Quick and Easy Instant Pot Marinated Chicken

For those who are newbies to Instant Pot cooking, there are an abundance of recipes to choose from, but I think it is best to get started with the basics and then work up to more complicated recipes. So that is what we are going to be doing with this Instant Pot series!

Now, several of the next few recipes could be interchangeable on their level of difficulty, but I wanted you to get the feel for working with the Instant Pot with a variety of beginner recipes. Plus, even though I have been using the Instant Pot for several years now, I still prefer the simple recipes to more complicated ones. Personally, the more complicated a recipe is, the more likely I’m not going to do it until I actually have some special time set aside. But using the Instant Pot for these basic recipes is not difficult, so don’t worry! Don’t overwhelm yourself! Just try the basics and get comfortable first.

In my house, a super simple Instant Pot meal is marinated chicken. It’s quick, healthy, and it takes almost no hands on time or prep at all. Plus, it is a great main course that can be altered to suit your preferences or time available. There have been many times that I have changed this recipe by taking chicken straight from the freezer, pouring over a container of thinner salad dressing, like Italian, and then cooking it with this method for a super fast dinner when I was crazy busy and needed to put food on the table. And you know what? We still loved it!

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Can I put marinated chicken in the Instant Pot?

Absolutely! I do have a note of help on this though. When you are using the pressure cooking settings of an Instant Pot, you will need to have a decent amount of liquid in order to build pressure and cook. If you have a thicker marinade, you may not be able to use it in the Instant Pot without watering it down with broth or water. Marinades that are too thick don’t build pressure the same way as thinner liquids do. As a result, my recommendation for you is to use either the marinade recipe below or to use a marinade where the base is water, stock, or another thinner liquid. I have used salad dressings before, but only very thin ones as I want the pressure cooker to work the way it was intended.

What sides go well with chicken?

Another reason I enjoy this recipe is that it can go with soooo many different sides. Often, while it is cooking, I’m looking in the fridge or pantry to see what veggies or whatnot I want to whip up to go with my chicken. Some great options are:

• Roasted Veggies – really any will do, but we’ve been loving brussel sprouts lately!
• Baked Potatoes/Yams – you may want to start these before the chicken, but they are an easy side dish for this meal!
• Bread – can you really go wrong with adding some bread to any meal?
• Mashed Potatoes – while this may be for days that you have that little bit of extra time, they can really make a normal weeknight meal feel special.
• Salad Greens – when I am super short on time, I usually just grab these out of the fridge to go with dinner. Salad is a great way to get some veggies into your diet!
• Fruit Salad/Fruit – depending on the time of year, you could easily add some melon slices or even toss together some fruit in a bowl!
• Steamed veggies – while we prefer roasted, sometimes steamed veggies are just what we have time for on those crazy days.
• Pasta – pasta can be a great way to fill hungry bellies when you have active kiddos or more mouths to feed than you expected. You could keep it simple by adding some oil, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning to the cooked noodles for a simple little side that is still very tasty!
• Rice – even though pasta is easy, rice can be even easier depending on the type of rice you do. This side can really let the chicken shine as the main dish, but still fill hungry mouths.
• Winter Squash – I know that not everyone thinks of squash as an easy side dish, but for many of them, such as butternut and acorn, you really only need to halve it, clean it, oil it, and bake it. You can learn more from my blog post on stuffed acorn squash here.

Marinade:

-Chicken Stock

-Oil

-Lemon Juice

-Italian Seasoning

-Paprika

-Red Pepper Chili Flakes

-Salt & Pepper

-Chicken Breasts (or boneless chicken of your choice)

How to cook marinated chicken in an Instant Pot:

Start by mixing all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. The marinade recipe I have shared is a thin recipe, which works really well for pressure cooking in the Instant Pot.

If you have time, you can marinade the chicken overnight in the fridge for best flavor. If not, you can simply move to the next step.

Now, add the chicken to the pot and pour the marinade over the top.

Secure the lid, set the valve to sealing, and use the manual function to pressure cook for 10-16 minutes depending on size of your chicken breasts and whether they are frozen or not and the thickness of the breasts. (The recommendation from Instant Pot site says 5-8 minutes per pound.)

Once the pressure cooking is done, you can use the natural release method, which is preferred, or you can use the quick release method if you are in a hurry.

Plate up with some sides, and you are ready to serve!

Hope you try this recipe out, and if you do, let me know how it goes! Also, If you enjoyed this recipe, please like and subscribe to my blog! You can also keep up with what I’m working on day-to-day by following my Instagram or Facebook @godsgiftofcreativity.

Keep cooking, and stay creative!

-Chelsey