Instant Pot – Page 2 – Cook With Sami B

Dominican-Style Chicken Fricassee

I was born in New York City, daughter to Dominican parents. Our dinners mainly consisted of white rice, pinto beans, and some kind of meat with a green salad. Very simple, but very flavorful. It’s a meal known as “La Bandera” (the flag).

The rice was perfectly fluffy and salty. The meat was juicy and tender. The beans were a delicious sauce that brought it all together. I didn’t eat salad much growing up. I probably should have. I’m sure the coolness of the tomato and the lettuce works really well with the rest of the meal.

Chicken fricassee, also known as pollo guisado is the perfect recipe that hits all of these highlights. It’s flavorful, forgiving for the average cook, and softens tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions just enough. Pollo guisado is generally done on the stove top and simmered until the chicken becomes fall off the bone tender. As soon as it was ready, you’d call your other half, kids, and the neighbor kids over for a nice meal and enjoy the deliciousness.

This recipe requires a little prep work, but you can skip searing the chicken to cut back on time when you need to get dinner on the table ASAP. Depending on how many batches of chicken you need to saute, you could save 6 minutes or more. When I made this recipe, I used nearly 4 pounds of chicken quarters which had to be seared one by one. Including the 25 minutes or so it took to do that, plus 10 minutes building pressure, 20 minutes at high pressure, and 15 minute natural pressure release, dinner was served in 1 hour and 10 minutes. Had I skipped searing, dinner would have been ready in 45 minutes.

Pollo guisado pairs nicely with my habichuelas guisadas, Jasmine rice, and a green salad. Read on for the recipe!

Equipment List:

6 Quart Instant Pot (I have a Duo 7-in-1)
Large mixing bowl
Medium mixing bowl
Cutting board
Plate to hold the browned chicken
Wooden spoon
Tongs (to transfer the chicken)
2-gallon zip top bags

Ingredient List:

2 pounds of skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces (I used chicken quarters)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 and 1/2 tablespoons Adobo seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small white onion sliced into strips
4 plum tomatoes cut into quarters
1 green bell pepper, sliced and seeded
1 red bell pepper, sliced and seeded
1/4 cup pitted olives cut into halves with its juice (optional)
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 lime
Cilantro leaves chopped for garnish

Cast of characters for tonight’s recipe. Not pictured: olive oil and lime.

Recipe Instructions:

Mix the seasonings and set aside. (Note: the Adobo seasoning has plenty of salt, so no need for any in this recipe!)
Add the onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, olives with their juice, and garlic to a 2-gallon zip top bag. Set aside.
Prepare the chicken. I wash my chicken, but you don’t have to. Just be sure to pat it dry.
Add the chicken to the vegetable mix, include the seasoning and two tablespoons of olive oil and close the bag.
Thoroughly massage the bag to incorporate the chicken, vegetables, olive oil, and seasonings. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Decon all areas within ten feet of the raw chicken. Salmonella is no joke.
Set your Instant Pot to the sauté mode and press the adjust button to medium heat. When the screen reads “HOT,” add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot. (You may have to take the pot out and swirl the oil around due to the slightly curved bottom of the pot.) Add the sugar and cook until caramelized – about two minutes. Watch to make sure the sugar doesn’t burn!
After a minute, brown the chicken on each side for about three minutes. (Reserve the marinade.) After browning, place the chicken on another plate.

This is the color you’re looking for when searing the chicken.

Pour two tablespoons of water plus some of the marinade juice. Using a wooden spoon, deglaze the pot, scraping up the browned bits to incorporate into the liquid.
Pour the remainder of the marinade into inner lining of the Instant Pot. Add the chicken on top, ensuring it’s in an even layer.
Juice the like and pour it all over.

Look at that bed of delicious veggies and marinade!

The chicken, nestled on top of the veggie layer.

