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Home > Instant Pot Recipes > Juicy Tender Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (Fresh Or Frozen) With Gravy

Juicy Tender Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (Fresh Or Frozen) With Gravy

Last updated August 9, 2021. Originally posted August 9, 2021 By Jyothi Rajesh 26 Comments

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juicy chicken breast cooked in instant pot served over mashed potato with text
instant pot chicken breasts on mashed potatoes with text
juicy tender chicken breasts cooked in instant pot served over mashed potatoes with text

Instant pot chicken breast gives you tender and juicy chicken every-single-time with both fresh and frozen chicken breasts. No more rubbery, bland chicken.

juicy moist chicken breasts cooked in instant pot served on top of mashed potatoes in white plate
Jump to:
  • Why you need to try this recipe
  • Ingredients you’ll need
  • How To Cook Chicken Breasts in Instant Pot?
  • Tips for cooking chicken breast in Instant Pot
  • FAQS
  • 📋 RECIPE: Juicy Tender Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (Fresh Or Frozen) With Gravy

Why you need to try this recipe

1. Cook fresh or frozen chicken breasts directly.

2. No need to thaw frozen chicken. No need to wait.

3. Hands-down the best and easiest way to cook chicken breasts be it fresh or frozen.

4. Cooking chicken breasts is probably one of the hardest, as it tends to end up dry super-fast. Using instant pot to cook chicken breasts gives you tender, juicy, mouth-watering chicken.

5. Our promise – no more rubbery bland chicken. Try this recipe for wonderfully moist, juicy and flavorful chicken.

6. Cooking in instant pot gives you hands-free cooking. Convenient, so easy!

7. With minimal prep work, using pantry ingredients you have dinner ready in 30 minutes (considering the time instant pot takes to build pressure inside and cook the breast).

8. Let’s not forget the flavors. Packed with amazing flavors, so you get flavorsome meal.
You have juicy, tender chicken and sensational gravy all made in the same pot.

9. Take the stress out of making dinner on busy weeknights. Because this recipe is super simple and takes very little effort.

10. Have frozen chicken breast in your freezer? Get a meal on to the table quickly.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here’s what you’ll need-

all ingredients to make instant pot chicken breasts

Chicken Breasts – This recipe works for both fresh and frozen chicken breasts. Frozen chicken will need more time compared to fresh chicken. Check below notes on how to cook frozen chicken breasts for more details.

Spices & Seasoning – Feel free to add your favorite spice to the recipe. Don’t forget to season breast with salt and freshly ground pepper.

We like to pack as much flavors in chicken breasts as possible. Bland and boring breasts is a big NO for us. With onion, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper and lots of Italian seasoning herbs packs breasts with amazing flavors.

Chicken Stock – Can use water. We highly recommend chicken stock, as it makes a sensational packed with flavor gravy that enhances the taste of chicken breasts in the best way possible.

Olive oil – Never miss out on searing chicken breasts first before placing it inside the pot to cook. Searing chicken breasts in olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes on both sides makes chicken absorb more flavors. If using frozen chicken, you won’t be able to sear it. Skip searing.

Please note, flour and water needed to make gravy in the end isn’t shown in the pic. Let’s assume it’s there. You don’t want to miss out the gravy!

How To Cook Chicken Breasts in Instant Pot?

  • Spice-Rub: In a small bowl combine all spices – onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, half of olive oil. Mix everything together.
  • Apply spice rub generously all over chicken breasts.
  • Sear Chicken: Set instant pot in SAUTE mode. Once it’s hot, add remaining olive oi. When oil is hot, place chicken in single layer and sear it for 2-3 minutes. Flip and sear other side as well.
  • Remove seared chicken from instant pot.
  • Cook Chicken: Pour chicken stock into the pot. Place the trivet and arrange seared chicken on top. Secure instant pot lid tight. Seal pressure valve in sealing position and set the instant pot on PRESSURE COOK mode, adjust timer for 5 minutes. Note – instant pot will take couple of minutes to build pressure inside before it starts cooking.
  • Once cooking time is complete, let instant pot release NATURALLY for 8 minutes (or 10 minutes).
  • Then release pressure MANUALLY.
  • Open lid, remove chicken breasts out.
step by step instructions on how to cook chicken breasts in instant pot
step by step instructions on how to cook chicken breasts in instant pot

For Gravy: Remaining liquid in the pot is power house of flavors. Don’t waste it. Make gravy using the left over liquids that goes wonderfully with chicken.

To make gravy, simply whisk together 2 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of corn starch to make slurry.

