12 Easy Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
When you're looking for something quick and easy to make on a weeknight, the Instant Pot is here to answer the call. An Instant Pot offers a modern upgrade to the classic slow cooker, boasting multiple settings ranging from slow cooking to pressure cooking to even sautéing. As a result, the wealth of recipes you can concoct with little fuss is nearly endless.
While some foods aren't set to their best advantage by an Instant Pot, such as steaks or cream sauces that might split, there are several benefits of using an Instant Pot to cook chicken, not the least of which is the time you'll save. According to recipe developer Susan Olayinka, roasting a whole chicken takes just over an hour in the Instant Pot, as compared to 1½ to 2 hours in the oven, and the result is just as delicious if not more so. Ready to give it a go? Here are some of the best Instant Pot chicken recipes to get you started.
Instant Pot Chicken
Your Instant Pot is the perfect batch-cooking tool, and chicken breasts are one of the perfect contenders for a starring role in your bagged lunches for the week ahead. Seasoned with salt and pepper and pressure cooked with chicken broth for just eight minutes, these Instant Pot chicken breasts come out juicy and flavorful, ready to be shredded and enjoyed with romaine and Caesar dressing in a salad or wrap, tossed with mayo for a yummy chicken salad, or gently reheated in barbecue sauce for an easy sandwich filling.
Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken
Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
Believed to be of Mughal origin, chicken biryani was once reserved for the nobility. Today, it's far more democratized, made by frying rice — and often meat — in aromatic spices before steaming it on the stovetop or in the oven. For this version, recipe developer Ting Dalton takes advantage of the Instant Pot to make a yogurt-marinated biryani for ultra-tender chicken. It may not be 100% traditional, but it more than delivers on flavor.
Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Biriyani
Instant Pot Japanese Curry
If the only curry you've ever tried is Indian, it's time to broaden your horizons — and this Instant Pot Japanese curry is an excellent place to start. Japanese curries have a slightly different flavor profile than Indian ones, according to recipe developer Kristen Carli, who characterizes them as both sweeter and milder than their South Asian cousins. And using store-bought Japanese curry paste means that most of the seasoning work is already done for you.
Recipe: Instant Pot Japanese Curry
Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken
If you love Chinese takeout but want to cut costs (or calories), making your own version at home is a great option. And we can think of no better contender than kung pao chicken, a common fave that's typically stir-fried and served in a sweet-and-savory sauce. The sauté function helps the aromatics develop some flavor and depth, and a cornstarch slurry added right at the end helps that flavorful sauce cook up thick and velvety smooth.
Recipe: Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken
Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Chicken
Bone-in chicken thighs form the base of this luxurious, creamy Instant Pot chicken dish that's sure to become a new household favorite. Chicken is seared to bring out its best flavor thanks to the magical powers of the Maillard reaction. This also creates a base for a rich sauce made with garlic, mushrooms, and chicken broth. Sour cream and Parmesan add richness to the resulting sauce that's just begging to be soaked up with a hunk of crusty bread.
Instant Pot Whole Roasted Chicken
Susan Olayinka concocted this revolutionary recipe to make a roast chicken in a fraction of the time as in the oven — and with a fraction of the mess. The Instant Pot trivet helps the chicken cook evenly on all sides, and it's ready to serve after just over an hour. The only downside? In the Instant Pot, the chicken skin doesn't crisp up nearly as well as in the oven. To remedy this, transfer the chicken to the broiler for the last few minutes of cooking, or remove the skin and shred the chicken to use in chicken salad or sandwiches.
Chinese-Inspired Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
If you like the sweet-and-sour flavors of classic American Chinese food, you'll love this simple Chinese-inspired Instant Pot chicken thighs recipe, which sees chicken wings cooked in a savory sauce made with minced garlic, honey, ketchup, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. With the ideal marriage of salty, sweet, and sour, this sauce is a surefire crowd-pleaser — and it's as easy to make as stirring all the ingredients together in a bowl.
Quick Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
It's hard to compete with the comforting flavors of Southern classic chicken and dumplings, but making it from scratch is quite a time-intensive endeavor. Rely instead on this quick Instant Pot chicken and dumplings recipe, which is on the table in under half an hour. Chicken thighs are paired with buttermilk dumplings and a gravy whose secret ingredient — a drizzle of Worcestershire sauce — makes it taste like it's been cooking for hours, not mere minutes.
Instant Pot Chicken Broth
Homemade chicken broth has so much more depth of flavor than store-bought, and making it from scratch means that you get to control the quality of all of the ingredients. Plus, relying on the leftovers from your organic roast chicken means you cut down on food waste, a rampant problem that we need to solve starting at home. Start developing a habit of keeping carrot ends, celery leaves, mushroom stems, or onion skins in a bag in the freezer, so that you can add them to this broth and reap all of their goodness.
Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Broth
Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken cacciatore is a classic of Italian cuisine, a rustic dish named for the hunters who would often prepare it. In this Instant Pot chicken cacciatore recipe from recipe developer Jamie Monkkonen, richly flavored chicken thighs are combined with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and tomato for a chunky gravy flavored with assertive smoked paprika and a touch of white wine. After just 15 minutes on high pressure, this chicken is ready to serve over pasta, garnished with mozzarella for a luxurious cheese pull.
Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
This beautiful main dish tastes like you've been slaving over a hot stove all day but only takes 40 minutes from start to finish. A base of nutty brown rice is cooked in savory chicken broth with a touch of thyme and a splash of white wine, the ideal base for tender, juicy chicken breasts. This resulting dish is just begging to be paired with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc — and luckily, you'll already have a bottle open!
Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot Chicken Madras
Contrary to popular belief, while indeed named after an Indian city now known as Chennai, chicken Madras is actually an English invention. On the hotter end of the spectrum, this recipe is even easier to prepare if you've already got a well-stocked spice cupboard; after all, it requires quite a few bottles. Turmeric, garam masala, cumin, coriander, salt, white pepper, and hot chili powder join an aromatic paste made by blending onion, fresh red chili, ginger, and garlic to season this tomato-based curry sure to please any spicehead.
Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Madras