These Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts are moist, flavorful, and ready in minutes! Tender chicken breasts are coated in a creamy sauce made with chicken broth, cream, Italian herbs, and roasted red peppers!
Table of Contents
We love the pressure cooker for basic Instant Pot recipes, like Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, Instant Pot Pulled Pork, and Instant Pot Whole Chicken, but every now and then I like to branch out and add in some big flavor.
These Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts definitely give big flavor! This recipe is made with juicy chicken breasts pressure cooked in a rich, flavorful cream sauce flavored with herbs and roasted red peppers.
This instant pot meal is ready in under 20 minutes and perfect over Buttered Noodles, rice, or potatoes!
Ingredients Needed:
- Chicken Breasts: use boneless and skinless chicken breasts for quick cooking.
- Chicken Broth: I like to use low sodium chicken broth to control the saltiness of the rest of the dish.
- Garlic: you can use freshly minced garlic or keep it convenient with jarred, pre-minced garlic.
- Seasonings: we’re using a simple trio made up of Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to season the cream sauce.
- Heavy Cream: you can use a lighter type of cream for this recipe, but it won’t have the same richness as heavy cream.
- Roasted Red Peppers: be sure to chop them roasted red peppers up so they incorporate nicely into the sauce.
- Cornstarch: helps thicken the cream sauce.
- Basil Pesto: a tablespoon of basil pesto gives the cream sauce a little something extra.
How to Make Instant Pot Italian Chicken Breasts
- Make the sauce: In a bowl, whisk together the broth, roasted red peppers, pesto, garlic and seasonings.
- Sear the chicken: this is optional but it does add flavor. If you do sear it, be careful not to overcook the chicken since we will be cooking it further.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken in the pressure cooker.
- Pressure cook the chicken: Set the timer to 8 minutes and cook. When the time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5-10 minutes and remove the chicken.
- Thicken the sauce and serve: Whisk together the cream and corn starch and add to the sauce. Cook on saute until thickened.
Instant Pot Chicken Breast FAQs
You’ll set the timer on the instant pot for 6 minutes. However, the pot will take around 10 minutes to come to pressure. During that time, the chicken will be cooking!
If you did not sear the chicken, add 2-3 minutes.
If you are using frozen chicken, add 4-5 minutes.
Yes! It’s okay if the chicken breasts are layered a bit in the instant pot. Just make sure you season them thoroughly all over so you get flavor in every bite.
Totally! Frozen chicken works great in this recipe. Just add 4-5 minutes to the cooking time. Keep in mind that frozen chicken breasts will release significantly more liquid during cooking, so you may want to drain some out before adding in the cream, otherwise it will be diluted significantly.
Absolutely! No instant pot? This recipe is as simple as ever to make on the stove as well. Simply sear the chicken in a bit of oil until golden.
Meanwhile, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients including the cream and corn starch and add to the chicken. Simmer until sauce is thickened and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F.
Yes! To make these chicken breasts in the slow cooker, simply add the chicken into the crockpot. Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients, pour the sauce over the chicken, then cook for 2 hours on high or for 3-4 hours on low.
Leftover chicken and cream sauce will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen, then warm on low on the stove until heated through.
Tips and Notes
- Strain it. Straining the broth after cooking is optional, but it does remove any excess fat leftover after cooking.
- Check the temp. Finished chicken should be 165ºF. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature before serving!
- Lighten it up. You can use a lighter cream or even evaporated milk in this recipe. Keep in mind that the higher the fat content of the cream you use, the richer the sauce will be.
- Add veggies. Feel free to add veggies into the pot to make this into a one-pot meal. Try mushrooms, zucchini, or broccoli! You could also round it out with a simple side salad.
Serving Suggestions
We love these. Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts over egg noodles, but the options for serving are endless! Try them over rice, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, or slice them up and use them in quesadillas, pizza, or sandwiches!
Looking to bulk your meal up even more? Serve the chicken next to Roasted Green Beans, Air Fryer Broccoli, or a simple side salad.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted red peppers
- 1 tablespoon basil pesto
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup heavy cream (see notes above)
- 1 ½ tablespoons corn starch
Instructions
- Whisk together the broth, roasted red peppers, pesto, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- (OPTIONAL) Turn the Instant Pot to saute. When it reads "hot", drizzle oil in the bottom. Sear the chicken breasts on each side for 2 minutes until light golden brown. This step is optional but does add flavor. Be careful not to overcook!
- Place the chicken on the trivet (again, optional! You can also cook it right in the sauce) and add the sauce.