Select SAUTE mode and bring the liquid to boil. Pour slurry into the pot and keep whisking while the gravy cooks. Cook for 3-4 minutes with constant whisking or until gravy thickened. Gravy ready!

step by step instructions on how to cook chicken breasts in instant pot

Serve: After chicken breasts have cooled for a while, transfer it to cutting board. Slice it and serve with gravy.

To make a complete meal, serve sliced chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans or with rice and roasted broccoli on the side.

Pour gravy over sliced chicken, serve immediately!

moist tender chicken breasts cooked in instant pot

Tips for cooking chicken breast in Instant Pot

  1. Adjust seasoning and spices as per your liking. You can increaser paprika and pepper used in the recipe to add extra kick to the breasts, or reduce it to suit your palate.
  2. Feel free to change them all together to use your favorite spices.
  3. Use low sodium or no sodium chicken stock to make it absolutely healthy. Consider using pineapple juice or orange juice as well instead of stock.
  4. Don’t skip searing chicken breasts before cooking it. It enhances the flavors making it delicious at the end. If using frozen chicken breasts, you won’t be able to sear it, skip searing for frozen chicken.
  5. To pack more flavors into frozen chicken breasts, consider seasoning it with all the spices before you freeze it. This will ensure when you cook frozen chicken breasts, it’s not bland and boring.
  6. DO NOT place frozen chicken breasts in the pot all glued together.  You’ll end up having over cooked and under cooked chicken.
  7. If chicken breasts are frozen together, first thaw them over night in the fridge or I suggest placing them in a bowl of water until you can break them apart.
  8. DO NOT pile up the breasts one top of another. Even if using fresh chicken.  It’s best to lay them out in one single layer.
  9. Cooking time is widely determined by the size of the chicken breasts used. Check “how long to cook frozen chicken breasts in instant pot” section.
  10. If you want to cook a large batch of chicken (which I don’t recommend), place chicken one top of the other. Be sure not to add chicken more than the “max fill line”. NOTE : Cooking chicken breasts placed one on top of another may result in some of the chicken breasts cooked perfectly, some over cooked and some under cooked.
  11. For evenly cooked juicy chicken, highly recommend you place chicken in one single layer to cook.
  12. Don’t toss the broth – make a sensational gravy from the left over liquids in the pot.  Remove cooked chicken from the pot. Boil the left over broth using sauté function. Make slurry with 1 tablespoon corn starch and 2 tablespoon of water. Add it to broth, cook for 3 to 5 minutes with constant cooking until desired consistency is reached.

FAQS

How to make gravy?

Chicken breasts and gravy are amazing together. Left over liquids in the pot after cooking chicken is packed full of flavors. Use the left over liquid to make gravy and serve it over chicken breasts.
Making gravy in instant pot is optional, but highly recommended!
Once chicken is cooked, remove it from instant pot and set it aside to cool.
While chicken cools, make the gravy.
Into a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of corn starch. Whisk into lump free slurry.
Select SAUTE mode on instant pot and let the left over liquids to boil.
Pour slurry into the pot and whisk well.
Cook for 3-4 minutes or until gravy is thickened or comes to desired consistency. Keep whisking while gravy cooks.
Pour it over sliced chicken breasts and serve!

Can I use frozen chicken breasts in Instant Pot?

Yes you absolutely can! Remember a few things for cooking frozen chicken breasts instant pot.
DO NOT dump the entire batch of frozen chicken breasts all glued together into the pot. You’ll end up with over cooked rubbery chicken breasts on the bottom and top and the ones stuck in the middle will be undercooked.
It’s best to thaw the frozen chicken breasts either in the fridge overnight or by placing them in a bowl of water until you are able to separate them. Then place the frozen breasts in one layer without dumping it on one top of another.

How long to cook chicken breasts in Instant Pot?

Fresh chicken breasts cooks faster compared to cooking frozen chicken breasts in instant pot. For fresh chicken set timer to 5 minutes on pressure cook mode. Please note, pot will take 10-12 minutes to build up the pressure inside.

How long to cook frozen chicken breasts in Instant Pot?

You can use the same method to cool with frozen chicken. Increase time for frozen chicken breasts to 10 – 15 minutes depending on the size of the individual breasts. With frozen chicken, pot takes longer time to build up the pressure.
Please note cook time for chicken breasts is majorly determined by the size of chicken breasts and not the number of breasts placed inside the pot.
Small chicken breasts – 4-5 oz – about 2 inch thick in the middle –  
Fresh – Pressure cook for 5 minutes with 8 to 10 minutes natural pressure release.
Frozen – pressure cook for 10 – 12 minutes. Do quick release for better results.
Medium sized chicken breasts – 6 oz piece :
Fresh – pressure cook for 8 minutes and let it naturally release pressure for 8 to 10 minutes.
Frozen – pressure cook for 12 minutes, do quick pressure release.
Large chicken breasts – 8-10 oz pieces :
Fresh – pressure cook for 10 minutes, let natural pressure release for 8 minutes.
Frozen – pressure cook for 14-16 minutes, and quick pressure release.
Firm, easy to dice chicken –  above mentioned time table is to cook firm , easy to dice chicken breasts that is moist and juicy.
Shredded chicken – To make shredded chicken increase timing by 3 to 4 minutes and cook chicken breasts directly in the stock instead of using trivet. Also allow pot to naturally release pressure for 5 minutes, then force all pressure out by manual release.