Lock the lid in place. Set the knob to sealing. Press the poultry button and set to 13 minutes at high pressure, if one layer, 20 minutes if you had to overlap meaty pieces.
After the Instant Pot completes the cooking cycle, let the pressure come down naturally for about 15 minutes then release any remaining pressure after that.
Carefully remove the lid (make sure you keep away from the steam escaping!) and set aside.
If you want, carefully remove the chicken and switch to saute mode to thicken the sauce.
Serve chicken over rice with a small bowl of stewed beans on the side. I personally like the beans on the same plate, so I can get that perfect bite easily and every time!
Enjoy the savory flavors!

The finished plate. I smothered the chicken in the veggies, which added a nice pop of flavor.

What do you think of this recipe? I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! Give it a like, so I know to make more recipes like this.

Thank you for sharing some of your screen time with me! If you liked this recipe, please hit the like button so I know to make more content like this. Tell me what you want me to try making next in the comments below. Also, check out my Facebook and Instagram (tag me at @cookwithsamib) for more photos and my Pinterest for what inspires me. Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for updates when I hang new posts!

Buen provecho! – Sami B.

Instant Pot 1950s Sunday Pot Roast

“Sam, the 1950s want their pot roast back” – my husband after eating my old-fashioned pot roast that I made in the Instant Pot.

It’s just that good. A warm, flavorful, comforting meal of beef chuck roast, potatoes, and sweet, buttery carrots with delicious gravy in every bite. I made this pot roast for the first time last year and my husband has raved about it ever since. I could tell that he liked it because he kept going up for more even though he was full.

Yup, it’s just that good.

Jump to the Equipment List. Jump to the Ingredient List. Jump to the Recipe Instructions.

Although pot roast was never a thing for me growing up, I associate it with Sunday afternoon dinners after church services. Several years ago, when visiting family in Phoenix, my mother-in-law made one for after worship supper that was delicious. The delicious and savory smell greeted us when we came home after socializing with the other congregants. It was a smell that makes me think of a warm and happy home. I wanted to do that for my family.

Despite my desire, I was never good at making pot roast in the oven, old-fashioned or not. I could never get it fall-apart tender and I didn’t have an hour per pound or the patience to spare to get the job done. I tried everything when making it in the oven, resulting in fail, after fail, after fail.

On a number of occasions I have done a great pot roast in the slow cooker, but that involves searing the meat on a separate pan on the stove, then transferring the contents to the slow cooker. In the morning. Before work. With two rambunctious, demanding-my-attention-all-the-time boys that I have to get ready and fed before school lest I want to have the meltdown to end all meltdowns from either or both of them. (Despite that description of them, I love them dearly and can’t picture my life without them.)

My slow cooker pot roast is nothing short of fantastic. I endeavored to convert it into an Instant Pot version, because, why not?

A good pot roast starts with chuck roast. A chuck roast is a cheap cut of meat that’s tough and stringy with all of that fat running through it. Because of this, a chuck roast only becomes tender from low and slow cooking temperatures and long cooking times. So the slow cooker is the only way to get it done, especially if I can’t hack it the oven. Right?

Right?

WRONG! The Instant Pot can get you a spoon tender, melt-in-your mouth result just as well – or better – than the traditional methods.

My pot roast recipe which fools people into thinking I spent three hours alone just cooking the thing. Maybe I’m the Hispanic June Cleaver, it’s so good.

Don’t let me sway you away from the slow cooker version of this dish. It certainly has its place. There is something about the smell of delicious meal welcoming you home after a long day’s work. I love that about my slow cooker. My Instant Pot will never replace my slow cooker. But my slow cooker does not do anything fast. It wasn’t build for that.

Now, before I jump in, I need you to be aware of something. In this exact form, this isn’t a weeknight friendly recipe. However, you employ a few shortcuts if you want to have this meal the same day.

For example, you could skip the sauteing of ingredients and just dump and go and be eating in about 1 1/2 hours. And that’s fine. BUT, meals like pot roast, chili, and beans are always better the next day because the flavors have had a chance to meld.

I made this recipe and had it the same evening and it was phenomenal. But the next day, my boss who cannot eat meat due to dietary concerns asked me where I got my lunch. This old-fashioned pot roast recipe upset the balance in the world.

