Instant Pot Chicken Breasts: The BEST way to make chicken breasts in the pressure cooker–perfectly cooked, juicy chicken breast EVERY SINGLE TIME!
Can we all just admit that many nights cooking is HARD?!!!
Between working and shuffling kids to and from activities or shuffling yourself to and from meetings, life can get SO busy and dedicating time to cooking wholesome meals can go by the wayside.
This does NOT have to be case!
With a few simple strategies and the help of EASY Instant Pot Recipes, you can ALWAYS have time to get dinner on the table for your family.
Instant Pot Chicken Breast
Having a large batch of cooked chicken breast in the fridge or freezer is one of my BEST staples to get quick meals on the table, as sliced or shredded chicken is the base for so many delicious recipes.
I love to make Rotisserie Chickens or Roasted Chicken Breast in large quantities, but if I am 100% honest, I may not always plan ahead and it is 5 o’clock and my family is in meltdown mode because we are HANGRY! Or we are pulling in our driveway after a long day.
This is when I pull out my trusty Instant Pot.
I view this piece of equipment as my secret weapon. Within minutes, I can have rice, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, chicken stock, or beans all cooked to perfection.
But what about IP Chicken?
Chicken Breast can always be a bit more tricky to cook to juicy perfection.
After 20 something tries, I have perfected perfectly cooked chicken breast in the pressure cooker!
Perfect Instant Pot Chicken Breast
There is a secret to my IP Chicken Breast that makes it SO much better than any other recipe for pressure cooker chicken breast.
PINEAPPLE JUICE!
Pineapple juice adds just the right sweetness to the chicken and paired with some garlic and salt and pepper, this chicken is truly tasty and perfect even in savory dishes like my Creamy Cheesy Chicken and Rice. Of course, you can use chicken stock if you don’t have pineapple juice!
Pressure Cooking Frozen Chicken Breasts
For Frozen Chicken Breasts
- Place frozen chicken breasts in the inner pot of instant pot.
- Add in 1 cup pineapple juice or chicken stock.
- Season with salt and garlic powder.
- Set pressure cooker to 10 minutes on high pressure and turn the valve to seal in the steam.
- It will take longer for your pressure cooker to reach pressure due to meat being frozen, but it should not be longer than 12 minutes.
- Once cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, and do a quick release.
- Remove the meat from the liquid and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
If your chicken breasts are frozen together, I suggest placing them in a bowl of cold water until you can break them apart into individual breasts. If you try to cook in one hunk, you will end up with over-cooked and under-cooked chicken.
Pressure Cooking Fresh Chicken Breasts
For Fresh Chicken Breasts (or Thawed Chicken Breast)
- Place chicken breasts in inner pot of instant pot.
- Add in 1 cup pineapple juice or chicken stock.
- Season with salt and garlic powder.
- Set pressure cooker to 6 minutes on high pressure and turn the valve to seal in the steam.
- It will take less than 10 minutes for your pressure cooker to reach pressure.
- Once cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, and do a quick release.
- Remove the meat from the liquid and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
What if Chicken Breast is Not Cooked?
Chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees before safe to consume. Once your cook time has elapsed and pressure has been released, chicken the internal temperature of your chicken breast. If less than 160 degrees, place the lid back on the pressure cooker and cook for an additional 2-5 minutes on high pressure.
If 160 degrees, your chicken breast will reach 165 degrees as it rests.
Size Matters
You determine cook time based on the size of individual breasts, not total pounds. This recipe was developed using organic chicken breasts which tend to run smaller than conventional chicken breasts.
- 6 ounce chicken breasts 6 minutes on high pressure for fresh/ 10 minutes on high pressure for frozen
- 8 ounce chicken breasts 7 minutes on high pressure for fresh/11 minutes on high pressure for frozen
- 10 ounce chicken breasts 8 minutes on high pressure for fresh/12 minutes on high pressure for frozen
As for how to determine size, 1 pound is 16 ounces. So if you had a pound and a half package that is a total of 24 ounces. If there are 4 chicken breasts, you would divide 24 by 4. This tells you each breast would weigh about 6 ounces each.
How to Serve Instant Pot Chicken Breast
You have three options for preparing your chicken breast for serving.
- Serve as a whole chicken breast.
- Slice up the chicken breast, as you would poached chicken.
- Shred Chicken Breast
Freeze Cooked IP Chicken
- Cook according to directions.
- Shred or slice chicken breasts as desired.
- Freeze in 1-2 cup portions to use as needed.
- Frozen cooked chicken breast will keep in the freezer for 3-6 months.
- Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
For Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
My preferred method for Instant Pot Chicken Breast is to shred the chicken once cooked. This makes it perfect for sandwiches, salads, casseroles, etc.
To Shred Instant Pot Chicken Breast
- Cook chicken as recipe directs.
- Once cook time has elapsed remove the chicken breast from instant pot and drain off all but 1/2 cooking liquid.
- Add chicken and reserved liquid back into the inner pot of pressure cooker and shred with a handheld mixer on medium speed. This trick works perfectly to shred chicken breasts in no time!
Recipes using Shredded Chicken
- Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice
- Chicken Pot Pie
- One Pot Healthy Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole
- Creamy Parmesan Chicken Casserole
No Poultry Button on Pressure Cooker?
You do not need a Poultry Function on your Instant Pot to cook Chicken. In fact, I don’t recommend using it EVEN if you have it.
The poultry button is a PRE-Determined time based on AVERAGE chicken. Not chicken breast, not chicken thighs–just chicken. You need to control the time you cook your chicken breast yourself!
Cook on manual setting on high pressure (that is the default setting for Poultry anyways!).
Read more about Instant Pot Functions to know how to properly use your Instant Pot.
A Few Notes on Perfectly Cooked Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- I use organic chicken breasts which tend to be much smaller than traditional chicken. If you use non-organic, just increase the cooking time by 2-3 minutes depending on how large your chicken breasts are.
- You ALWAYS need at least 1 cup of liquid in the pressure cooker for a 6 quart instant pot and 1.5 cups for an 8 quart instant pot. This is what allows the Instant Pot to build pressure. It does not matter if you are cooking 1 chicken breast or 6.
- Be sure to seal your vent on your pressure cooker for the correct amount of pressure to build.
- It is best to allow a natural release for 5 minutes, but a quick-release can be done if really in a rush.
- The pineapple juice adds so much flavor so don’t overlook that secret ingredient. But chicken stock and water both work in a pinch.
- If your chicken breasts are frozen together, I suggest placing them in a bowl of cold water until you can break them apart into individual breasts. If you try to cook in one hunk, you will end up with over-cooked and under-cooked chicken altogether.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
- How to Make a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot Chicken Stock
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (Frozen & Fresh)
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken breasts***
- 1 cup pineapple juice or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon if using chicken stock
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in pressure cooker.
- Close lid and turn vent to sealed.
- For Frozen Chicken, cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- For Fresh Chicken, cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.
- Allow to release naturally for 5 minutes, and then do a quick release if needed.
- Remove chicken from liquid and rest chicken for 5-10 minutes.
- Slice and serve or shred with 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
- Keeps in fridge for 3-4 days.
Okay , very easy to follow… can’t wait for more
YAY! I am so glad you had success with this!