sliced instant pot chicken breasts served with mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans on white plate

MORE INSTANT POT CHICKEN BREASTS RECIPES-

Instant Pot Chicken Marsala

Instant Pot Mexican Style Shredded Chicken

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

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instant pot chicken breasts on mashed potatoes
juicy chicken breasts cooked in instant pot served over mashed potatoes and green beans
5 from 9 votes

📋 RECIPE: Juicy Tender Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (Fresh Or Frozen) With Gravy

Jyothi Rajesh
Instant pot chicken breast gives you tender and juicy chicken every-single-time with both fresh and frozen chicken breasts. No more rubbery, bland chicken.
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Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 22 mins
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main, Main Course
Cuisine American, Western
Servings 3 servings
Calories 392

Ingredients
  

  • 3 chicken breasts medium sized
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • 3 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup chicken stock low sodium stock, you can use pineapple or orange juice as well

For Gravy –

  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 2 tablespoon water

Instructions
 

  • Spice-Rub: In a small bowl combine all spices – onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, half of olive oil. Mix everything together.
  • Apply spice rub generously all over chicken breasts.
  • Sear Chicken: Set instant pot in SAUTE mode. Once it’s hot, add remaining olive oi. When oil is hot, place chicken in single layer and sear it for 2-3 minutes. Flip and sear other side as well.
  • Remove seared chicken from instant pot.
  • Cook Chicken: Pour chicken stock into the pot. Place the trivet and arrange seared chicken on top. Secure instant pot lid tight. Seal pressure valve in sealing position and set the instant pot on PRESSURE COOK mode, adjust timer for 5 minutes.
    Note – instant pot will take couple of minutes to build pressure inside before it starts cooking.
  • Once cooking time is complete, let instant pot release NATURALLY for 8 minutes (or 10 minutes).
  • Then release pressure MANUALLY.
  • Open lid, remove chicken breasts out.
  • For Gravy: Remaining liquid in the pot is power house of flavors. Don’t waste it. Make gravy using the left over liquids that goes wonderfully with chicken.
  • To make gravy, simply whisk together 2 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of corn starch to make slurry.
  • Select SAUTE mode and bring the liquid to boil. Pour slurry into the pot and keep whisking while the gravy cooks. Cook for 3-4 minutes with constant whisking or until gravy thickened. Gravy ready!
  • Serve: After chicken breasts have cooled for a while, transfer it to cutting board. Slice it and serve with gravy.
  • To make a complete meal, serve sliced chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans or with rice and roasted broccoli on the side.
  • Pour gravy over sliced chicken, serve immediately!

Notes

  • Adjust seasoning and spices as per your liking. You can increase paprika and pepper used in the recipe to add extra kick to the breasts, or reduce it to suit your palate.
  • Feel free to change them all together to use your favorite spices.
  • Use low sodium or no sodium chicken stock to make it absolutely healthy. Consider using pineapple juice or orange juice as well instead of stock.
  • Don’t skip searing chicken breasts before cooking it. It enhances the flavors making it delicious at the end. If using frozen chicken breasts, you won’t be able to sear it, skip searing for frozen chicken.
  • To pack more flavors into frozen chicken breasts, consider seasoning it with all the spices before you freeze it. This will ensure when you cook frozen chicken breasts, it’s not bland and boring.
  • DO NOT place frozen chicken breasts in the pot all glued together.  You’ll end up having over cooked and under cooked chicken.
  • If chicken breasts are frozen together, first thaw them over night in the fridge or I suggest placing them in a bowl of water until you can break them apart.
  • DO NOT pile up the breasts one top of another. Even if using fresh chicken.  It’s best to lay them out in one single layer.
  • Cooking time is widely determined by the size of the chicken breasts used. Check “how long to cook frozen chicken breasts in instant pot” section.
  • If you want to cook a large batch of chicken (which I don’t recommend), place chicken one top of the other. Be sure not to add chicken more than the “max fill line”.
  • NOTE : Cooking chicken breasts placed one on top of another may result in some of the chicken breasts cooked perfectly, some over cooked and some under cooked.
  • For evenly cooked juicy chicken, highly recommend you place chicken in one single layer to cook.
  • Don’t toss the broth – make a sensational gravy from the left over liquids in the pot.  Remove cooked chicken from the pot. Boil the left over broth using saute function. Make slurry with 1 tablespoon corn starch and 2 tablespoon of water. Add it to broth, cook for 3 to 5 minutes with constant cooking until desired consistency is reached.
 
Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 392kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 51gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 147mgSodium: 380mgPotassium: 973mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 430IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Follow @CurryTrail and tag #CurryTrail to share your creation!
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    Comments & Reviews

  1. Wightrus says

    November 24, 2022 at 12:18 am

    5 stars
    Cooked frozen 14 mins, perfect and juicy

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      November 24, 2022 at 2:10 pm

      I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you.

      Reply
  2. Lisette says

    January 12, 2022 at 5:55 am

    Made this recipe tonight, the whole family loved it.

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      January 12, 2022 at 11:41 am

      I’m so glad you are loving the recipe! Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Alycia says

    January 07, 2022 at 5:49 am

    5 stars
    Ohhhh myyyy it was so yummy. I double the recipe but stacked 6 chicken breast sideways. (I used the Trivit slats if that give you a idea. Even my picky teens gave 10 out of 10 in the chicken. ♥️♥️♥️ Thank you for a great go to recipe they will be asking for again.

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      January 08, 2022 at 7:12 pm

      So glad you are loving the recipe

      Reply
  4. Natalie says

    October 12, 2020 at 4:24 pm

    5 stars
    Gosh, this chicken looks so good! SO juicy and flavorful. I can’t wait to give this a try. Such a simple yet healthy and delicious dinner option. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 13, 2020 at 8:08 pm

      Hope you like it Natalie

      Reply
  5. Jamie says

    October 12, 2020 at 10:20 am

    5 stars
    I’ve been looking for more instant pot recipes and this was such a hit with my family! THe chicken breast came out so juicy and flavorful. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 13, 2020 at 8:08 pm

      I’m so glad you tried and loved the recipe. Thank you Jamie

      Reply
  6. Nicole says

    October 12, 2020 at 10:13 am

    I freaking love my Instant Pot! I’ve never made anything with frozen chicken yet, but it’s good to know the general rules on how to do it. The spice rub sounds perfect too – made with all the great pantry staples. Also why use the trivet for the chicken opposed to just putting the chicken right in the pot?

    Reply
  7. Anna says

    October 11, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    5 stars
    Just looking at these photos makes me hungry! This tender, juicy and delicious chicken would be an ideal option for a weekday dinner!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 11, 2020 at 10:25 pm

      Thank you Anna

      Reply
  8. Alex says

    October 11, 2020 at 7:07 pm

    I’m with you! Just say no to boring chicken breasts! This recipe sounds super flavorful and it looks so easy to make. I’m sending this recipe to my husband. 😀

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 11, 2020 at 10:24 pm

      Hope your husband likes it

      Reply
  9. Erin says

    October 11, 2020 at 6:57 pm

    I love that this is made in an IP! It makes cleanup so much easier. The chicken came out so tender looking! I’ll have to give this a go.

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 11, 2020 at 10:24 pm

      Glad you liked it Erin

      Reply
  10. Amy Liu Dong says

    October 10, 2020 at 5:10 pm

    5 stars
    We love chicken so much and seeing this dish makes me hungry.
    I will definitely try this recipe, thank you!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 11, 2020 at 10:24 pm

      Hope you like it Amy

      Reply
  11. Paige says

    October 10, 2020 at 3:19 am

    5 stars
    Now that looks like it took all day to make! Looks so good!

    Reply
  12. Denise says

    October 08, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    5 stars
    What a delicious and easy recipe! What can’t we cook in the Instant Pot? Its one of my best investments.

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 09, 2020 at 4:36 pm

      Glad you liked it Denise

      Reply
  13. Sharon says

    October 06, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    5 stars
    This chicken dinner has all the yummy elements, tender chicken with a rich gravy. Delicious!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 07, 2020 at 9:51 am

      So glad you loved the recipe Sharon

      Reply
  14. HEATHER PERINE says

    August 19, 2020 at 12:53 am

    I’ve been obsessed with my instant pot but haven’t found a good chicken recipe yet so I’m excited to try this!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      August 19, 2020 at 5:36 pm

      Hope you like it Heather! Do let me know how it turns out for you.

      Reply

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Jyothi - Author of Curry Trail.

Welcome, I'm Jyothi

My food philosophy is simple, fresh and full of flavors! I love ‘spicy’ food. In fact so much so that I can skip dessert for extra spicy savory food!

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