Instant Pot Tuscan chicken is tender chicken breast in a creamy garlic and Parmesan sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach. The chicken is browned and pressure cooked right in the pot, and the sauce is finished in the same pot in a couple of minutes. It looks and tastes like a restaurant dish, and it is on the table in about 25 minutes. Spoon it over buttered pasta or rice to catch every bit of sauce.
How to make Instant Pot Tuscan chicken: Brown seasoned chicken breasts in butter and sun-dried tomato oil on SAUTÉ. Add garlic, then chicken stock, scraping up the browned bits. Add Italian seasoning, salt and chili flakes and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken, then stir heavy cream, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach into the pot. Return the chicken and serve.
Why You’ll Love It
- One pot. Browning, pressure cooking and the sauce all happen in the Instant Pot.
- Fast. A 5-minute pressure cook.
- A rich, creamy sauce. Cream, Parmesan and garlic, with sweet-tart sun-dried tomatoes.
- Tender chicken. Pressure cooking keeps the breasts juicy.
- Good enough for company. Easy enough for a Tuesday.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken breasts. Two pounds, boneless and skinless.
Butter and sun-dried tomato oil. Three tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of the oil from the jar of tomatoes, for browning.
Garlic. Five cloves, minced.
Chicken stock. Half a cup. It is the liquid the pot needs to come to pressure.
Seasonings. One teaspoon of salt, divided, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon of chili flakes.
Sun-dried tomatoes. Half a cup, chopped.
Heavy cream. One cup.
Parmesan cheese. Half a cup, freshly grated.
Baby spinach. Two cups of leaves.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato oil, from the jar
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
How to Make Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken
1. Brown the chicken. Select SAUTÉ. Heat the sun-dried tomato oil and melt the butter. Season the chicken with some of the salt and the pepper. Cook the first side for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden, adjusting the heat if it browns too quickly. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes.
2. Add garlic and deglaze. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Pour in the chicken stock and scrape the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the Italian seasoning, remaining salt and chili flakes.
3. Pressure-cook. Secure the lid with the vent set to SEALING. Select PRESSURE COOK or MANUAL and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. The pot takes around 6 to 7 minutes to come to pressure. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
4. Check the chicken. Carefully open the lid and transfer the chicken to a plate. Check its thickest part with a food thermometer. Poultry must reach 165°F. If it has not, continue cooking until it does.
5. Finish the sauce. Select SAUTÉ and stir the heavy cream and freshly grated Parmesan into the pot. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Turn off SAUTÉ and let the spinach wilt.
6. Serve. Return the chicken to the pot and spoon the cream sauce over it. Serve over buttered pasta or rice, if you like.
What Goes In Before Pressure Cooking, and What Waits Until After?
This is the part that trips people up with creamy Instant Pot dishes. Not everything goes in at once. The pot is loaded in two stages, and the dairy belongs to the second one.
| Before pressure cooking | After pressure cooking |
|---|---|
| Butter and sun-dried tomato oil | Heavy cream |
| Chicken, browned on both sides | Freshly grated Parmesan |
| Garlic | Sun-dried tomatoes |
| Chicken stock, with the pot scraped clean | Baby spinach |
| Italian seasoning, salt and chili flakes | The cooked chicken, returned to the sauce |
The thin stock is what builds steam. The cream and cheese are stirred in at the end, on SAUTÉ, where you can watch them.
The step that helps most against the BURN message is the scraping. After the stock goes in, run a wooden spoon firmly across the base and lift every browned bit. Anything left stuck there can scorch as the pot heats, and the sensor reads that as burning.
Tips for Success
How do I avoid a BURN message?
Deglaze well. Pour in the stock and scrape the pot clean before you seal the lid. Keep the cream and Parmesan out until after pressure cooking.
How can I tell the chicken is safely cooked?
Take its temperature in the thickest part. It should read 165°F. Thick breasts may need a little longer, so check each one.
Why brown the chicken first?
Browning adds color and flavor, and the bits it leaves in the pot season the sauce once they are scraped up.
Should I use a quick release or a natural release?
Quick. Release the steam as soon as the program ends, so the chicken does not keep cooking.
Can I use pre-grated Parmesan?
Freshly grated cheese melts into the cream more smoothly.
How Long Does It Take?
About 25 minutes in all. The pressure setting is only 5 minutes, but the pot needs around 6 to 7 minutes to come to pressure first, plus the time to brown the chicken and finish the sauce.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, in shallow, covered containers, and use them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave until the chicken reaches 165°F. Add a splash of stock if the sauce has thickened.
What to Serve With It
Buttered pasta, rice or mashed potatoes all soak up the sauce, and crusty bread is good for the plate. For more creamy chicken dinners, try the chicken broccoli Alfredo pasta bake, the Ritz cracker chicken casserole or oven baked 3-ingredient creamy chicken. For slow cooker days, there are 4-ingredient slow cooker chicken and slow cooker cream cheese chicken. And for pure comfort, make chicken and dumplings with biscuits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must go into the pot before pressure cooking, and what should be added afterward?
Before: the browned chicken, garlic, stock and seasonings. After: the cream, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach.
How do I avoid a BURN message when making the sauce?
Scrape up the browned bits after adding the stock, and add the cream and cheese only after pressure cooking.
How can I tell whether the chicken is safely cooked after the pressure cycle?
Check the thickest part with a food thermometer. It should read 165°F.
What do I serve it over?
Buttered pasta or rice.
Final Notes
I grate the Parmesan and chop the tomatoes while the pot comes to pressure, so the sauce takes only a minute once the lid is off. If you make it, leave a comment to tell me how it turned out or ask a question.
Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken
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Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato oil from the jar
- 2 pounds chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper ground
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- Select SAUTÉ. Heat the sun-dried tomato oil and melt the butter. Season the chicken with some of the salt and the pepper. Cook the first side for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden, adjusting the heat if it browns too quickly. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Pour in the chicken stock and scrape the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the Italian seasoning, remaining salt and chili flakes.
- Secure the lid with the vent set to SEALING. Select PRESSURE COOK or MANUAL and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. The pot takes around 6 to 7 minutes to come to pressure. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
- Carefully open the lid and transfer the chicken to a plate. Check its thickest part with a food thermometer. Poultry must reach 165°F. If it has not, continue cooking until it does.
- Select SAUTÉ and stir the heavy cream and freshly grated Parmesan into the pot. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Turn off SAUTÉ and let the spinach wilt.
- Return the chicken to the pot and spoon the cream sauce over it. Serve over buttered pasta or rice, if you like.
Notes
Nutrition
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