If you’re looking for something fast, delicious, and healthy my Instant Pot Pepper Chicken recipe should do the trick.
My entire family loves it, and it’s a great way to convince the kids to eat some veggies and rice (I like to use Jasmine rice as a side dish).
The good news is that you can also use this recipe for a romantic dinner when you want to prove your worth in the kitchen without investing too much effort. I know, it’s not nice to oversell your skills, but we all like to do some peacocking in the first stages 🙂
Now, back to the recipe. I’ll teach you how to make a flavorful chicken dish in less than 20 minutes and how to pair it with the right side dish and/or wine (depending on the occasion).
Table of Contents
How do I cook chicken in the Instant Pot?
Chicken may seem common (especially in Asian and Western cuisine), but it’s not that easy to cook correctly. It only takes a few extra minutes to overdo it (which will turn it dry) or undercook it (which is dangerous).
It’s also not very easy to pair with the right seasoning (unless you know what you’re doing) and doesn’t mix well with certain sauces or starches.
But I’m not here to denigrate chicken! I’m here to tell you that, with the Instant Pot, your chicken-related problems are a thing of the past. Due to the way this pot works, you can easily prepare dishes with raw or frozen meats without any advance preparation. Furthermore, it is designed to keep the food warm (I don’t like cold chicken) without drying it.
Can I put raw chicken in the Instant Pot?
Yes. Depending on what you want to make, you can put an entire raw chicken in the pot and pressure cook it or you can saute the meat as long as it’s been cut into manageable pieces (like it’s the case for this recipe).
What happens if I overcook chicken in Instant Pot?
It’s a bit more difficult to overcook something in the Instant Pot because it knows when to stop (depending on your settings). However, even if you overdid it with the settings, the steam inside won’t allow the meat to dry up.
For this recipe, as well as for Instant Pot Butter Chicken any many other chicken recipes, you can overcook the meat during the saute phase, if you don’t pay attention to factors such as heat intensity, time, and added oil. But, since it only takes about 5 minutes, I trust you will be careful enough not to dry or burn the chicken (especially if you want to make a good impression).
How do I cook plain frozen chicken breast in Instant Pot?
In order to cook frozen chicken breast in the Instant Pot, just follow this Instant Pot Frozen Chicken recipe.
Specifically for this pepper chicken recipe, I wouldn’t recommend using frozen chicken.
Still, if you are using frozen meat, make sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Side Dish Ideas
You can serve this Instant Pot Pepper Chicken over Jasmine rice or brown rice.
If you want to diversify, you an try quinoa, steamed broccoli or green beans, mashed potatoes, a farro salad.
If you want to pair it with a glass of wine, I recommend a white wine like a Sauvignon or Chardonnay.
For other great chicken dishes, check the Grilled Chicken Satay by Kylee Cooks and my Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli.
Instant Pot Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast chopped
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 4 tablespoon water
- 1 tsp cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the chicken in cubes
- Add oil into your Instant Pot and sauté chicken for 5 minutes, add the onion and bell peppers add continue sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the garlic powder, the cumin and the water to the chicken. mix well to combine everything.
- Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Quickly release the steam and serve.
- Serve with rice if desired.
Nutrition
Absolute love this recipe... I was going to make breaded chicken cutlets and forgot to get the breadcrumbs so I looked for an alternative way to cook the chicken breast and came across this. Now I cant get enough of it!
I'm glad you enjoy this recipe! It's lucky that you forgot the breadcrumbs the first time so you were able to try it out 🙂
How would you do this with frozen chicken breast
Hi Corrie...I'm enjoying reading your recipes. I tend to use my stovetop pressure cooker more than my IP. It gets to pressure so much faster. Do you have any thoughts about converting your recipe times to stovetop pressure cooking? Warmup times are considerably different and IP recipes figure that into cooking times. Thanks.
If your cooking Marinated Chicken breasts for two how long is the cooking time for IP ?
If the chicken breasts are whole (not cut up) I would cook on high pressure for 12-15 minutes. If they are cut up, it won't take as long so 8 minutes on high will be good.