Ever see Once Upon a Time in Mexico (AKA Desperado 2)? There’s this side story about Sheldon Sands, a CIA agent who eats the same pork dish at every Mexican restaurant he ends up at. In one particular scene, he meets with El Mariachi and remarks that the slow cooked pork he’s eating is the best he’s ever had. And because it’s the best he’s ever had, it upsets the balance in the world. In order to reset the balance, he has no choice but to kill the cook.

My pot roast upsets the balance in the world. It is the pot roast of pot roasts, the recipe to end all recipes of this sort. Try it and you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t shoot the chef after you eat it.

For my 1950’s Sunday Pot Roast, read the recipe below.

Equipment List:

6-quart Instant Pot
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Measuring spoons
Measuring cup
Tongs
Ladle to scoop the deliciousness
Wooden spoon
Veggie chopper (optional)
Plate
Aluminum foil

Ingredient List:

3-4 pound chuck roast, cut into two even sized pieces
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried or ground oregano
2 teaspoons salt (cut down to 1 teaspoon if you’re sensitive to sodium)
2 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons of cooking oil (I used bacon grease)
2 cups of beef stock
2 teaspoons of fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce
1 yellow onion
3 ribs of celery
6 cloves of garlic
a few sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary (optional)
baby carrots (your choice how much)
creamer potatoes (your choice how much)
4 tablespoons of salted butter, divided
Au jus seasoning packet (I used Lawry’s)
Dried parsley for garnish, if desired

Ingredients for an instant pot old-fashioned pot roast. — *Cast of characters for tonight’s recipe.*

It’s a lot of ingredients. But they all work together to produce a delicious pot roast. Trust me when I say it’s all worth it.

Recipe Instructions:

Slice the onion into half-rounds. Set aside.
Using the veggie chopper or your chef’s knife, dice the celery and garlic. Set aside.
If using, wash and pat dry the rosemary and thyme sprigs. This is optional, but I have these herbs growing in my garden and I wanted to use them here.
Mix together your dried seasonings. Do not include the fresh rosemary and thyme here. Reserve those for later.
Place the potatoes and carrots on separate pieces of aluminum foil. Add salt and pepper to taste and drop in one tablespoon of butter in each. Wrap up the foil and set aside.

Buttered creamer potatoes for my instant pot old-fashioned pot roast recipe. — *I did the same with the carrots. I also decided to season each in their own packets for added flavor.*

Cut your roast into two or three uniform-sized pieces. You will want each piece to fit in the bottom of your inner liner.
Season each piece of meat with the dry seasonings. Don’t be stingy with the seasoning here. You should use it all up.

Cut and seasoned chuck roast for my instant pot old-fashioned pot roast. — This is how your roast should look prior to searing. Feel free to add more seasoning if you want.

Push the Saute button and adjust the heat level to more. When the display reads “HOT,” put in the cooking fat and swirl it around the bottom of the pot.
After about a minute, brown the pieces of meat for about two to three minutes a side. Flip using tongs. Do not disturb the meat while it’s browning and make sure to not crowd the bottom of the pot.
While the meat is cooking, mix your wet ingredients in a 2-cup measuring cup.

Seared chuck roast for my old-fashioned instant pot pot roast. — *This is the color you’re looking for on the roast. Those browned bits equal delicious flavor that will blow your mind.*

Once the meat is seared, remove from the pot and set aside on a plate.
Meanwhile, pour in about a 1/4 cup of liquid mixture and the remaining butter and deglaze the bottom of the pot using your wooden spoon. Make sure to get as many of those browned bits up as possible since this will add depth of flavor to the finished dish and will prevent the pot from displaying a burn notice during the pressure cooking process.
Saute the onions for a few minutes, then add the celery and garlic. Saute the vegetables until they become translucent. Take care in this step to not burn the garlic.
Pour in the remaining liquid mixture and mix well. The browned bits will infuse with the liquid.
Place the roast back into the pot. If you cut it, be sure to nestle the pieces in evenly.
If using, place the rosemary and thyme on top. of the roast.