- Place lid on the Instant Pot and turn valve to sealing. Select Manual, high pressure (the default), and set the timer to 6 minutes. The pressure cooker will take about 10 minutes to build pressure and begin counting down. *If you did not sear the chicken, add 2-3 minutes. For frozen chicken, add 4-5 minutes.
- Once the cook time is over, turn the Instant Pot off and let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick release and open the lid.
- Remove the chicken breasts and place on a cutting board or serving platter. Turn the Instant Pot to saute. (OPTIONAL: strain the broth if there is fat left over)
- Stir together cream and corn starch and add to the pot. Whisk and cook for 3-4 minutes, until thickened. Add chicken back to the sauce or serve with the sauce over top if desired.
Notes
- Strain it. Straining the broth after cooking is optional, but it does remove any excess fat leftover after cooking.
- Check the temp. Finished chicken should be 165ºF. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature before serving!
- You can use a lighter cream or even evaporated milk in this recipe. Keep in mind that the higher the fat content of the cream you use, the richer the sauce will be.
- Feel free to add veggies into the pot to make this into a one-pot meal. Try mushrooms, zucchini, or broccoli! You could also round it out with a simple side salad.
Nutrition Information
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Clara says
I have this cooking now, but I’m wondering if I can use whole milk in place of heavy cream??
Ashley Fehr says
I don’t recommend it
Ally says
Planning to make this tonight! For those who doubled the sauce, do you double everything except the chicken?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes I think that would work great 🙂
Susan says
This is definitely being added to our dinner menu rotation!!! So good!!! I did not have roasted red peppers so I substituted with a 3 Pepper/Onion mix I had in the freezer. Other than that I followed the recipe and it was GREAT!!! We made boiled potatoes and broccoli to go with it. I did double the sauce so that there was plenty of sauce to go around. 😉 Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad it turned out well!
Mariah M. says
Ahhh I love this recipe! I always double the sauce so I can serve it with egg noodles. My 2.5-year-old loved it. Only question because I’ve recently started tracking macros – is the calories amount listed for a single serving?
Maria says
I was glad to make this recipe and appreciated how simple it was, especially on a busy weekday night. As is, it is a little bland for my family’s taste, but I will try the different variations made by the commenters. 🙂
Sara Armstrong says
This is probably my favorite chicken recipe ever. Followed pretty much exactly except doubling sauce like you mentioned so we could have over noodles. The whole family loves it, thank you!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sara! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Ashley Mills says
I just made this for my family and I have to say aside from losing the lid on the Italian seasoning and using WAY too much….🤦♀️ it was very good! I did however not have any cream so I used cream cheese and milk. Turned out spicy but very good!
The Recipe Rebel says
Oh no! Well glad it worked out for you Ashley!
Teacher Ryn says
Well… this recipe was… inspiration. I used 3 pounds cubed, marinated in lemon & herb, chicken. Two bell peppers. Two quartered onions. 2 cups julienned sundried tomatoes. A heck ton of garlic. More herbs. 1/2 cup balsamic. 2 chips chicken broth. 2 cups heavy cream. 1/2 cup flour.
It’s one of the best things I’ve ever made, even if it is a bit off recipe. Thanks for the inspiration!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hope you give the recipe a try, it’s so good! Your recipe sounds tasty too.
Jen says
The sauce was delicious, but the flavor didn’t permeate the chicken. Next time I will slice the raw chicken breast into strips, before cooking in the instapot. No specifics about the weight for each chicken breast was given, but I still gave 4 stars because the flavor was amazing!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jen, I didn’t weigh my breast, just used 4 breast. Glad you enjoyed it!
Kara says
This recipe is a favorite at my house, it gets made at least once a month! We like to double the sauce and use sun dried tomatoes instead of the red peppers. I also use quite a bit more cornstarch because we like our sauce a little thicker.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kara! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
KT says
I give it 4 stars because, after following the recipe exactly, it was so tasty! The only reason I didn’t give it 5 is because the chicken was crazy rubbery. I’m wondering if I did something wrong, because I don’t see any other reviewers who had this problem?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi KT! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review, it sounds like it might of been slightly overcook but other than that I am not sure what would of caused that.
Marian Hughes says
Can’t wait to try this – could this be cooked in Instant Pot as slow cooker? and for how long? Thank you
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Marian, yes it can be made in the slow cooker. The written instructions are already in the blog post. Hope you enjoy it!
Emily says
My mom has made this recipe countless times and it is so good! If you don’t have an instant pot, would anyone know the time you’d cook it in a crock pot or oven?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Emily! Here is a similar version for the crockpot: https://www.thereciperebel.com/crockpot-tuscan-chicken/