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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. 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!
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!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!

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

  1. Turn your Instant Pot on Sauté, Normal. Melt butter in the Instant Pot.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Once the chicken has rested, take out of the Instant Pot and either enjoy, slice or shred!

 

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4.70 from 30 votes

Instant Pot Chicken Breast

All-Purpose Chicken Breast you can serve for dinner, or slice and freeze for later use!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 2 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!
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Karli

This blog is a little glimpse into my kitchen, family & life. I hope you’ll giggle the days away with me and enjoy the craziness that goes on at my house. If you are Cookie obsessed like I am, check out my Sister Site, Cookies for Days.

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Recipe Rating




31 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Best chicken breast EVER!! Needed quick chicken for dinner tonight and found your recipe. This will now be a staple. Thanks.

  2. I am so glad you found me!! ❤️❤️ Happy you enjoyed your dinner!

  3. I 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.

  4. Hi 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!

  5. 5 stars
    After 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.

  6. That 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!

  7. What 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?

  8. I use the 1 cup of water to deglaze the pot and then the same water is used to cook the chicken.

  9. Would 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!

  10. I occasionally use chicken breast with the skin no bone. Will that work for this recipe too? Thanks!