Prepared ingredients for instant pot old fashioned pot roast. — *I know this is going to be goooooooooood eating!*

Press the “Cancel/Keep Warm” button to stop the saute function.
Place the foil packets on top of the roast.

Now, you might be wondering, why put the veggies in now? It’s going to be a long cook time and they’ll turn to mush! True if potatoes and carrots are going straight in to the pot. But something about putting them above the rest of the ingredients and wrapped in foil keeps them from disintegrating. They certainly get cooked, but they don’t fall apart when you stick in a fork.

Seal and lock the lid. Place the pressure valve to sealing.
Press the manual or pressure cook button (I used the meat button. Note that there is no difference here) and using the +/- buttons, set the time to 60 minutes.
After the cooking cycle is over, let the pot naturally pressure release for about 15 minutes. Carefully release any remaining pressure by moving the pressure valve to venting.
Carefully remove the lid.
Remove the foil packets and set aside.
Remove and dispose the herb sprigs.
Remove the roast and set aside on a plate. The roast may fall apart at this point, so take care to not have hot liquid splashing on you!
Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button again.
Press the “Saute” button and adjust the heat to more.
Pour in the au jus seasoning and stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate. Allow the mixture to bubble for a couple of minutes to thicken to the desired consistency.
Slice meat.
Serve with the thickened sauce, potatoes, and carrots.
Enjoy!

*Look at it. Just look at it. It needed a hunk of bread!*

Bread hack: wrap in plastic and freeze your bread in medium sized hunks so you can heat up when the mood strikes! Warm in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes and slice to desired sized pieces. Crusty bread is great for sopping up that delicious sauce!

Let me know how you like your pot roast and when you usually have it. There isn’t one “right” way. I usually know it’s a hit when my husband goes for a second serving on a full stomach! I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as we did!

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Buen provecho! – Sami B.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Ah, the pig. It is a great animal for all sorts of meals. Think about whole pigs cooked in a pit, Kahlua pig, ham steaks for breakfast, ham hocks for baked beans, and – of course – bacon! You can have pork products for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Some parts are succulent like bacon or fat back. Others are really lean like loin. When done well, a meal featuring pork is a meal to write home about.

Pork seems to be very popular in the summer. However, you can have pork any time of year. You don’t have to wait for an end-of-summer barbecue to have a delicious pulled pork slider!

Jump to the Equipment List. Jump to the Ingredient List. Jump to the Recipe Instructions.

Pork shoulder is a tough cut of meat. Also known as pork butt, Boston shoulder, butt, or Boston butt (because it was transported in barrels known as “butts” back in the day), it has lots of fat that running through the fibers of meat. This cut benefits from low and slow cooking because the fat renders out through those fibers, adding flavor and making the end result tender.

The shoulder is my favorite cut of pork for my Cuban-Inspired Slow Cooker Mojo Pork. My husband has used the lower part of the shoulder, known as the picnic, for his own pork recipes in the cast iron dutch oven. When cooked for a long period of time at low temps, the shoulder becomes tender, succulent, and delicious.

~~So, expect to spend hours if you want to do anything with the shoulder.~~ While the shoulder benefits from long cook times, the Instant Pot cuts down on that time and still produces that delicious, succulent, tender result you get from low and slow cooking. You read that right. Instant Pot to the rescue!

You will be making delicious pulled pork whenever the mood strikes. Read on for the recipe.

Equipment List:

6-quart Instant Pot* (*See Note below)
Chef’s knife
Cutting board
Measuring cup
Measuring spoons

*Note: I used a 3-pound pork shoulder in this recipe. You may be able to go up to about 6 pounds in the 6-quart. Keep in mind that you will have to cut the meat so that it fits evenly in the inner liner of the pressure cooker. If you have a larger roast – Let me know, I’ll be right over – then consider sizing up to an 8-quart (plus an additional 1/2 cup of water) or freeze half the roast for another day.

Ingredient List:

3-pound pork shoulder
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder (optional)
1 medium white onion
4 tablespoons of cooking oil, divided
Two bottles barbecue sauce of choice (I used what I had on hand)
1/2 cup of water
Cole slaw mix with pre-made dressing (or you can make your own)

Ingredients for my Instant Pot Pulled Pork recipe! — Cast of characters for tonight’s meal.

