Quick and Healthy: Instant Pot Chicken Made Simple

I’ll be the first to admit I am no five-star chef when it comes to cooking every meal at home. Especially during the busy weekdays with two, soon-to-be three, children. Honestly, cooking can become a little chaotic when dinnertime often coincides everyone’s moody time of day haha. Luckily, I’ve discovered a time-saving solution for one or two nights of the week: cooking a few chicken breasts in the Instant Pot.

By cooking 2 or 3 chicken breasts in the instant pot, you can use these for a few easy weeknight, or even weekday, meals. The instant pot saves a lot of prep time and makes cooking healthy meals for your family so much easier!

It took a little trial and error and searching through hundreds of recipes that were way too complicated for me to finally come up with my own simple instant pot chicken recipe that was inspired by the 21 Day Fix portion control eating plan. However, it can also be used in many ways.

Health Benefits of Chicken Breast

I won’t go into this too much, because I believe most people are aware chicken breast is an excellent source of healthy, lean protein.

Nutritionally, a 3-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast provides the following:

Approximately 120 calories
About 26 grams of protein
Less than 2 grams of fat
Less than 1 gram of carbohydrates
Contains vitamins B6, B12, and niacin

These values are approximate, but you’ll notice that chicken breast is a fantastic protein source with low fat. It’s also low in calories and carbohydrates, while still providing essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs to perform at its best.

Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe

Let’s not tell you too much before sharing the recipe and get you cooking instant pot chicken asap.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 chicken breasts
• 1 cup water or broth
• salt and pepper to taste (feel free to add your own spices)

Instructions:

1. Place the metal wire rack at bottom of instant pot
2. Add 1 cup liquid of your choice (we’ve used water, chicken or vegetable broth)
3. Place 2-3 chicken breasts side-by-side in the bottom of the instant pot (make sure not to stack)
4. Season with your desired spices
5. Secure the instant pot lid and make sure the pressure release valve is sealed
6. Cook on “Manual” pressure setting for 8-10 minutes depending on thickness. Thicker chicken breast takes longer
7. Quick release or natural release(my preference) for 5 minutes
8. Remove chicken breasts from instant pot and let rest for 3 minutes before serving
9. Enjoy!

Always make sure to check internal temperature of the chicken using a meat thermometer. It should be least 165°F!

There you have my super simple instant pot chicken barest recipe that’s easy to make on those crazy busy nights or even to use as meal prep. The possibilities are endless when you have perfectly cooked chicken breast.

You now have chicken breast you can shred, dice to add to other recipes, or enjoy on its own.

Need an instant pot or want to upgrade on your current version? Here’s a link to one of my favorite Instant Pots on Amazon. It can do so much more than just cook chicken – and it’s available in sizes up to 8 quarts!

Serving Suggestions for Instant Pot Chicken Breast

While there’s nothing wrong with having your instant pot chicken breast plain, what I found works best is to use the chicken breast in other meals.

A few of my favorites are:

• Baked Chicken Fajitas: Adjust the recipe to just adding chicken to vegetables.
• Chicken Avocado Salad: This is a favorite of mine that I would never thought would work together
• Chicken Salad: Add shredded chicken to Greek yogurt along with your favorite chopped vegetables
• Garden Salad with Diced Chicken Breast: Just add 3oz to your favorite garden salad. Make sure to load up on extra veggies!
• Stir-Fry: I always have on hand big bag of frozen vegetables that I can add liquid amidinos and chicken too.
• Chicken Wrap or Lettuce Wraps
• Chicken Soup: Another instant pot recipe that you can add shredded chicken to.

This instant pot chicken goes so well with any herbs or other spices that you enjoy. Make sure to experiment with what works best for you. Additionally, you can adjust these ideas based on your preferences and dietary needs to make it work for you.

I hope you find this recipe as easy and enjoyable as we do! Enjoy your Instant Pot chicken breast and make sure to leave me a comment if you love the recipe, have any recipe ideas to share, or have any questions. And be sure to check out my other healthy, simple recipes.