Instant Pot Chicken Breast
Foolproof Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe or how to cook boneless chicken breasts from fresh or frozen perfectly every time. Then shred or cube, and use in your favourite dishes throughout the week.
Foolproof Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe or how to cook boneless chicken breasts from fresh or frozen perfectly every time. Then shred or cube, and use in your favourite dishes throughout the week.
- Carbohydrate 0.522472083333333 g
- Cholesterol 98.656340475 mg
- Fat 2.11520368716667 g
- Fiber 0.0748208306630452 g
- Protein 39.395310587375 g
- Saturated Fat 0.562469724541667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (200g)
- Sodium 111.939306855168 mg
- Sugar 0.447651252670288 g
- Trans Fat 0.562959724541667 g
- Calories 189 calories
Step-by-step
- To the Instant Pot, add water and place trivet with handles inside. Lay chicken breasts in a single layer (if using frozen make sure they are separated) and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly with tongs or hands.
- Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cooking on High for 20 minutes for fresh or 25 minutes for frozen chicken breasts. Display will say ON, Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure, you will see a bit of steam coming out from a valve, then float valve will rise and countdown will begin.
- After 20-25 minutes your chicken is ready, Instant Pot will beep, display will say OFF and now it needs to bring pressure down before you can open it, which will be indicated by a dropped down float valve. It is called Natural Release and I don’t recommend to do Quick Release (turning sealing valve to Venting position) with this recipe. It should take about 10-15 minutes.
- Open the lid and your chicken breasts are ready for meal prep, casseroles, salads etc. Shred or cube, and save the stock at the bottom for soup.
Overcooking lean poultry at high temperatures remains the single most common error in modern home kitchens. Meat exposed to excessive dry heat seizes violently as muscle fibers tighten past 160 degrees Fahrenheit, expelling all internal moisture into the pan. Enclosing the cut inside a sealed vessel filled with liquid prevents this structural collapse by using steam to transfer energy evenly.
Scaling this method requires strict adherence to vessel capacity rather than linear mathematical ratios. Three pounds represents the optimal threshold for a standard six-quart electric pressure cooker; crowding more than that blocks the necessary steam circulation required to bring the internal environment to pressure. Halving the batch does not alter the cooking duration because the machine demands a fixed baseline time to reach operational pressure regardless of total mass inside.
Garlic powder and sodium chloride perform distinct roles during the pressurization cycle beyond simple seasoning. Salt molecules penetrate the outer protein matrix through osmosis while the pot heats, while dehydrated allicin from the garlic dissolves into the condensing steam to coat the exterior uniformly. Retaining the residual cooking liquid provides a nutrient-dense stock containing soluble collagen released from the meat during the process.
Allowing the pressure to drop naturally for ten to fifteen minutes lets the internal muscle fibers relax and reabsorb moisture before the lid is removed. Forcing the valve open prematurely causes a sudden pressure drop that pulls remaining juices out of the cells through rapid evaporation. Shredding the warm meat immediately yields the best texture for subsequent meal preparation.
