20 Chicken Recipes Made Perfect In The Instant Pot
Your Instant Pot is about to earn that counter space so fast.
Ever wish you could snap your fingers and dinner could be magically ready? Well, you heard it here first: Magic really does exist, and it's all thanks to your trusty Instant Pot. Seriously, what can't it do? If you're new to the Instant Pot game, you're in for a treat. While there are a zillion things you can make in these bad boys (Instant Pot wine! Instant Pot hard-boiled eggs! Instant Pot yogurt!), let's start with the basics: chicken. The all-in-one appliance lives up to its name...most of these delicious weeknight-friendly chicken dinners take 30 minutes or less to make.
What is an Instant Pot anyway? Luckily, we made a handy guide of things to know before using your Instant Pot. In simplest terms, Instant Pots are a type of pressure cooker. But it's also equipped to be a slow cooker as well, making it a real Swiss Army knife tool for your kitchen. It can also braise, sauté, steam, and simmer, making it more than ideal for so many of our favorite satisfying chicken recipes.
Most importantly, their pressure cooker function cuts down the cook time, making these chicken dishes insanely fast to whip up for a weeknight dinner. In the mood for the taste of a slow-simmered homemade chicken noodle soup but don't have the patience to slowly simmer? Our Instant Pot chicken noodle soup is here for you. Our Instant Pot butter chicken recipe just might be quicker than take-out Indian food too. Serve alongside some fresh naan bread and rice and you can consider dinner ready to eat.
For even more ideas, check out these super easy Instant Pot recipes and our favorite Instant Pot cookbooks.
Instant Pot Copycat Bourbon Chicken
This bourbon chicken is the mall food court dish of our teen years. If you were hanging out in malls in the '90s, you've likely been chased down in the food court to sample this delectable, perfectly sauced chicken thigh recipe on a toothpick. Now as an adult, we can make this dish at home in the convenience of the Instant Pot any time we like.
Instant Pot Wings
Cooking wings in an Instant Pot allows for them to get nice and tender before being crisped to perfection under the broiler. This recipe is the perfect jumping off point for any of your favorite types of wings.
Get the Instant Pot Wings recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Is there anything more comforting than a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup? We'll answer for you: NO! This Instant Pot recipe makes light work of this homestyle classic. Using the sauté feature, you can easily develop flavors by cooking the mirepoix (that's onions, carrots, and celery) before adding the remaining ingredients.
Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Our Instant Pot butter chicken recipe is about to become your favorite weeknight staple that you can now make faster than delivery. Chicken thighs become extremely tender under all the sauce that you'll want to soak up with plenty of naan bread.
Get the Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe.
Instant Pot Jambalaya
The Instant Pot is a great way to make jambalaya, a Cajun classic, in just an hour. On top of being super-quick dinner to cook, you won’t need pre-cooked rice or meats.
Get the Instant Pot Jambalaya recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
If there's one thing we find magical about Instant Pots, it's how quickly and perfectly they cook chicken and rice. The rice is the perfect texture and the chicken is insanely tender. This is 100% the meal we cook in the Instant Pot the most often.
Get the Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe.
Instant Pot Spicy Chicken Tacos
If we knew the Instant Pot could turn out delicious, juicy chicken tacos, then we would have bought one a lot sooner. This tender, juicy chicken makes its own sauce while cooking, too. Taco Tuesday is about to get even easier.
Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
This chicken checks all the boxes: golden and speckled with herbs on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside. Serve these over a plate of perfectly cooked rice and you're good to go, but if you're an overachiever, a healthy salad would be excellent too.
Get the Instant Pot Chicken Breasts recipe.
Instant Pot Fall-Off-The-Bone Chicken
Roast chicken is one of our favorite dinners ever, but it's usually too fussy to make on a weeknight. In the Instant Pot, you cut the cooking time in half!
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Sliders
These sliders are the ultimate crowd pleaser. Served on soft, toasted potato rolls, the juicy pulled chicken is tossed in hot sauce and topped with fresh crunchy ranch coleslaw and creamy chunks of blue cheese.
Instant Pot Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup
This easy low-carb soup from Kevin Curry is the perfect dinner for those chilly nights. Extra hearty and full of flavor thank to cauliflower rice and chipotle chiles, this soup will certainly fill you up.
Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
This simple recipes uses just four ingredients to make a satisfying dinner. Think of these like a healthier, heartier loaded potato skin. Hungry for more? Check out our other Instant Pot dinner ideas.
Get the Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
The gravy that comes with these chicken thighs is luxuriously smooth and full of chicken flavor. Want to make it a meal? Serve these thighs up with mashed potatoes and some simple sautéed greens like this garlicky kale or this 10-minute bok choy recipe.
Get the Instant Pot Chicken Thighs recipe.
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Instant Pots makes some of the most perfectly tender and juicy chicken. With this salsa verde, it's flavorful enough to eat it on its own or use in cheesy chicken enchiladas or chicken taquitos!
Get the Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe.
Creamy Chicken Alfredo
This quick dinner could convince anyone to buy an Instant Pot, especially since the noodles cook alongside the chicken and sauce! If you're looking for our classic version of chicken Alfredo, look no further.
Get the Creamy Chicken Alfredo recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Traditionally, tortilla soup is made with fried corn tortillas and chicken broth flavored with charred tomatoes and chile de árbol. In this case, we baked our tortilla chips, but feel free to garnish each bowl with crushed tortilla chips instead!
Best Chicken Pot Roast
This chicken dinner is so ridiculously juicy, you won't ever want to roast your chicken in the oven again. Feel free to mix and match your vegetables: sweet potato, bell peppers, or fennel would all be delicious substitutes!
Get the Best Chicken Pot Roast recipe.
Instant Pot Cheddar Ranch Chicken
You really can't go wrong with ranch, cheddar, and bacon, and this chicken is no exception. We advise piling it high on potato rolls, but it'd also be great as a dip, in lettuce wraps, or straight from the Instant Pot; the possibilities are endless!
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
This Instant Pot chicken is easy and will have you sitting down to eat in no time. The honey garlic glaze is simply addicting and you'll be scraping every last drop out of the pot.