Recipe Instructions:

Slice up the onion and set aside.
Slice the pork shoulder into two or three even cuts. You want to be able to fit each piece independently into the bottom of the pot for searing.
Season the pork shoulder pieces with salt, pepper, and garlic (if using)
On your Instant Pot, select “Sauté” mode and adjust to high heat.
When the display reads “HOT” pour in two tablespoons of your cooking oil. Swirl it around to evenly coat the bottom of the inner pot. It’s natural for the oil to collect along the edges of the pot due to its design.
After about a minute, sear each side of the pork pieces for about two minutes per side. This may have to be done in batches, which is OK.*

Pork shoulder cooking in an Instant Pot — I was able to sear only one piece at a time. More than that, and the meat would have been *sweating* instead of *searing*.

*Note: Crowding the pieces causes them to sweat instead of sear. You want that maillard reaction to deepen the flavor profile of the meat and resulting sauce. Trust me on this. “Dump and go” cooking has its place in busy lives, but if you can spend the time searing your meat and incorporating those burned bits into your dish, the result will be that much better.

Seasoned and seared pork shoulder — This is the color you’re looking for when searing the pork.

Remove the shoulder pieces and reserve on a plate. Cover with foil in the meantime.
Add a little bit of the water to the pot. Begin deglazing the bottom by scraping with a wooden spoon.

Browned bits in the Instant Pot — That deliciousness will add depth of flavor to your dish.

When the pot is mostly cleaned, add the onions and sauté. The onions will release moisture and help deglaze any remaining bits.
Sauté until the onions turn translucent.
Pour in the rest of the water and nestle the pork pieces in one even layer on top of the onions.
Pour one container of barbecue sauce on top of the pork. Do not mix.*

*Note: Thick sauces have a tendency to cause a burn notice with the Instant Pot. Thick sauces on the bottom of the pot will scorch and not allow the pot to come to pressure. Not to mention that the burned flavor is something the dish can’t recover from no matter what you do.

Repeat after me: thick sauces on top, do not stir.

Turn off the “Sauté” mode by pressing “Keep Warm/Cancel.”
Place the lid on and lock it into place. Turn the steam valve to sealing.
Press manual or pressure cook (I use the meat button) and set the timer to 45 minutes under high pressure.
Meanwhile, make your cole slaw and marinate in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
When the cook cycle is complete, let the pot rest for 15 minutes. Then, release any remaining pressure by turning the valve to venting.
Toast your buns, if using.
Remove the pork roast from the pot. It may fall apart here, and that’s fine.
Shred the pork with two forks.
Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button and then “Sauté.” Stir the sauce with your wooden spoon until it’s reduced to your liking.
Return the shredded pork to the sauce or keep it on the side and spoon a little sauce over to keep it moist.
Serve with a side of the remaining barbecue sauce. I like my pulled pork with a heaping spoonful of slaw in a lightly toasted bun.

How do you like your pulled pork? What’s your favorite barbecue sauce? Let me know what sides you enjoy with your sandwiches! If you liked this recipe, please let me know by liking this post.

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Buen provecho! – Sami B.

Instant Pot Sweet Corn Spoon Bread Bites

Inspiration struck as I was looking at the pantry. I was thinking about a baby shower I was going to the next day. I wasn’t cooking anything for it but I was wondering what I would make. I saw a box of corn meal and it dawned on me that I love and miss sweet corn spoon bread.

I thought to myself, why not try and make some? So, I got to experimenting. This experiment resulted in way too many corn spoon bread bites and a recipe that I’m happy to share with you.

Jump to the Equipment List. Jump to the Ingredient List. Jump to the Recipe Instructions.

Spoon bread is ooey, gooey, and sweet. It’s cooked all the way through to a safe temperature, but very soft and delicious. I would add this to the comfort foods list. This would go well for end-of-summer barbecues or potlucks that focus on “small bite” fare. This can be easily consumed with your hands, or you can use a fork and knife instead.

