This recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Breast is the BEST way to cook chicken breast in the Instant Pot. Whether using fresh or frozen chicken breasts, this recipe yields perfectly cooked, juicy chicken every single time with ease!
The Instant Pot reigns supreme when it comes to cooking rice, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, chicken stock, and dried beans perfectly.
But cooking chicken breast so that it stays, juicy, tender and flavorful, can be a bit more tricky.
Thankfully, after 20 plus tries, I perfected the process! And while I have shared many Instant Pot recipes using chicken breasts over the years, THIS is the original recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Breast! It will likely become a staple in your house, just as it is mine!
Reasons to Love This Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe
- The Original Trusted Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe. Originally published in 2017, millions of happy readers have used this recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Breast time and time again!
- Perfect Results. This basic recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Breast, along with Instant Pot Chicken Thighs and Instant Pot Whole Chicken, uses a fool-proof method to ensure that your pressure-cooked chicken isn't ever tough, rubbery, or dried-out!
- Fresh or Frozen. Whether your chicken breast is fresh or frozen solid, you can use this recipe to safely cook juicy, tender chicken breasts.
- Perfected Timing. This recipe for instant pot chicken breast includes timing based on the size of the individual chicken breast, ensuring perfect customized results.
- Versatile. This is a basic recipe for chicken breast that can be used for for meal-prep, for shredded chicken, or used for recipes calling for cooked chicken.
Notes on Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts: This recipe works with fresh or frozen chicken breast. If your chicken breasts are frozen together, I suggest placing them in a bowl of cold water for a couple of minutes until you can break them apart into individual breasts. This will ensure they cook cook evenly.
- Pineapple Juice: The key ingredient to my recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Breast that makes it SO much better than any other recipe is PINEAPPLE JUICE! The pineapple juice may sound like an odd addition for cooking savory chicken breast, but it adds a nice subtle flavor to the chicken and more importantly, the pineapple juice helps to tenderize the chicken. However, if you don't have pineapple juice on hand use store-bought chicken stock, homemade chicken stock, or Instant Pot chicken stock.
- Seasonings: Salt and minced garlic are the perfect complements to the chicken and pineapple. But you can use Seasoned Salt, Taco Seasoning, or any other combination of your favorite seasoning blends to amp up the flavor if desired.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Breast
The following steps and tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post or you can follow along as I make this dish in the video below.
- Place the chicken breasts into the inner pot of the instant pot and season the chicken with salt.
- Pour the pineapple juice, or chicken broth, over the chicken and top with minced garlic.
- Place the lid on the instant pot and be sure the vent knob is pointed towards sealed. Use the manual or pressure cook button, not the poultry button to set the cooking time.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before doing a quick release of pressure. Don't be tempted to do a quick release of pressure, natural pressure release is key to keeping your chicken breasts tender.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the liquid and let them rest for 5-10 minutes before serving or shredding. This also ensures they stay tender and juicy.
∗ How to Determine Cooking Time∗
You determine the cooking time for Instant Pot Chicken Breasts based on the size of individual breasts, not the total weight. Keep in mind it is best to cook chicken breasts that are approximately the same weight, so they all cook up evenly.
You don't need a kitchen scale to determine the weight of each chicken breast. Most organic chicken breasts will be about 6 ounces, most fresh chicken breasts you purchase at the grocery store are about 8 ounces, and bulk chicken breasts are typically about 10 ounces in size.
- For 6-ounce chicken breast:
- Fresh/Thawed: 6 minutes on high pressure
- Frozen: 10 minutes on high pressure
- For 8-ounce chicken breast:
- Fresh/Thawed: 7 minutes on high pressure
- Frozen: 11 minutes on high pressure
- For 10-ounce chicken breast:
- Fresh/Thawed: 8 minutes on high pressure
- Frozen: 12 minutes on high pressure
Serving Suggestions
While you can opt to serve Instant Pot Chicken Breast as the entree alongside Roasted Fingerling Potatoes or Cheesy Grits, I love using this recipe for meal-prep or in any recipe that calls for cooked chicken. Below are a few of my favorite suggestions.
- Slice the chicken breast and serve over a Greek salad or Caesar Salad for a light, yet hearty meal.
- Toss sliced or cubed chicken breast with BBQ sauce or Buffalo Sauce and use it to make a Buffalo Chicken Salad or BBQ Chicken Salad.
- Use cubed or shredded chicken to make a Chicken Salad Sandwich.
- Shred the chicken breast to use for Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Enchiladas, or Parmesan Chicken Casserole.
Storage Instructions
- Refrigerate: Once cooked and slightly cooled, store leftover cooked chicken breast in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: Freeze the chicken breast whole, sliced, or shredded, in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
FAQs on Instant Pot Chicken Breast
No, do not use the Poultry Setting. The poultry button is a PRE-Determined time based on AVERAGE chicken. Not chicken breast, not chicken thighs, not a whole chicken--just chicken. You need to control the time you cook your chicken breast yourself! Instead, I always recommend cooking on high pressure using the manual or pressure cook setting to adjust the cooking time yourself. Read more about Instant Pot Functions to know how to properly use your Instant Pot.
Chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit before being safe to consume. Once the cooking time has elapsed and pressure has been released, check the internal temperature of your chicken breast. If less than 162 degrees F, place the lid back on the pressure cooker and cook for an additional 2-5 minutes on high pressure. If the chicken has reached 162 degrees F, it should reach 165 degrees F as it rests.
Pressure cook the chicken as recipe directs. Once the cooking time has elapsed and pressure has been released, remove the chicken breast from the instant pot and place it into a large mixing bowl along with ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Shred the chicken, using two forks, a handheld mixer at medium speed, or a stand mixer at low speed. Alternatively, you can shred the chicken right in the inner pot of your instant pot using 2 forks or a handheld mixer.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings
- Instant Pot Marry Me Chicken
If you enjoyed this Instant Pot Chicken Breast recipe, please be sure to take the time to leave a comment and a review.
Instant Pot Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 to 1½ cups pineapple juice or chicken broth see recipe notes
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
Instructions
- Place the chicken breast into the inner pan of the Instant Pot. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with kosher salt. Pour the pineapple juice over the chicken breast and add the minced garlic. (Use 1 cup of liquid for a 3 or 6-quart Instant Pot and 1½ cups of liquid for an 8-quart Instant Pot.)
- Close the lid and turn the vent to the closed (sealed) position.
- Set the cooking time using the manual or pressure cook button BASED on the size of the individual chicken breast, not the TOTAL weight. For 6-ounce chicken breast: 6 minutes on high pressure for fresh/thawed or 10 minutes on high pressure for frozen. For 8-ounce chicken breast: 7 minutes on high pressure for fresh/thawed or 11 minutes on high pressure for frozen. For 10-ounce chicken breast: 8 minutes on high pressure for fresh/thawed or 12 minutes on high pressure for frozen.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release naturally on its own for at least 10 minutes. Then do a quick release of pressure if needed.
- Remove the chicken from the liquid and rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve as desired.
Chris
The pineapple juice is magic! Frozen chicken breasts were cooked perfectly, and were so flavorful. Thank you for this recipe!
Kristen Chidsey
You are SO SO welcome! I am so glad you enjoyed the pineapple juice as much as we do here.
Kim
I’m new to IP. I have an 8 qt Duo model. My instructions say you must always have 500 mL of liquid (that’s approx 2 cups). But I frequently see recipes (including this one) that only have 1 cup of liquid. Do I need more liquid since I have an 8 qt?
Kristen Chidsey
No, you do not need a full 2 cups of liquid. 1 cup will work in most instances, but I find 1.5 cups is best for an 8 quart.
Cara
Thanks so much for putting these tips together, because I couldn't decide how long to cook chicken breast for the first time. I was a bit of a loss after seeing a few approaches online. Yours worked well for as a simple chicken breast recipe to try in my Instant Pot mini with some frozen (slightly thawed) chicken I had on hand. Thanks again!!
Krissy Allori
This is the absolute best instant pot chicken breast recipe I've found. You have so much great info in this post. Thank you for including so many tips and tricks!
Kristen Chidsey
Thank you so much Krissy! I really try to make my posts as informative as possible.
Steph
I just tried these chicken breasts and it didn't work out so well so wondering what happened. I had 6 frozen breasts organic and I did poultry for 12 mins. Natural release for 5. 2 of the breasts needed more time - they had raw boots and the others were super over cooked. I will say that the pineapple juice was inspired. The flavor is fantastic but the texture is just so dry. Any suggestions? I used the 6qt IP.
Kristen Chidsey
Oh no Steph! I am sorry this recipe did not work for you. Were your chicken breasts frozen solid together? That sounds like the case to me, as then they would not cook evenly. I am sorry for your hassle though.
Steph
Ahh that makes sense. Thank you! I get them pre-frozen so can't split them up. Any suggestions?
Kristen Chidsey
Hey Steph, Yes, if you can't split your chicken breasts up, I would run them under cold water just long enough to pry them apart--this usually only takes a minute or two. And be sure to use cold water, so hot water doesn't start to cook the chicken 🙂
D
I tried to find in previous comments and failed. Any changes to use 5 lbs of half frozen chicken breast bone in or just follow your recipe and add 5 more minutes of cook time?
Kristen Chidsey
I there! For bone-in skin on, I would actually do 15 minutes on high pressure for frozen chicken breasts. And 5 minutes natural pressure release.
Joanna
I can't recall if I commented when I first made this or not, but this is awesome and super simple! After cooking was done I removed the chicken from the pot, shredded it and returned it to the pot with the pineapple juice. I then set the instant pot to saute and reduced the liquid down to concentrate the flavours. Delicious.
