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Instant Pot Marry Me Chicken

By Emily Carter
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
12 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American Italian
Servings 4

Equipment

  •  6-quart Instant Pot
  • instant-read thermometer
  • Wooden spoon

Ingredients
  

Chicken:

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts ~6 oz / 170g each
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp Italian seasoning

Sauce base before pressure:

  • 2 tbsp oil from the sun-dried tomato jar
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp double-concentrated tomato paste
  • ⅓ cup 55g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
  • ¾ cup 180ml low-sodium chicken stock

After pressure cycle only:

  • 1 cup 240ml heavy cream, minimum 36% fat
  • ½ cup 50g freshly grated Parmesan from a block
  • ¼ cup fresh basil leaves torn

Instructions
 

  • Pat chicken dry. Season both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
  • Sauté mode on high. Add oil. Sear chicken 3 min per side. Remove to a plate.
  • Add garlic. Stir 60 sec until pale gold. Add tomato paste. Stir 90 sec until darkened.
  • Add sun-dried tomatoes. Stir 30 sec.
  • Pour in stock. Scrape every bit from the pot bottom until clean. Turn Sauté off.
  • Nestle the chicken in a single layer. Seal lid. Valve to Sealing. Pressure Cook High 8 min.
  • Natural release 5 minutes. Then quick release.
  • Check internal temperature 165°F / 74°C minimum. If not reached, cook 2 more minutes.
  • Remove chicken. Sauté mode on medium. Add cream. Simmer gently 3–4 minutes.
  • Turn Sauté off. Add Parmesan in 3 stages, stirring fully between each.
  • Taste for salt. Return chicken. Spoon sauce over each piece. Add basil off the heat. Serve.

Notes

Frozen chicken: Increase cook time to 12 minutes. Extend pre-cream Sauté by 2–3 minutes to reduce excess moisture.
Sauce too thin: Sauté 2–3 extra minutes before cream. Do not add extra Parmesan.
Sauce grainy: Pre-shredded Parmesan was used. Always grate fresh from a block. Add off heat in three stages.
Burn notice: Deglaze more thoroughly. Confirm cream was not added before pressure. Increase stock to 1 cup if the problem persists.
Chicken thighs: Reduce cook time to 6 minutes. All other steps unchanged.