Name: Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Breasts with Potatoes and Carrots
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each); 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; 3/4 teaspoon granulated or powdered garlic; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; Zest of 1 small lemon (I use a microplane grater to grate off the peel); 2 pounds gold or new potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (peeled or unpeeled); 2 to 4 carrots, sliced into ¾-inch to 1-inch thick pieces (don’t slice them thinner, or they’ll be mushy); 1 small bunch chives, for garnishing potatoes and carrots before serving (or parsley); Butter, for flavoring potatoes and carrots before serving

Jump to Recipe

Instant Pot lemon garlic chicken breasts cook with soft, buttery potatoes and carrots for an easy one-pot meal. This is healthy home-cooked comfort food!

pressure cooker chicken breast, potatoes and carrots

Here's what I love about this recipe for Instant Pot chicken, potatoes and carrots: The entire meal - healthy, home-cooked comfort food - cooks in one pot at the same time.

Layer up the lemon-garlic chicken breasts, potatoes and carrots, cook for 10 minutes on high pressure, and dinner is ready!

Another thing I love about Instant Pot chicken breast and vegetables? Melted butter and chives. If you haven't had this combination in awhile, I highly recommend it over the steamed potatoes and carrots.

If you're lucky, you might have leftover, cooked chicken breast that can be turned into lunch or dinner the next day. Add it to macaroni salad with chicken, throw it into quinoa fried rice, or make chicken salad.

If you're looking for a simple potato and carrot recipe that cooks in just 3 minutes, try Instant Pot potatoes and carrots.

What you'll love about this recipe

All the ingredients cook at the same time
The chicken breast is moist and the veggies are soft-tender
A generous amount of seasoning on the chicken infuses flavor into the potatoes and carrots as they cook.
The whole dish has a wonderful lemon-garlic flavor and aroma.

How to cook instant pot chicken breasts

Most of the time I cook chicken thighs in my Instant Pot, because they are much harder to overcook and are a juicier, more flavorful cut of chicken. That's why I use chicken thighs in this recipe for Instant Pot chicken and white rice and for this Instant Pot chicken and brown rice recipe.

But sometimes, chicken breasts are what you want, right?

Here's the best way to cook Instant Pot chicken breasts:

Set the chicken on a trivet, so it steams above 1 cup water. If the chicken is sitting directly in water, it will boil instead of steam, which makes the meat tougher.
Cook for 10 minutes on high pressure plus a 5 minute quick release. This cooks chicken breasts nicely, without overcooking them.
Season very generously. I usually add ½ teaspoon salt for every pound of chicken breasts. You can also add black pepper, lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, or your favorite chicken seasoning.
Let the chicken breasts rest for 10 minutes before slicing. This helps lock in the juiciness and keeps the chicken moist.

Step-by-step instructions

Pour 1 cup of water in the Instant Pot. Set the chicken breasts on top of a trivet. Drizzle olive oil on the chicken breasts and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried oregano and fresh lemon zest.

raw chicken breasts on a pressure cooker trivet

2. Layer potatoes and carrots on top.

raw potatoes and carrots in a pressure cooker

3. Cook for 10 minutes on high pressure. Wait 5 minutes then do a quick release of steam.

Open Instant Pot with cooked potatoes and carrots

Storage

Leftover cooked chicken breasts can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. As you know, cooked chicken is very handy for lunches, salads and quick dinners.

To freeze cooked chicken breast, either whole or sliced, simply put the cooled chicken in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. Seal the bag almost all the way, then squeeze out as much air as possible. To defrost frozen cooked chicken, place in the refrigerator overnight.

White bowl filled with sliced chicken breast, potatoes and carrots, with chives around the bowl

Does this recipe make you hungry?
SUBSCRIBE
to the Kitchen Skip newsletter
for helpful tips, easy recipes
& good conversation

More Instant Pot chicken dinners

Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Breasts with Potatoes and Carrots

bowl of sliced chicken breast, potatoes and carrots

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 6 reviews

Instant Pot lemon garlic chicken breasts cook with soft, buttery potatoes and carrots for an easy one-pot meal. The seasoning on the chicken infuses the whole dish, giving flavor to the potatoes and carrots too.

Total Instant Pot Cooking Time: 15 minutes to reach pressure + 10 minutes cooking time + 5 minute quick release

This recipe was updated on Sept 16, 2021

Author: Jenny Meier | Kitchen Skip blog
Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 10
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
Category: Chicken
Method: Instant Pot
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 cup water
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¾ teaspoon granulated or powdered garlic
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Zest of 1 small lemon (I use a microplane grater to grate off the peel)
2 pounds gold or new potatoes, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces (peeled or unpeeled)
2 to 4 carrots, sliced into ¾-inch to 1-inch thick pieces (don’t slice them thinner, or they’ll be mushy)
1 small bunch chives, for garnishing potatoes and carrots before serving (or parsley)
Butter, for flavoring potatoes and carrots before serving

Instructions

Pour the water into the Instant Pot. Set the Instant Pot trivet on top.
Lay the chicken breasts on the trivet in a cozy, single layer. The chicken can overlap a little bit, but if you pile the chicken breasts on top of each other, the chicken won’t cook as well.
Brush or drizzle olive oil over the chicken breasts.
Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, oregano and lemon zest.
Layer the potatoes on top of the chicken. Some of the potatoes will fall over the side of the trivet, that’s fine.
Layer the the carrots on top of the potatoes. Season lightly with salt (about ½ teaspoon).
Secure the lid and program the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. The IP will take about 15 minutes to come up to pressure.
When the cooking time is done, wait 5 minutes then do a quick release by turning the pressure valve venting.
Use a slotted spoon to lift the potatoes and carrots out of the Instant Pot and into a serving dish. I like to lay several pats of butter on top so that it melts into the potatoes and carrots. Use kitchen shears to snip small pieces of chive over the potatoes and carrots.
Remove the chicken and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing the chicken. Add salt to taste.

Notes

The broth in the bottom of the Instant Pot is flavorful and tasty; consider serving it with the meal.

Keywords: Instant Pot chicken breasts, Instant Pot potatoes and carrots

Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Breasts with Potatoes & Carrots

What you'll love about this recipe

How to cook instant pot chicken breasts