Super juicy, sweet and spicy Instant Pot chicken breast is a dinner life saver; they’re moist, perfectly cooked, and smothered in the most addictive sauce ever.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy dinner or meal prepping a bunch of chicken, the Instant Pot is a definitely the best choice. Because they’re so fast to make, you can have these sweet and spicy chicken breasts for dinner or meal prep them for the rest of your week. They’re great shredded, chopped, or sliced in salads, wraps, sandwiches, bowls, with rice, and on pasta. I’m in LOVE.

Instant pot chicken breast, Korean style

These chicken breasts are marinated in a sweet and spicy chili sauce that’s inspired by the BTS sweet chili sauce. I’m a low-key ARMY so when I saw that Mcdonald’s themed up with BTS for a chicken nuggget meal you bet I was there. I love nuggies! But most of all, I loved the sweet chili sauce! Because I suspected it was a classic Korean sweet and spicy sauce used with Korean fried chicken, I did a quick peep on the ingredients for the sweet chili sauce and it was almost exactly what you’d find in a Korean dakgangjeong sauce.

Sweet chili sauce

This chicken is cooked in a magical sauce that’s a mixture of brown sugar, gochujang, and soy sauce. It’s sweet and spicy and incredibly addictive.

What is gochujang?

Gochujang is a savory, sweet, spicy thick fermented paste made from chili powder and sticky rice. It adds sweet and heat and a ton of flavor. We use it for our baked salmon, in our cabbage soup, and our Korean fried chicken. Traditionally it comes in tubs, but these days you can find it in convenient squeeze bottles in the Asian aisle of literally any grocery store.

How to make Instant Pot chicken breast

1. Marinate. Mix together the marinade ingredients and cover the chicken in the marinade. Let marinate for 1 hour or up to overnight.
2. Cook on high pressure. Add the chicken to the Instant Pot along with 1 cup chicken stock and cook high high pressure for 5 minutes.
3. Natural release. When the Instant Pot is done, natural release for 5 minutes, then vent the pressure.
4. Remove. Open the Instant Pot and remove the chicken and set aside.
5. Make a sauce. If desired, whisk 1 tbsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp cold water. Bring the liquid in the Instant Pot up to a boil over high and stir in the slurry.
6. Let bubble until thick, then serve on the chicken.

How long to cook chicken breast in Instant Pot

• Boneless chicken breasts: 3-6 minutes on high pressure, plus 5 minutes of natural release, depending on size.
• Bone in chicken breasts: 8-10 minutes on high pressure, plus 5 minutes of natural release, depending on size.
• Frozen boneless chicken breasts: 10-12 minutes, plus 5 minutes of natural release, depending on size.

You’ll want to make sure the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Because chicken breasts come in all sizes and thickness, it’s best to get an instant read thermometer to make sure.

After the natural release and venting, remove the chicken breasts from the Instant Pot insert so they don’t have a chance to over cook and get dry.

Is frozen chicken breast instant pot friendly?

Can you cook frozen chicken breast in the instant pot? Yes, absolutely! See above for times.

Plain instant pot chicken breast

To make plain instant pot chicken breast for salads, sandwiches, wraps, and bowls, just skip the marinating in the sauce. To add more flavor to the chicken breast, you can flavor the chicken stock with aromatics like garlic, onion, leeks, or spices.

1. Add the chicken breast to the insert with 1 cup chicken stock and any aromatics you want to season your chicken with.
2. Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Natural release for 5 minutes, then vent and remove the lid.
4. Immediately remove the chicken from the stock, let cool, and shred, slice, or cube.

The secret to juicy Instant Pot chicken breast

The secret to juicy Instant Pot chicken breasts is…there is no secret! Well, there is a secret: don’t over cook them, because if you over cook your chicken breast, you’ll end up with dry chicken. I like to err on the shorter side of the time range I gave, because the chicken will continue to cook as the pressure is naturally released. It will come up in temp another couple of degrees while it’s resting too.

A thermometer is the best way of ensuring juicy chicken. The best kind of thermometer is a thermocouple style, but you don’t have to spring for the fancy expensive ones: this one is nice and inexpensive and still super fast.

The other tip I have is to let the breasts rest a bit, outside of the Instant Pot. Letting them rest for 2 minutes will let the juices settle, keeping the breasts juicy, instead of spilling out on to the plate.

What to serve with with this sweet-n-spicy chicken

• fluffy rice
• crispy roast potatoes
• super addictive broccoli salad

Dishes with gochujang

• Cabbage Soup
• Baked Salmon
• Bulgogi
• Korean BBQ at Home
• Air Fryer Korean Fried Chicken