About this Recipe

I grew up with a Mother and a Grandmother who liked to reeeaaaalllly cook their chicken...you know, to make sure we did not get e-coli or salmonella or one of those other ‘raw chicken’ things. Of course food safety and hygiene is important and food poisoning is serious business. What that meant though is that we grew up with, in some people’s opinions (like my Grandpa) … DRY chicken. This Instant Pot chicken recipe saves the day for we home chefs who grew up with a little bit of resistance around serving chicken that did not feel like feel like jerky.

An easy chicken breast recipe is a great thing when you want to add some protein and heartiness to your meal. In total in the Instant Pot this entire recipe still takes about 20 minutes. The cooking only takes 10, but then you need to let the steam release the chicken to rest before serving. So theoretically, you could bake it in nearly the same amount of time.

In cases like this, it all depends on what else you are preparing for your dinner recipe or if you would rather use the Instant Pot or your oven. The one thing I will say about this recipe is that the chicken is MOIST. Not dried out at all.

Grandmothers’ TIPS for How to Cook Chicken Breasts in an Instant Pot

1. Stay home when you are cooking with the instant pot. It is a high pressure cooker and so it is important to stay around. The great news is that meals are so quickly cooked that you would barely have time to go anywhere anyways!

2. Always use enough liquid in an Instant Pot. Instant Pots need 1 to 1.5 cups of liquid to get to and maintain pressure for cooking. You can use any kinds of liquid, but just be sure to use liquid.

3. Find the MAX FILL line on your Instant Pot and make sure that you keep your ingredients below this line.

4. Never put our face or skin above the lid when it is opening or the steam hole when it is being released.

5. NEVER force the lid open.

6. Locking the lid properly is important before any pressure cooking.

7. Refer your Instant Pot before cooking for more safety instructions.

8. Learn more and get your own Instant Pot.

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Ingredients

(Print)

Makes: 2 servings

2 large chicken breasts (fresh or frozen)

1 cup chicken stock

1 garlic clove chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Place the chicken breasts , salt, garlic and salt into the instant pot.

2. Place the lid on the Instant pot and turn the vent valve to ‘sealing’. Cook over manual high pressure for 10 minutes.

3. Allow to release naturally for 5 minutes and then do a quick release.

4. Remove the chicken breasts and place on a dish.

5. Let sit for 5-10 minutes then slice. The chicken slices beautifully and you can use in whatever method you choose.

6. Use a strainer and pour the liquid into a bowl. Set aside. Save this juice to use with a recipe of your choice. Once cooled you can freeze the broth in a ziploc bag.

Tip: For fresh chicken cook for 6 minutes per pound in the instant pot.

Try the cooked chicken breasts in our Cheesy Chicken Pasta Recipe.

ENJOY!

Return to this How to Cook Chicken Breasts in an Instant Pot recipe or check out more recipes at Grandmother's Kitchen

This easy dinner idea for a chicken breast recipe takes about 20 minutes in total. This chicken breast recipe makes delicious chicken, not too dry and thoroughly cooked. This chicken breast recipe can be the main dish for your family-friendly meal ideas, with some vegetables on the side. Or you might try adding the cooked chicken breasts to the cheesy chicken pasta recipe. Whatever you choose this chicken breast recipe will save you time in the kitchen and makes an easy dinner idea.

One small chicken breast (about 100grams) has about 39grams of protein, which is nearly 80% of the daily recommended intake of protein, and is a very good source of B Vitamins.(1)

Understanding your choices from Chicken Farmers of Canada: 1) Organic chickens must follow the standards of the Canadian General Standards Board as well as the Organic certification board. Organic chicken must be fed organic feed that does not have animal by products, antibiotics, or any other supplementation that does not meet the cerfication body. 2) Free range chickens MUST be allowed access to the outdoors. There is no legal definition of free range in Canada, however, so this can vary from farm to farm. 3) Free run chickens do not necessarily need to be raised outside, but they must be allowed to move freely in their barn. Technically, in Canada, all chickens are considered free run. 4) Halal, if you can find it, implies that the animals are well rested and handled in a way that minimizes suffering.(2)

References: (1) Nutrient profile From Health Canada- Chicken, broiler, breast, skinless, boneless, meat, grilled /(Date modified:2018-02-06) Retrieved from: https://food-nutrition.canada.ca/cnf-fce/report-rapport.do

(2) Wheel of Chicken: Understanding your choices from Chicken Farmers of Canada. (December 12, 2018) Retrieved from: http://www.chickenfarmers.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Wheel-of-Chicken_final.pdf