This is a tasty Instant Pot chicken breasts recipe. You can use either chicken tenderloin, which is the cut of chicken already sliced into tenders. However, I prefer to use fresh chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) because I find the price is typically better.
No matter which cut you select, you are in fact making an Instant Pot chicken breast recipe.
This chicken recipe is…
- good for meal prep
- easy to store in a freezer bag for freezer cooking
- an easy meal and one of our family’s favorite recipes
- a great way to feed the whole family
- full of easy steps and is great for the main meal
- not your traditional chicken strips recipe
- tender meat perfect that is easy to chew
Ingredients:
- Chicken breasts (you could also use frozen chicken tenders or whole breasts and adjust the cooking time)
- Minced garlic AND garlic flakes or garlic powder
- Smoked paprika
- Chicken broth or cup of water
- Brown sugar
- Green onions
- Olive oil
How to Make
Step One: Turn on the saute setting on your Instant Pot. Add the oil to the inner pot and then add the chicken breasts in a single layer. Saute on both sides for a few minutes. This does much of the cooking, but the pressure cooking aspect of the cooking time locks in the flavor and makes the meat tender.
Step Two: Add in the liquid and remaining ingredients. Scrape the bottom of your inner pot with a wooden spoon to ensure nothing is stuck.
This is an essential step in many recipes to make sure you don’t cook with anything burned onto the bottom of the inner pot, which can cause a burn notice. It also gives you an opportunity to deglaze the pan and incorporate the flavor of stuck-on bits into the sauce, which is a great thing.
Step Three: Pressure cook and then serve! I like to serve this recipe with rice, but you could do something different depending on personal taste.
Flavor substitutions:
The flavor profile of this recipe is delicious. However, I always like to remind people that it’s okay to change up a recipe. Use this recipe and the ingredients list as a base, but if you want to play around with it to make new recipes, here are some tasty ways to do that.
- onion powder and an herb seasoning mix
- Italian dressing and parmesan cheese
- taco seasoning
- pineapple juice and black pepper
Serve with:
- green beans or broccoli
- finger foods
- rice
- garlic mashed potatoes
- Mexican ranch dressing
How To Store:
Let the food cool to room temperature prior to storing it in a sealed container. If you’re going to use the leftover chicken the next day (or within 2-3 days), you’ll want to store the chicken in the refrigerator. You can also freeze leftover chicken.
I like to freeze leftovers in meal-size portions so I can microwave a quick lunch. This is a nice way to skip the frozen food aisle at the grocery store and stick to food with fewer preservatives. It also saves on the monthly food bill and reduces trips to the drive-thru at lunch.
FAQs
This happens often if you do a quick pressure release. You always want to do a natural pressure release at least for 5 minutes.
It depends on the cooking method. For example, when you cook chicken in a crockpot (low and slow) you end up with a very tender chicken recipe. Cook it in the oven or on the stovetop for a long time at a high temperature and the result is a dry and unpleasant piece of chicken. The key is to find the perfect combination of cooking time, cooking method, and temperature.
If the chicken tenderloins were individually frozen, cook for 8 minutes on high pressure. If they are all clumped together, you need to cook them for 10 minutes. Always check the chicken’s internal temperature after cooking to ensure a food-safe temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Other Dinner Recipes To Try:
- Instant Pot Tender Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- Roasted Cornish Hens
- How To Air Fry Frozen Chicken Strips
Have you tried the recipe? If so, please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below or drop a comment. Also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, or our Facebook Group!
Instant Pot Chicken Tenders with Brown Sugar Sauce
Enjoy this tasty chicken breast recipe for dinner tonight. You'll love how easy this chicken tenderloin recipe is to make. Tender chicken, juicy and perfectly flavored...this might become a new favorite weeknight recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ pound chicken breast tenderloins
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic flakes
- Pinch of salt
- Green onions to garnish
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on to saute mode. Once it is hot, add the olive oil and the chicken tenderloins. Make sure the chicken is in a single layer.
- Cook the chicken for 3 minutes, and then flip it over to the other side and add the minced garlic. Cook for 2 more minutes and then turn off the pressure cooker.
- Next, it is time to add a splash of the chicken broth and then use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot. This deglazes all the cooked on brown bits and adds a ton of flavor to the recipe. Add in the remaining chicken broth.
- Add in the brown sugar, smoked paprika, minced garlic flakes, and a pinch of salt. Once that is all added, stir it all together. Stir and ensure all the chicken is covered with the liquid.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot and then seal. Set the pressure cooker to 12 minutes on high pressure using the manual pressure setting.
- Once the cooking time finishes, you want to do a manual pressure release for 5 minutes. If there is additional pressure remaining, you can do a quick release to let the remaining pressure out. The reason for this is to make sure your chicken is not tough or rubbery.
- Remove the lid and stir up the sauce. This is a nice time to make sure the chicken is covered with all the delicious sauce.
- Serve over rice and top with green onions.
Notes
- Double this recipe by adding an extra 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast tenderloins. If topping the chicken with sauce, double the ingredients for the sauce as well. Otherwise, you can safely 1.5 times the ingredients for the sauce instead of doubling those. So, you'd use 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic instead of 1 tablespoon.
- Use this handy resource to figure out how to double or triple ingredients.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 412Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 147mgSodium: 629mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 0gSugar: 23gProtein: 54g
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