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 steamed 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).
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?
I already covered this topic (check my cooking frozen chicken article), but for this recipe, I wouldn’t recommend using it frozen (unless you cube it first).
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.
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 tsp cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 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.
Cooked 12 minutes and used only 1/2 the liquid. Had little taste won’t make again
Cooked with no additional liquid, just juices from chicken and oil. Kosher salt, minced garlic, papirika, a little cumin, garlic powder and onion powder. Amazing!!
Make sure to follow the instruction properly and use full amount of liquid mentioned in the ingredients.
4 tpsp of water are enough :]
If cooking more then lb would it be better to split it up or cook all at once we have a big family.
Of course you can cook in a large batch. But make sure to keep the ratio of ingredients proper.
This was great. I was a little nervous about not dumping water in it but it wasn’t needed. The only problem is that me and family all wanted more. Next time, I’ll make double. I would add just a little more garlic as we’re garlic lovers here.
I am obliged that you liked the recipe.
Can u use boneless skinless thighs?
Yes of course :]
Absolutely delicious and super easy. My 1.5 year old went nuts for it. This is going to be added to our weekday dinner rotations since it’s such a quick and hearty meal. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for the appreciation 🙂
This was delicious and very easy to do! Thank you Corrie!!!
I did deglaze per previous tip. VERY good and flavorful. A bit heavy on potato quantity.
Made it to the recipe and it was so good! My picky two year old even ate it! It smelled so good while it was cooking too we literally couldn’t wait to eat !
What pot size is this for ? 4 gt? 6qt?
To make a larger portion, like 1.5 or 2 pounds, do we increase the water and every ingredient to equivalent size?
You could make this recipe in a 4-quart or 6-quart Instant Pot. To make a larger portion, yes, every ingredient should be adjusted to scale. In the recipe at the bottom of the page, you can actually adjust the number of servings you want and it will automatically calculate the amounts for you.
Instead of peppers (my husband can’t eat peppers) I used minced carrots and squashes. It was delicious!
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.
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.