Kristen Chidsey
Oh Joanna, thank you for sharing!! I am so happy that you love this recipe. We used it all the time at my house 🙂
Savannah Cooper-Hughes
This worked really well for us! The chicken was cooked through after 10 min cook time. I had 4 large non-organic breasts that had been thawed in the microwave for 3 to 5 minutes so they didn't go in as one chunj. I don't think the texture is as great as fresh chicken, but that could be related to microwave thawing, and it was still good. A small price to pay for frozen to dinner ready chicken in 28 minutes total!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Savannah! So in the future, I would just put the frozen chicken breasts right into the Instant Pot and then if frozen solid into one clump increase the time by 2 minutes--and then test temperature to see if done after time has elapsed. If not cooked through, reseal, and set on manual for another 2-3 minutes. The texture will be completely different when you do any cooking/thawing in microwave 🙂
Karen
Delicious. Used two frozen Trader Joe’s boneless skinless breasts and one thigh same. 6 oz can Pineapple juice and 2 tsp garlic infused oil (low fodmap) S&P. Followed timing and settings exactly. Perfect. Had with brown rice and steamed broccoli juice over all. 5 stars.
Kristen Chidsey
Wonderful Karen! I love that you used garlic infused oil too. Low Foodmap can help a lot of people. Have a great day.
marcia
Had very large chicken breasts, frozen solid, cook time was perfect. Delicious flavoring. Thank you for the recipe.
Kristen Chidsey
You bet Marcia! So glad you enjoyed.
Noah
This looks like it will be a healthy weeknight staple. I can't wait to try this.
Since you have experimented so much, have you tried throwing in some frozen veges from a bag? I imagine some adjustments will need to be made. I plan on using thawed thawed breasts and dump some frozen veges in there with it. Have you tried that?
thank you for sharing this technique!
Kristen Chidsey
Hey Noah! So frozen veggies only need about 1-2 minutes to cook. So I would place your thawed chicken breast into your pressure cooker with the liquid and set to high pressure for 5 minutes (if really large chicken breasts, do 7 minutes). Do a quick release and add in frozen veggies. Set on high for 1 minute and let naturally release. That should work. Enjoy!
Corrie
I HATE RAW MEAT WITH A PASSION, but I had 3 pounds of raw Costco organic chicken in the freezer. This recipe worked perfectly! I cooked it on 12 minutes on high. I skipped the salt, though, and regretted it. Don't skip the salt! Thanks for posting!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so so glad this worked out for you Corrie. And yes, salt is needed 😉
Neeta
I received my IP just after Christmas. I’m a new mom, at the time my son is only a month old. As I loved cooking also I love to spend more time with my baby. Most of the time I got frustrated if I can’t finish preparing the food before my husband arrive. But thanks to the IP, no more frustration I can set the timer in my IP and it will do the job for me while I can spend more time with my baby and serve delicious meal. With the IP is like I hired a helper and the good part is I don’t have to pay. So excited to explore more on IP.
Kristen Chidsey
YES!!! I am so so happy for you that the Instant Pot has allowed you to cook wholesome meals and still be present for your baby. It is quite a wonderful tool. I hope you follow along with me on my Instant Pot journey and I can help you fall more in love with you IP 🙂 Enjoy your sweet baby!
You can subscribe to stay up to date with just my IP recipes here: http://bit.ly/2GoRO5X
Amanda
I had rather large breasts, partially frozen so I did 12 minutes, natural release. I also cooked 6 of them. When I flipped one over, the top of one was still raw. I freaked because some of the others were around 165 degrees so I didn't want to dry them out. But I turned the pot back on for 2 minutes anyways and then did a 5 minute NPR and they were SO amazing! Tender, not dry and not chewy. I'm sure my initial error was too much frozen meat.
And using the mixer to shred--life changing. I made chicken quesadillas and they were the best we've ever had. And a ton of meat to freeze. I am so excited!!
Kristen Chidsey
OH YAY!!! Amanda this makes me SO SO happy that you loved this chicken so much. That hand held mixer tip is pretty incredible--isn't it 🙂 And yes, my guess is that your chicken was larger--but so glad you did NOT freak out and tried again with success. That confidence will help you make so many more thing in the Instant Pot.
Barb
My organic grocer packages chicken breast is 1lb packages. How much liquid / time for cooking only 1lb of frozen breasts. There is there is usually 2-3 breasts per 1lb package.
Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Barb, 1 cup still works best for this recipe 🙂 I find that for ALL pressure cooking recipes at least 1 cup of liquid helps the chicken turn out perfectly.
Alison
Cooked 3 lbs of frozen chicken breast for 10 min w/ chicken stock, after 5 min release there were still raw looking spots & temp of 118. What am I doing wrong with this thing. I keep followers recipes but my meat hardly ever turns out right!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so sorry you are having issues Alison. There are a few things I addressed in the tips of this post that may help. First, my chicken breasts were pretty thin as they were organic, if your chicken was conventional or thicker breasts, I recommend increasing the time 2-3 minutes. So that right there may be all you need to do. 3 minutes dosen't sound like a lot of time, but in IP world it is.
Also, be sure to use cold pineapple juice and if your chicken breasts were frozen in one chunk, you may need to increase the time by 7-8 minutes. Hope these tips help! Once you learn the nuiances of pressure cooking, you will LOVE it!