Instant Pot Chicken Breast

Learn how long to cook chicken breast in the Instant Pot, and how to make sure it comes out juicy and flavorful every single time.

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Last week I shared my bruschetta chicken recipe, which I often make as a chicken prep on Sundays, and this week I’m sharing my Instant Pot chicken breast recipe.

I love to make chicken and rice on the weekends, so we can use them both in various meals throughout the week.

You can also use my crockpot chicken and potatoes recipe as a good chicken prep for the week.

This week I wanted to share a classic guide on how to cook chicken in an Instant Pot. I’ve been using my pressure cooker since 2019, and have learned so much.

There are plenty of Instant Pot chicken recipes out there, and even the most basic how-to’s left a lot to be desired in my opinion.

I mean, sure, you can cook chicken with water at the bottom of the Instant Pot.

Or, you can cook it without searing it first.

My only real question is why would you want to when you could make it flavorful and delicious?

You can definitely simplify when need be, but if I’m going to share a recipe, it’s going to be yummy. I just can’t bring myself to share something for simplicity’s sake.

There are so many cooking hacks that I swear by. I’m all about making quick dinners and simple family meals. With that being said, I just don’t feel the need to tell you the bare bones recipe for cooking chicken in a pressure cooker.

I suppose you could add 1 cup of water to the pot and throw some salt and pepper on your chicken breasts, cook for 5 minutes and call it a day.

I just can’t be the one that supplies that “recipe.” That’s the skeleton of a good pressure cooker chicken recipe, and my readers deserve more than the ABC’s of cooking.

Instead, let me show you how easy it can be to cook up some juicy chicken breasts in the Instant Pot.

Now, if you really needed to save time, you can skip the searing step, but I highly recommend it. I’ve tried it without and it felt more like boiled chicken, which just isn’t my personal favorite.

I do like to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot. That’s a perfect example of a time where searing isn’t appropriate.

How to Cook Chicken Breast in the Instant Pot

Step 1: Season the chicken

Season your chicken and set the Instant Pot on saute mode.

Step 2: Brown the chicken breasts

Add the olive oil to the Instant Pot and allow to heat. Sear the chicken breasts on both sides.

Step 3: Remove the chicken and add broth

Remove the chicken breasts from the Instant Pot and add the chicken broth. Use a spatula to scrape the bits off the bottom (Instant Pots are very sensitive to things being crusted to the bottom, and will stop with the “burn” warning at the slightest food stuck).

Add the trivet to the bottom of the Instant Pot.

Step 4: Add seared chicken back to the Instant Pot & cook

Add the chicken back to the pressure cooker on top of the trivet.

Set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook 5 minutes, and allow to naturally release for another 10 minutes.

Step 5: Move the valve to release remaining pressure

And voila! Your Instant Pot chicken breasts are done!

How do you cook your chicken breasts in the Instant Pot? Let me know in the comments below!

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