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
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!
Thanks! 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:)
That’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!
The 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?
Yes! Olive oil would work great!! We laugh about that story too. One of those memories we won’t ever forget!! ?
Would really like to know what seasoning you used.
I use McCormick’s Montreal Chicken Seasoning. I talk in more detail about seasoning above in the text, in the tips section. 😊 thanks for commenting!!
Above 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?
Yes! Medium would be correct. Mine has less, normal and more! It’s silly that they aren’t the same!
What does deglaze the pot mean?
Hi 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/