Instant Pot Chicken Breast is a versatile chicken breast that is quick, easy and it literally melts in your mouth! Serve it for dinner or store it in the freezer until needed!
When Dan and I first were married. We were dirt poor (rich in love though!), so we did a lot of crazy things in order to spend less money than one normally would. (Like when we rigged up a washing machine OUTSIDE of our apartment.) One of the things that we did to save a buck, in Dan’s words, we ‘invested in a pair of hair clippers’.Did I know how to cut hair? Hard no. That didn’t rain on our parade though! We bought those Walmart clippers and then went home and got to work! I’ll always remember that first time I cut his hair. It took me well over an hour and it was bad. Like REAL bad. It was a ‘well, it’s winter so you can just wear a beanie, all the time for 3 weeks, right?’ bad. 
I am pleased to say, I have gotten much better ( and faster)! I have a routine now and it looks pretty much the same every time! Practice makes perfect! Aaaaand a cute husband. 😉
This chicken breast has a similar story. I tried, and tested. Then tested and tried! BUT, alas, I have found thee perfect chicken breast, and it is easy, to boot! I always have some of this stocked away in the freezer then if I am in a bind and need a quick meal, it is there waiting just like the loyal friend it is.
When I prep it, I always make 2 breasts. I slice one, and then shred the other. I love to put the sliced chicken on top of Alfredo, in a salad, or on pizza! I use the shredded chicken in chicken salad or a variety of other dishes. It is just so handy to have some in the freezer at a moment’s notice!
Here are some Pro chicken breast tips:
- Make sure your chicken breast is no thicker than 1 inch. If it is, put it in a baggie and use your rolling pin to make it 1 inch thick. (Or you know, you could use a meat mallet. That works too.)
- Season, season season! You generally need to season more than you would regularly when using a pressure cooker. McCormick’s Montreal Chicken Seasoning is my favorite.
- Sear on both sides and then remember 5-5-5. Five minute cook time, 5 minute NPR, 5 minute rest.
- When slicing the chicken, a sharp knife is a MUST! I wrote about my favorite knifes in this post. If you want to be knife buddies, this is the one I love.
- The best and easiest way to shred chicken is in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Just try it. You’ll be amazed.
Instant Pot Chicken Breast
All-Purpose Chicken Breast you can serve for dinner, or slice and freeze for later use!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts 1 inch thick
- seasonings of your choice
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot on Sauté, Normal. Melt butter in the Instant Pot.
- While the butter is melting, make sure the chicken breasts are 1 inch in thickness. If they are too thick, put them in a zip top bag and use your rolling pin to flatten them a bit. Generously season one side of the breast.
- Once the butter has melted, add the chicken breasts, seasoned side DOWN, to the Instant Pot. Season the side facing up (the unseasoned side). Let the chicken brown for 5-7 minutes on each side.
- Remove chicken breasts from the Instant Pot and deglaze the pot with the water. Once the pot has been deglazed, insert the trivet, place the chicken breasts onto the trivet.
- Cook on Manual, HIGH for 5 minutes. Allow for a 5 minute NPR then quick release the rest of the pressure. Take lid off, but let chicken sit and rest for another 5 minutes.
- Once the chicken has rested, take out of the Instant Pot and either enjoy, slice or shred!
Instant Pot Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, 1 inch thick
- seasonings of your choice
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot on Sauté, Normal. Melt butter in the Instant Pot.
- While the butter is melting, make sure the chicken breasts are 1 inch in thickness. If they are too thick, put them in a zip top bag and use your rolling pin to flatten them a bit. Generously season one side of the breast.
- Once the butter has melted, add the chicken breasts, seasoned side DOWN, to the Instant Pot. Season the side facing up (the unseasoned side). Let the chicken brown for 5-7 minutes on each side.
- Remove chicken breasts from the Instant Pot and deglaze the pot with the water. Once the pot has been deglazed, insert the trivet, place the chicken breasts onto the trivet.
- Cook on Manual, HIGH for 5 minutes. Allow for a 5 minute NPR then quick release the rest of the pressure. Take lid off, but let chicken sit and rest for another 5 minutes.
- Once the chicken has rested, take out of the Instant Pot and either enjoy, slice or shred!
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Mac says
March 9, 2018 at 4:14 amThanks! I always overcook chicken breasts in the IP. Would I change anything if I wanted to cook more than 2 at a time? My growing family eats a lot:)
karlibitner says
March 9, 2018 at 7:01 amThat’s a great question. I haven’t ever cooked more than 2 at a time. Do you have another trivet or rack you could use to separate the chicken breasts? If they are still in a single layer that is about 1 inch thick, you should be okay sticking to the same time. If you’re stacking the chicken on top of each other, you may need to add more time. Let me know how it goes!
Heather says
March 29, 2018 at 4:31 pmThe story about you cutting Dan’s hair the first time made me laugh!! I can’t have dairy so I typically sub in olive oil for butter. Do you think that will work ok for this recipe?
karlibitner says
March 29, 2018 at 5:17 pmYes! Olive oil would work great!! We laugh about that story too. One of those memories we won’t ever forget!! ?
Sara Flickinger says
April 21, 2018 at 5:03 amWould really like to know what seasoning you used.
karlibitner says
April 21, 2018 at 6:00 amI use McCormick’s Montreal Chicken Seasoning. I talk in more detail about seasoning above in the text, in the tips section. ? thanks for commenting!!
