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Our easy Instant Pot Chicken Breasts are tender, juicy and perfectly seasoned. A simple, tasty and fast protein that makes dinnertime a breeze!
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I love having juicy, tender chicken breasts ready to go, and the Instant Pot makes it so easy! Whether I need a quick lunch or a simple dinner on a busy night, this recipe always comes in handy. With just a little prep, I’ve got perfectly cooked chicken that I can slice for salads, shred into soups or pasta, or even sprinkle over pizza. You can even go bold and make our Instant Pot BBQ Chicken with chicken breasts. It’s such a great alternative to turning on the oven—especially when I don’t want to heat up the whole house. I can make just a couple pieces or a whole batch, and they’re done in under 20 minutes. It’s fresh, flavorful, and way better than anything store-bought. My whole family loves this zesty chicken, and I think yours will too!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – you can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Zesty Italian Salad Dressing – our favorite but you can definitely experiment with other dressings.
- Garlic – Use the fresh stuff for the best flavor but you can use garlic powder instead.
- Montreal Chicken Seasoning – you can use any blend of spices that you like. Use taco seasoning if preparing for a Mexican-inspired dish!
- Salt and Pepper
- Chicken Broth – You can use water if you don’t have chicken broth, you just need to add liquid to the pot so the chicken doesn’t burn
How to Cook Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot
- Place the chicken in a large Ziploc bag. Add the Italian dressing and garlic, seal the bag, and gently squish it around to coat the chicken evenly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours—overnight is even better!
- In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- After marinating, drain and discard the marinade from the chicken. Add the chicken breasts to the bowl of seasoning and coat them well on all sides.
- Turn your Instant Pot to the “sauté” setting and spray the bottom with cooking spray. Once it’s hot, place the chicken in the pot and sear for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and pour in the chicken broth. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Cancel the sauté setting.
- Place the trivet inside the Instant Pot over the broth. Set the chicken on top of the trivet. Put the lid on and make sure the valve is set to “sealing.”
- Set the Instant Pot to “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” on high pressure for 6 minutes. (Add 2–3 minutes if your chicken breasts are especially large.)
- When the cooking time is done, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then carefully turn the valve to “venting” to release the rest of the pressure.
- Let the chicken rest for 3–4 minutes before slicing or shredding. Enjoy!
Can I Use Frozen Chicken?
This is a frequently asked question when preparing chicken in the Instant Pot. Yes, you can definitely throw in frozen chicken breasts and let the magic of the Instant Pot do the rest. However, they won’t be as flavorful if they’re not marinated. If you pressure cook frozen chicken, make sure to add at least three minutes to the cooking time. To add extra flavor, rub the frozen chicken breasts with oil and then with the dry rub (details in the recipe card below). The oil will help all those seasonings adhere to the frozen chicken breasts while cooking.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- To ensure even cooking, try to keep chicken in on single layer in the Instant Pot. Depending on how much chicken you want to make, you may need to do a couple of batches.
- If you want to layer the trivets, place the flat trivet on the bottom and then the trivet with handles upside down over the second layer, sort of making a table over the other trivet. That way you can get two layers. If it seems a little wobbly, don’t worry, it’s not going anywhere.
- Check out the recipe card below for a delicious marinade. It’s zesty, slightly sweet, yet mild enough for adding to so many recipes.
- Feel free to use your favorite marinades or dry rubs and just follow the same method of cooking. The possibilities for flavoring your chicken are endless!
- If you’re using larger chicken breasts, add 2 to 3 minutes to the cooking time, and always be sure to check the internal temperature and make sure it’s at least 165 degrees.
- Cooked fresh chicken breasts can stay nice and fresh in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can also freeze cooked chicken breasts to be used later. They’ll stay in the freezer for about two months.
- The easiest way to shred chicken breasts is by using two forks. For more information about making shredded chicken in this Instant Pot, check out our instant pot shredded chicken recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you skip the natural pressure release, the chicken will come out very tough. Let the pressure release naturally for about 10 minutes and then do a quick release.
Yes, you can. Make sure to follow the times listen below to ensure proper cooking.
You should always have at least one cup of liquid when cooking chicken in the Instant Pot.
Using a trivet helps keep the chicken above the broth and prevents it from boiling. It’s highly recommended for more even cooking and better texture.
Absolutely! This Instant Pot chicken shreds beautifully and works great for meal prep, tacos, salads, sandwiches, or casseroles.
Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
Equipment
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 cup Zesty Italian Salad Dressing
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 4 tablespoons Montreal Chicken Seasoning (or your favorite chicken seasoning)
- Kosher salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Place chicken in a large Ziploc bag. Add Italian salad dressing and garlic. Seal plastic bag. Move chicken around in the marinade to get an even coating, then place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
- Combine chicken seasoning, salt and pepper in a medium-size bowl.
- Drain marinade from chicken and discard. Add chicken breasts to bowl of seasoning. Coat the chicken breasts with the seasoning.
- Set Instant Pot to "sauté" and spray with cooking spray. When the Instant Pot becomes hot, place each chicken breast on the bottom of the pot and sear for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Remove chicken from Instant Pot and pour chicken broth in the bottom of the pot to deglaze, scraping any browned bits off the bottom if needed. Cancel the saute function.
- Place trivet in the bottom of the pot over the broth. Place the lid on the instant pot. Switch the valve to "sealing". Set instant pot to "Manual" and set to high pressure for 6 minutes (if cooking larger chicken breasts you may want to increase this time by 2-3 minutes).
- After it is finished cooking allow to natural release for 5 minutes before flipping the quick release to release the remaining pressure.
- Allow chicken to rest 3-4 minutes before slicing or shredding.
Video
Notes
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- If you’re using larger chicken breasts, add 2 to 3 minutes to the cooking time, and always be sure to check the internal temperature and make sure it’s at least 165 degrees.
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- Cooked chicken breasts can stay nice and fresh in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can also freeze cooked chicken breasts to be used later. They’ll stay in the freezer for about two months.
Nutrition Information
Recipes that Use Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
This juicy chicken recipe are delicious on their own with a side of potatoes or rice, but can also be used in several of our favorite recipes:
This is the best way to cook chicken breasts! It comes out flavorful and juicy, nom nom nom.
This was really good! So juicy and delicious!
YUMMY!
Just got an instant pot and your recipes look very doable. thank you! Really like your instructions!