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Delicious and Moist Instant Pot Chicken for Sandwiches, Salads, Etc.

Instant Pot Shredded and Brined Chicken on a plate with Instant Pot and tomatoes and onions in background

I’m really a lover of chicken thighs because they are so moist. I’ve been eating them for years. However, when Weight Watchers changed to the Freestyle program this past December and chicken breasts became free points,  I decided I needed to figure out how to to love chicken breasts.  I think I’ve done it with these Delicious and Moist Instant Pot Chicken.

Why brine the chicken first?

By brining the chicken breasts (or thighs) first, (preferably overnight), then cooking them in the Instant Pot, these breasts remain tender. If you’ve never brined a chicken before, don’t worry! It’s super easy! Basically you just let the chicken, water and salt sit for an amount of time in the refrigerator, then remove from brine and cook in your Instant Pot. That’s it!

Make on Sunday, use all week!

This is one of my Sunday prep meals. It’s super simple and it’s great to have cooked chicken for the week. I also like to vacuum seal it and put in the freezer for later.

What can I do with cooked chicken?

Add the cooked chicken to:

  • salads
  • sandwiches
  • wraps
  • tacos
  • pasta
  • thin crust pizza
  • put over spaghetti squash or butternut squash noodles with a little tomato sauce

The possibilities are endless! You can even freeze the cooked chicken for later!

Make ahead on the weekend and place into freezer seal bags. Freeze and pull out as needed throughout the week.

Delicious and Moist Instant Pot Chicken for Sandwiches, Salads, Etc.

Delicious and Moist Instant Pot Chicken - I'm really a lover of chicken thighs because they are so moist, but by brining the chicken breasts first, then cooking them in the Instant Pot, these breasts remain tender. If you've never brined a chicken before, don't worry! It's super easy! Basically you just let the chicken and salt sit for an amount of time in the refrigerator.
Weight Watchers Points: 0 Freestyle Smart Points
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Brine Time at least 1 hour 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Calories 46 kcal

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients
  

Brine:

  • 1 c. kosher salt
  • 3 qt. water
  • 1 pack of chicken breasts I buy the big pack at Costco, fresh, not frozen about 8 pounds

Other ingredients:

  • 3 c. chicken broth
  • 1-2 T. seasoning I like the Cajun seasoning from Costco, but whatever you prefer
  • 3 garlic cloves minced

Instructions
 

  • In a big plastic container with a lid, or bowl mix 3 qts. of water with the salt.
  • Add chicken. Cover with lid or plastic wrap.
  • Allow to brine overnight or at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Overnight is best.

Cooking the chicken

  • Remove chicken from brine.
  • To your Instant Pot, add chicken broth, minced garlic and chicken pieces.
  • Push the,  "Poultry," setting on the Instant Pot and decrease time to 8 minutes, if it doesn't decrease that low, push, "Manual," or on some models, "Pressure Cook," and set for 8 minutes on high pressure.
  • When Instant Pot is done, allow at least 10 minutes before releasing pressure.
  • Remove pieces from pot, allow to cool, then chop and freeze and use as needed.

Notes

If chicken is frozen, cook in Instant Pot about 10 minutes. Allow to sit at least 10 minutes before releasing pressure. Check to see that it's at least 160° (it will raise to 165 after sitting a bit). If not, put the lid back on, set timer for an additional 2-3 minutes. Wait again at least 10 minutes before you release pressure.
If you aren't doing that much chicken, feel free to cut the brine recipe in half.
This recipe doesn't take the sodium from the brine into the nutritional account, so if you are on a low sodium diet, please check with your doctor about brining before you make it.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ozCalories: 46kcalCarbohydrates: 0.1gProtein: 8.6gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 27.7mgSodium: 58mgVitamin A: 5.3IU
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

2 thoughts on “Delicious and Moist Instant Pot Chicken for Sandwiches, Salads, Etc.”

  1. Neat idea to soak the chicken in brine and then cook it in the chicken broth! I buy these same chicken breasts at Costco every month and cook them with canned tomatoes to make homemade tomato sauce and chicken for easy dinners during the week. I’ll have to try this out!

    1. Thanks Brianna! Brining is also great to do before you grill. I love doing this especially to chicken thighs-then we grill them, cut them up and divide into packages and freeze. Anytime you need some chicken, just pull it out of the freezer. Very tasty!

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