Dee says
April 21, 2018 at 8:26 amAbove you mentioned turning the ip on normal during the sauté function at the beginning. Mine has a low, medium, high. Should I pick medium then?
karlibitner says
April 21, 2018 at 8:33 amYes! Medium would be correct. Mine has less, normal and more! It’s silly that they aren’t the same!
Bobbie says
May 8, 2018 at 11:20 amWhat does deglaze the pot mean?
karlibitner says
May 8, 2018 at 12:23 pmHi Bobbie! To deglaze means using a liquid on the saute setting to get all of the stuck bits of food off of the bottom of the liner. If you ever brown meat before pressure cooking, you will have to deglaze the liner. If the liner isn’t deglazed you will end up with the burn notice. Check out this post all about the IP Lingo if you have other questions! https://cookingwithkarli.com/instant-pot-lingo/
Onalee says
May 29, 2018 at 3:45 pmBest chicken breast EVER!! Needed quick chicken for dinner tonight and found your recipe. This will now be a staple. Thanks.
karlibitner says
May 29, 2018 at 3:53 pmI am so glad you found me!! ❤️❤️ Happy you enjoyed your dinner!
Shelley says
June 10, 2018 at 2:46 pmI want to try out your recipe, but I have thin sliced chicken breasts (about 1/4″). Should I decrease the time for saute & cooking? Maybe by a minute each? Thanks.
karlibitner says
June 10, 2018 at 3:00 pmHi Shelley! I would decrease the time by a minute or two each like you said. That should work great! ? maybe decrease by 2 minutes and then if they aren’t quite done you could just bring the pot back Instant Pot to pressure again? I would be really surprised if they weren’t done though. ? hope this helps!
SandyToes says
July 15, 2018 at 5:01 pmAfter last night’s success with your Dump and Push Start Instant Pot Alfredo (thank you!) I decided to try this chicken tonight. The extra step of sautéing provides SO much more flavor than simply steaming and is absolutely worth the few minutes it takes! I scaled the recipe for two and replaced the water with homemade chicken broth to make gravy. I mean, why waste all that fond in the bottom of the pot, amiright?
Salt, pepper, thyme and oregano were perfect seasonings for the chicken. After the chicken was done I added a little more butter, brought the liquid to a quick boil and whisked in some Wondra flour. Bingo, amazing chicken gravy! Thanks for yet another winning recipe, Karli. I’m really enjoying your recipes and can’t wait to try more.
karlibitner says
July 15, 2018 at 8:47 pmThat sounds perfect! Now all we need to do is figure out how to make mashed potatoes at the same time! ? thanks for all of your kind words, Sandy!
Elizabeth says
July 25, 2018 at 9:56 amWhat do you do with the 1 cup of water? Is that the water you use to deglaze with? Once you deglaze do you empty the water or use it to cook the chicken?
karlibitner says
July 25, 2018 at 10:03 amI use the 1 cup of water to deglaze the pot and then the same water is used to cook the chicken.
Wendy says
July 25, 2018 at 3:23 pmWould this work for frozen chicken breasts? I buy a frozen 10-pound bag of thin-sliced chicken breasts at Costco and ALWAYS forget to defrost them!
karlibitner says
July 25, 2018 at 5:14 pmHi Wendy! How thick are the thin sliced chicken breasts? I haven’t tested this with frozen chicken. When I have tossed frozen chicken in my Instant Pot from time to time I have found that it takes a few more minutes than thawed chicken. You could sure try though! I would add on a few minutes of cook time and try that. Sorry I can’t tell you for sure!
Kathryn Dudley says
July 25, 2018 at 3:37 pmI occasionally use chicken breast with the skin no bone. Will that work for this recipe too? Thanks!
karlibitner says
July 25, 2018 at 5:22 pmHi Kathryn! I haven’t ever tried so I can’t say for sure. I think if you made sure that the skin-on chicken breast was 1 inch thick it should work the same as skinless chicken breasts. If you do try it out, let me know how it goes!
Marylou says
July 26, 2018 at 8:49 amHow can I make frozen chicken breast?
What if they’re over an inch thick?
karlibitner says
July 26, 2018 at 9:47 amHi Marylou! I haven’t throughly tested frozen chicken breasts yet. When I do toss them in, I usually cook them right in the chicken broth for 25 min HP 10 min NPR.
Frozen chicken is tricky because all are different sizes and thicknesses which require different cook times. I have had the most success with the timing up above. Hope this helps!!
Donna says
November 1, 2018 at 2:54 pmHow much seasoning do you use for two breasts?
karlibitner says
November 3, 2018 at 11:12 pmHi Donna- I don’t ever measure the seasoning, I just shake on enough to give the chicken breast a nice coating. Hope this helps a little!
Heather says
February 13, 2019 at 12:54 pmOk Karli, I am not an intuitive cook so I’m hoping you can help me. My chicken breasts were still pink inside and the outside was crispy by 5 minutes on sauté so I tried butterflying the breasts and cooking them until the whole breast was done and then pressure cooked them. After they had rested 5 min I dug in and the breasts were crazy dry! My question is do I need to make sure that the meat is fully cooked after sautéing or will pressure cooking them after sauté take care of any raw meat in the center? Cooking is such a mystery to me!!
karlibitner says
February 14, 2019 at 5:09 amHey Heather! So the pressure cooking is what will cook the chicken all the way through. Browning both sides at the beginning helps lock in the moisture & gives the chicken a nice flavor. The browning is not meant to cook the chicken all the way through, the pressure cooking will do that. Give it another shot! ❤️