Chicken Parmesan is a classic Italian dish that everyone loves. This recipe for Chicken Parmesan is easily made in an Instant Pot and it’s light since there is no breading on the chicken. This easy dinner is made in about 20 minutes and all you need is a few simple ingredients.
This chicken dinner can be made with homemade marinara sauce and the sauce can easily be made ahead of time. If you love Chicken Parmesan, then Chicken Parmesan Roll-Ups is another great recipe you can’t miss.
INSTANT POT CHICKEN PARMESAN
Chicken Parmesan is an easy, classic dinner that is a favorite for so many people. It’s definitely one of the top 5 favorite dinners for my family. As a matter of fact, it was one of first recipes I learned how to make.
Traditional Chicken Parmesan is made with crispy, oven baked chicken, and topped with marinara sauce and melted cheese. A few simple ingredients but they come together into one amazing dish.
This Chicken Parmesan recipe has all the same flavors, for the exception of the breading, and made in an Instant Pot. It takes a couple of minutes to saute the chicken, 3 minutes to pressure cook it, and a few minutes to melt the cheese. The whole dish will be done in about 20 minutes.
Without the breading, this dish is light, low carb, and gluten free. I’ve actually been making a “skinny” Chicken Parmesan for myself for years since it’s gluten free and I like it to be light. (I really like the light part.)
TIPS FOR MAKING CHICKEN PARMESAN IN AN INSTANT POT
Make sure to gather and prepare your ingredients before starting to cook. This recipe goes very quickly and if you don’t have your ingredients at hand, it will get frantic.
Sear chicken first, it will add more flavor to the dish.
For best flavors, use homemade marinara sauce (made with fresh tomatoes or canned). If homemade is not available, of course you can use your favorite store-bought sauce.
After adding cheese, do not turn the Instant Pot on. Simply close the lid and let the cheese melt for a few minutes. Pot is very hot so the cheese will melt in no time.
WHAT SIDES TO SERVE WITH CHICKEN PARMESAN
Transitionally, Chicken Parmesan is served over a bed of spaghetti. You can easily serve this chicken over spaghetti or any other pasta as well.
If you want to keep it light, serve it with roasted vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower or a mix of vegetables.
Side salad is another great light side for Chicken Parmesan. Italian dressing or Balsamic Vinaigrette will pair perfectly with these chicken flavors.
For a little richer side, try this creamy and cheesy asparagus side dish.
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Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt
- cracked black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves pressed
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 tbsp fresh minced basil
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tbsp fresh minced basil
Instructions
- Note: this recipe will work for 2 large chicken breasts sliced in half or 4 small chicken breasts (not cut in half).
- Slice large chicken breasts in half, width-wise, to create 4 thin chicken breast halves.
- Season all sides of the chicken with some salt and pepper.
- Set Instant Pot on "saute" and let it heat through.
- Add some olive oil to the pot and place chicken breast halves in it. Let chicken saute until it starts to brown on one side and flip them over. Let them saute until that side starts to brown and take chicken out.
- Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add marinara sauce and basil and stir well. Let it heat through and turn off the saute.
- Nestle chicken back into the pot, in the middle of the sauce.
- Close the lid and make sure it's latched. Turn the valve to "seal" and set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on LOW pressure for 3 minutes.
- When it's done, turn it off, and carefully release the pressure on quick release. Add Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and some basil over each chicken half.
- Close the lid but do not turn on the Instant Pot. Just let the cheese melt in closed pot for 4-5 minutes. Take off the lid and serve right away.
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Carol says
We love this recipe. It’s easy, healthy, and very yummy. I do add extra sauce to make the dish go farther. And I extra garlic to all of my dishes that call for garlic.
LyubaB says
I’m so happy to hear you love the Chicken Parmesan! 😊 Adding more garlic sounds delicious—I’m all for extra garlic too! 🧄 Thank you for sharing your tweaks; it’s always fun to see how others make recipes their own.
Anne says
Can you make this in the crockpot?
Leah says
Can you make this from frozen chicken?
LyubaB says
I would defrost the chicken first before cooking so it’s not watery.