Instant Pot Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How much chicken can you put in an Instant Pot? ›

Add trivet into instant pot, add 1 cup water, add whole chicken or 1-2 chicken legs (in one layer), 2-4 chicken thighs (in one layer), 2-6 chicken drumsticks (in one layer), 1-4 chicken breasts (in one layer), 2-12 chicken wings in one layer.

If your boneless chicken breast winds up with a weird, rubbery texture, it probably means that you need to cook it longer. In general, the Instant Pot does better with longer cook times for meat.

While all cuts of chicken are fair game for the Instant Pot, thighs are the most forgiving. Because chicken breast is so lean, just a couple of extra minutes of cook time turns them from juicy to overcooked and dry.

Cooking chicken without liquid in a pressure cooker may result in burning, scorching or unevenly cooked chicken. To cook chicken in a pressure cooker, you will need to add at least a small amount of liquid, such as water or broth, to the pot.

chicken requires 18 minutes of high pressure cooking. Add 6 minutes of cooking time per additional pound. Note: You can submerge your chicken directly in the cooking liquid, especially if you want to make chicken stock. However, the steamer basket method ensures crispy skin and won't wash away the seasoning.

Use multiple cooking pots: If you need to cook a large amount of chicken, you may need multiple pots, like multiple slow cookers or roasting pans. You'll want to avoid overstuffing a single pot so the chicken can cook evenly and thoroughly.

Maybe the pressure build-up inside wasn't enough for the chicken. Maybe you didn't really cook it long enough. Maybe you released the pressure too soon, without allowing it to cook completely. Maybe there's something wrong with your pressure cooker.

Ultimately, slow cooking allowed our chicken to be perfectly seasoned without compromising the meat texture, a luxury pressure cooking can't afford.

There's lots of water in the meat too, so even 1 cup added water will result in a fair amount of liquid after cooking. No you do not have to cover it. I usually do about 2 cups or so of stock.

Open the pot, then use a digital thermometer to check the thickest part of a piece of chicken—it should be at least 165oF.

Does pressure cooking chicken longer make it softer? ›

Cooking any meat on high heat (or high pressure) for an extended period will both: denature more the proteins / collagen making the meat more tender; "squeeze" more water out of the meat, making it drier / chalkier in texture.

Pressure cooking, like slow cooking, will tenderize tough cuts of meat like beef brisket, beef chuck, pork shoulder and lots of other cheaper, tougher cuts. Pressure cooking (or slow cooking) is not the best approach for cooking expensive, tender steaks or rib roasts.

Overcooking leads to dry, tough, sawdusty meat with nearly no flavor. High doneness temperature for food safety. Salmonella is the food safety enemy in chicken that dies only at higher temperatures. But cooking chicken breast to an instant thermal-kill doneness temperature will cause it to dry out excessively.

Cook It Slowly

This is certainly true when it comes to notoriously tough cuts of meat like beef brisket and pork shoulder. Cooking these cuts of meat slowly, either by braising, stewing or grill roasting, is the best way to get these tasty cuts of meat meltingly tender.