I’ve had spoon bread at Thanksgiving, too. It replaced the sweet potato casserole as the sweet dessert-before-dessert. Sometimes I prefer spoon bread to sweet potato casserole because it isn’t too sweet.

Spoon bread is the kind of side that my kids enjoy and will ask for continually. Some Mexican restaurants serve a similar side dish called sweet corn cake. It’s got the consistency of a cake and is slightly sweet. Whenever we go to El Torito, we make sure to grab a larger bowl of it to share between me and the kids.

Equipment List:

6-quart Instant Pot
Trivet with legs
Egg bite mold (I use this one)
Paper towel to cover the mold
Aluminum foil to cover the mold
Two medium-sized mixing bowls
Wire whisk
Measuring spoons and cup
Plate larger than the mold to pop out the bites

Ingredient List:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup corn meal
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons white sugar
A pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup sweet corn (drained if from a can)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 teaspoons milk
1/2 cup creamed corn (about 1/3 of a can)
4 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted and at room temperature
Cooking spray or melted butter to grease the egg bite molds
1 cup water for cooking

Cast of characters for this experiment. I definitely ended up making a lot that night! I was also making dinner in my other 6-quart and my 3-quart Instant Pots. Let’s talk about multitasking!

Recipe Instructions:

Mix all the dry ingredients together in one bowl.
Mix all the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Little lumps are OK, but you don’t want to activate the gluten in the flour.
Grease your egg bite mold. This will help the bites pop out when done cooking.
Pour the batter into the mold.
Cover the mold with a paper towel to collect any condensation that may occur.
Cover the mold and paper towel with aluminum foil.
Pour one cup of water into the inner liner of your Instant Pot.
Place the trivet inside.
Carefully place the mold on top of the trivet.
Seal and lock in the lid and set the sealing knob to the seal position.
Press manual (or pressure cook, depending on your model) and using the +/- buttons, set it for seven minutes’ cook time.
After the cooking cycle is complete, carefully turn the knob to the venting position for a quick release.
Carefully remove the lid and the mold. The mold will be hot!
Place a plate upside down over the mold and flip.
The bites should pop out easily. If not, run a knife around the edges of each bite.

If you enjoyed this, like this recipe. What occasion do you make these bites for?

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Buen provecho! – Sami B.

Instant Pot Bone-In Chicken

I love chicken. Chicken is relatively inexpensive in comparison to other proteins such as meat, fish, and pork. Our local Safeway sells cut up chicken parts for about $2.99 a pound and whole chickens for $1.99 a pound. I will regularly see sales for whole chickens as low as 79 cents in the summer and 99 cents for cut up parts. The organic chicken is certainly more expensive. If you really want to save on chicken, buy a whole bird and learn how to chop it up for parts. Save the backs for chicken stock and freeze what you don’t use immediately so you can stock up on what you want for whatever meal you’re making.

Jump to the Equipment List. Jump to the Ingredient List. Jump to the Recipe Instructions.

I used to only eat white meat, because it was lean and I knew when it was cooked once it was no longer pink. But, as I learned more about cooking and watching the temperature of foods to determine when they were done, I grew an appreciation for the other cuts of the bird like thighs and legs. Thighs and legs work wonderfully for such creations as my Filipino-inspired adobo chicken or for barbecue recipes. Chicken breast can be a blank slate for your seasonings while chicken thighs and legs have a wonderful flavor and are forgiving for the average cook like myself.

There are various chicken recipes that are weeknight friendly. Bone-in pieces take longer due to the fact that the meat closest to the bone takes longest to cook through. Before I made this, I didn’t find bone-in chicken to lend itself to quick weeknight cooking.

In making this recipe, I took into account the fact that the kids were starting school up again (SUMMER WAS SO SHORT!) and that I wanted to make a meal that would be ready in under an hour.

Husband and I have started talking after-school activities for the kids. If we go this route, our time at home will be extremely limited. So, Instant Pot to the rescue! Read on for the bone-in chicken recipe that will change your cooking game.

