or sauté vegetables to make a perfect meal just in one pot!
That’s all basic notes for you at the first step. Now, let’s give the following best instant pot chicken recipes a try to amaze you!
Further Reading: Visit Meat to check out more similar recipes.
3 Best Instant Pot Chicken Recipes For Beginners
Lemon Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thigh Recipes
With simple, uncomplicated methods and only 20-minute cooking time, this is one of the most fantastic instant pot chicken thigh recipes. The chicken is so tender and juicy in a buttery lemon garlic sauce!
- Prepare: 10 Mins
- Cook: 20 Mins
- Difficult: Easy
- Serving: 3-4 people
- Cost per serving: $2.35
- Nutrition: for each serving
- Calories: 236 kcal
Ingredients
- 6-8 boneless chicken thighs (skinless or with skin)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoon butter divided
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- 1/3 cup homemade or low sodium chicken broth
- Chopped fresh parsley and lemon slices for decoration (optional)
Instructions
Step 1: Season your chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Step 2: Select the sauté option and drizzle in the olive oil.
Step 3: Sear the chicken thighs for about two minutes on each side, or until golden brown, then remove them from the pan and set them aside.
Step 4: Melt butter and quickly stir in the onions and garlic. Cook for 1 minute after adding the lemon juice. Then, add seasoning, lemon zest, and chicken broth.
Step 5: Put the complete chicken thighs in the pot, close the lid, and turn the valve to the sealing position.
Step 6: Press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button, and set the time to 7 minutes.
Step 7: It will take roughly 5-10 minutes to come to pressure mode and start counting down.
Step 8: Once the pressure has been released naturally (2-3 minutes), turn the valve to the release position and remove the lid.
Step 9: To thicken the sauce, use the sauté setting and whisk the cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon cornstarch to 2 teaspoon water) until it bubbles.
Step 10: Over your hot, juicy thighs, sprinkle some chopped parsley. Garnish with a spoon sauce and some lemon slices for a gorgeous look, then enjoy!
Related Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Recipes Zesty Lemon
Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipes With Honey Garlic Sauce
These honey garlic instant pot chicken breast recipes are always moist, tender, and flavorful. Serve over rice or quinoa with vegetables for a perfect meal!
- Prepare: 10 Mins
- Cook: 20 Mins
- Difficult: Easy
- Serving: 3-4 people
- Cost per serving: $2.35
- Nutrition: for each serving
- Calories: 285 kcal
Ingredients
- 6-8 boneless chicken breast (with skin or skinless)
- ⅓ cup of water or chicken broth or vegetable broth
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
Step 1: Stir a mixture of water or broth, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and pepper by using the sauté function..
Step 2: Put your chicken breasts in the pot, seal the lid, and turn the valve to SEALING
Step 3: Set the cooking time according to the size of your chicken breasts by pressing the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button. (8-12 minutes for fresh chicken breasts ranging in size from small to large; 3 minutes extra cooking time for frozen chicken breasts)
Step 4: It will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure and start counting down.
Step 5: When finished, turn the valve to RELEASE with a long spoon and wait for the steam to escape and the pin to slide down. Then, carefully remove the lid.
Step 6: If you cut your chicken breasts and see it still overly pink, finish cooking the chicken by using the instant pot’s sauté mode.
Step 7: Take out all chicken breast to a plate. Then, on sauté mode, thicken the sauce by whisking the cornstarch mixture (2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water) for 2-3 minutes.
Step 8: Slice the chicken and stir it back into the hot juicy sauce. Soak it up and serve with rice or vegetables!
Related Recipe: Instant pot chicken breast recipes with honey garlic sauce
Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Recipes With Teriyaki Sauce
The instant pot frozen chicken recipes will save you a lot of time thawing a whole chicken while still keeping the chicken moist and flavorful. You can apply this recipe for both instant pot chicken breast recipes and instant pot chicken thigh recipes.
- Prepare: 10 Mins
- Cook: 20 Mins
- Difficult: Easy
- Serving: 3-4 people
- Cost per serving: $2.35
- Nutrition: for each serving
- Calories: 285 kcal
Ingredients
- 2 frozen chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 scallions, greens, and whites separated, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
- 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
Step 1: Add oil, garlic, scallion whites, and ginger to the pot and stir for 3 minutes, or until softened, using the sauté function.
Step 2: To make the teriyaki sauce, combine the broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, salt, and black pepper. Then, place your chicken breasts into it.
Step 3: Press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button, and set the cooking time. (6 minutes for 6-ounce chicken breast; 8 minutes for 8-ounce one)
Step 4: After the pressure cook cycle is complete, follow the manufacturer’s guide for natural release. Then, with caution, open the valve and remove the lid.
Step 5: Take out the chicken breasts, and slice them.
Step 6: Whisk the sauce in the pot with the cornstarch mixture (1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 2 teaspoon water) until it thickens up.
Step 7: Drizzle the sauce over the sliced chicken and enjoy with the cooked rice and vegetables.
Related Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki
Q&A
Why does chicken get rubbery in Instant Pot?
If you open the instant pot lid and see the chicken in a weird, rubbery texture, it probably means that you need to cook it a bit longer. Overcooking the meat, on the other hand, results in rubbery results. Because chicken can be cooked quickly over high heat, adjusting the appropriate cooking time is crucial for perfect instant pot recipes chicken.
Add some water or any form of braising liquid to the saucepan to cure a rubbery cooked chicken, then simmer it low and slow. This way will completely break down the protein fibers, making the chicken soft and tender again!
Can you put frozen chicken in an Instant pot?
Absolutely yes, as I said above, the beauty of Instant Pot is you can put either fresh or still frozen chicken without thawing before. You can cook the chicken directly from frozen in the instant pot because the pressure cooking mode quickly raises frozen food to a safe temperature, unlike a slow cooker, where frozen food may stay in a harmful temperature range for too long.
Simply rinse your frozen chicken under clean water, place it into the pot and let the instant pot do the rest for you. Then, enjoy your juicy chicken instant pot recipes!
Can you overcook a chicken in an Instant Pot?
Well, you’d better not overcook your chicken for too long. It is somewhat difficult to cook a chicken evenly in the instant pot because the steam provides an ideally moist environment for the chicken to be done quickly, and we cannot check the level of doneness during the cooking process.
For perfectly juicy instant pot recipes chicken, the ideal cook time for fresh chicken is 8-10 minutes according to its size, and add 2-3 minutes if you don’t want to defrost the chicken; otherwise, it will become drier.
Is pressure cooking chicken healthy?
Of course, the shorter cooking time of instant pot recipes chicken can retain more vitamins minerals of the meat than other longer types of cooking, especially those requiring high temperature for a long time. As long as what you put into the instant pot is healthy and nutritious-rich, your food is absolutely healthy and delectable!
Final Verdict
Those are all the instant pot chicken recipes on the top of my favorite list. Hopefully, you guys can find those recipes useful and inspiring to kick off cooking your own exciting dinner right away. Happy cooking!
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