I have a 6 quart 7-in-one Duo Instant Pot that I bought it just after we first moved into our house in 2016. One of my best friends wanted to buy me one because she loved hers so much, but the sale on Amazon was too good to pass up. Several years later, I bought a 3-quart Duo at a super cheap price to do things like sides, beans, and rice. When I told her this, she let me know she couldn’t use hers anymore, so I adopted her 6-quart.

Yes, we are an Instant Pot family. It isn’t the only thing we use to cook – our stove, grill, and smoker get exercised every so often. I love that the Instant Pot is a multicooker with the sauté function built in. I use that function in this recipe to great success.

Equipment List:

Instant Pot – I used my 6 quart.
Trivet with short legs (I used the one that came with my Instant Pot).
Measuring spoons.
Measuring cup (you don’t really need it, but if you’re particular like me, you may want it).
Cutting board.
Carving knife.
Food-safe rubber gloves (I use these Kirkland ones).
Decontamination wipes. Can’t be too safe with that raw chicken!
Wooden spoon.
Tongs.

Ingredient List:

Bone-in chicken breast halves. I used three from Sprouts.
3 teaspoons Paprika.
2 tablespoons Kosher salt.
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning.
2 tablespoons garlic powder.
3/4 cup chicken stock or water.
2 tablespoons cooking oil of choice, divided.

*Cast of characters for today’s recipe.*

Recipe Instructions:

Clean the chicken. I like to remove the sliminess from the chicken if it’s been in packaging. If I bought the chicken previously and repackaged it, I skip this step.
Decon everything within a million feet of where you washed the chicken.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
Season liberally with the spices.
Push the sauté button on the Instant Pot and with the adjust button (or sauté button, depending on your model) set the temp to the highest setting.
Once the display says “HOT,” pour one tablespoon of cooking oil into the inner pot.
In batches, place the chicken skin-side down and do not disturb for three minutes. You’ll want to brown the skin to get the Maillard reaction. This adds depth of flavor to the dish. I recommend you don’t skip this step, but you could certainly dump and go if you’re really short on time.
Flip the chicken and brown the other side for about three minutes. (If you notice the pot getting a little dry, pour in the rest of the cooking oil, wait for it to heat up, and continue browning your chicken.)
Remove the chicken and allow to rest on a clean plate.

*This is the color you’re looking for in browning the meat.*

Pour about a 1/4 cup of the chicken stock and scrape up the browned bits with your wooden spoon. This performs two functions: 1. it mixes those delicious browned bits into the stock and 2. deglazing the bottom of the pan will prevent the dreaded “BURN” notice.
Pour in the rest of the chicken stock.
Push the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button to stop the sauté mode.
Place the trivet into the pot.
Put in the browned chicken on top of the trivet. Make sure all the chicken is in an even layer. If they have to overlap, do so with the thinnest side of the breasts. I place the thinnest side toward the middle, which is the easiest for me.

Browned chicken breasts in the Instant Pot. — *This is how I layered my chicken in my 6-quart Instant Pot. Notice that the thinnest parts are toward the middle, which made nestling these pieces in very easy.*

Lock the lid into place and turn the sealing knob back to the sealing position.
Push the “Poultry” button and set for 10 minutes (or you can use the Manual button if you prefer).
After the cooking cycle is over, let the pot rest for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure.
Test the temperature to ensure that the thickest part of the chicken reads at 165 degrees for at least five seconds. If it’s not quite there, give it another minute or two in the pot, but for three large bone-in breasts, 10 minutes under pressure was plenty!
Slice, serve, and enjoy!

I had my chicken with my Jasmine rice and Dominican habichuelas guisadas, both made in the Instant Pot. Delish!

Instant Pot Bone-In Chicken with some Instant Pot Jasmine Rice and Instant Pot Habichuelas Guisadas. — *Small plate… because I was feeling fancy that day.*

I really hope you liked this recipe. Please let me know in the comments below how you like to use your bone-in chicken breast. If you used different seasonings, I’m interested to know! Give this recipe a go, hit the like button, and please don’t forget to subscribe so you can get more recipes.

Buen provecho! – Sami B.

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