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This Instant Pot Italian Chicken and Peppers recipe is an easy 30-minute meal made with just 4 ingredients. Flavorful, low in calories and big on taste! Serve over rice, pasta, cauliflower rice or over a salad. A quick and versatile weeknight meal! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Paleo
Ready for another easy peasy, no brainer dinner recipe? Here we go friends! So many of you loved the 2016 crockpot version of this Italian chicken recipe that I just had to show you how to do it with an Instant Pot.
Spoiler alert...it's EASY!
In fact, I've received tons of questions on how to accommodate the original recipe for pressure cooking throughout the years that I figured why not make it's own post?
It's own of my most popular, tasty recipes so let's do this!
Instant Pot Italian Chicken & Peppers
I love love love my Instant Pot for quick and easy meals. I personally never thought I would use it as much as I have. When it comes to cooking chicken in particular, it's superb.
In fact, I meal prep shredded chicken in mine several times a month for an easy, high protein meal.
Pressure cookers make chicken and veggies super tender after just 30 minutes of cooking. Not only makes great tasting food, but convenient too for easy meals!
So, if you've been on the fence about getting an Instant Pot do it. Then you can make this simple Italian chicken and pepper meal.
Healthy, low calorie, delicious flavors, simple ingredients, a no brainer meal that's versatile and family pleasing!
Ingredients You Need For Instant Pot Chicken and Peppers
- Chicken Breast (I get my organic, pasture-raised chicken from ButcherBox).
- Bell Peppers (one of every color!)
- Marinara Sauce with no sugar added
- Italian Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper
How to make healthy Italian chicken and peppers in an instant pot
Place the chicken breasts in your Instant Pot. They should be fully thawed before doing this (see notes below on frozen chicken breasts). Then add the remaining ingredients on top of the chicken.
Cover, set the valve to sealing and set the pot to steam for 30 minutes. Note it will take the pot several minutes to come to pressure. The amount of time will depend on the size of your pot.
After the pot has finished cooking, carefully move the valve to release or venting to release the pressure from the pot. Remove the cover once the steam has finished coming out of the valve. Using a tongs or two forks, shred the chicken in the pot. It will fall apart very easily!
Can you make frozen chicken in an Instant Pot
Yes! You can absolutely make shredded chicken in an Instant Pot and it's one of my favorite features of pressure cooking.
To make this Italian chicken recipe using frozen chicken, you'll need to add more cook time but not that much. Fully thawed chicken takes 8 minutes to cook in an Instant Pot and 12 minutes for frozen. If you're making this with frozen chicken, cook 38 minutes (for 1 pound of chicken).
Can you make Italian chicken and peppers in a crockpot
Yes! You can make the recipe in a slow cooker. It does take longer, but it's a great option for longer work days.
Toss the ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning before you leave and come home to a ready made dinner! Check out the full recipe here.
How To Serve Italian Chicken and Peppers
Here's a few options for serving your healthy Italian chicken and pepper recipe.
- Rice - Serving over white or brown rice is my favorite way to enjoy Italian chicken and peppers.
- Cauliflower Rice - For a lower carb or Paleo version, this is a great option. I also like to do half cauliflower rice and regular rice for a higher volume and higher fiber meal.
- Greens - This recipe is delicious served warm over a bed of your favorite greens.
- Pasta - High protein pasta, chickpea pasta, lentil pasta, black bean pasta are all great options for enjoying this meal.
- Zucchini or Spaghetti Squash - Spiralized zucchini or roasted spaghetti squash is another great option for serving this that's lower carb and Paleo friendly.
Substitutions For Crockpot Italian Chicken and Peppers
Here's the ingredient substitutions you can make for this low calorie chicken and pepper recipe! Remember when you make substitutions it will change the nutritional values you see in the recipe card below.
- Chicken Breast - You can use chicken thighs, pork tenderloin, turkey breasts, turkey tenderloin or lean cuts of beef.
- Marinara Sauce - You can use any type of spaghetti sauce you enjoy with this recipe. You can also use this homemade tomato sauce instead.
- Italian Seasoning - Italian seasoning is made of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram. You can use these individual spices instead if you do not have Italian seasoning. I also like to add a touch of crushed red peppers to this meal for a bit of spice.
- Bell Peppers - If bell peppers do not work for you, I recommend adding spiralized zucchini or roasted spaghetti squash instead.
Instant Pot Italian Chicken and Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 green bell pepper sliced into strips
- 1 red bell pepper sliced into strips
- 1 yellow bell pepper sliced into strips
- 1 orange bell pepper sliced into strips
- 12 ounces chicken breast boneless skinless (not frozen)
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 24 ounce Marinara sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add chicken breasts and bell peppers to an 8-quart Instant Pot then add seasonings, salt and pepper and pour marinara sauce over the top.
- Cover and set to steam or pressure cook 30 minutes (note it will take time for the pot to pressurize) and adjust the valve to sealing.
- Once it's beeps, manually release the pressure and remove the cover. Break apart the chicken with a tongs or using two forks. It will shred easily after pressure cooking.
- Serve immediately over lettuce, rice, cauliflower rice, pasta or whatever you like!
- Slow cooker version is here!
Notes
- 1 serving is approximately 1 1/2 cups
- My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my nutrition clients.
Nutrition
What I Used For The Recipe
If I double recipe is the cooking time the same?
Yes, the cook time would be the same.
I’m making this right now, and I’m a little confused. I am using frozen chicken, so when I put it in my instant pot I set the time to 38 minutes- but you also say it takes 12 minutes for frozen chicken to cook in an instant pot…. So which time do I go by??
38 minutes to make the recipe with frozen chicken breasts.
Okay, so when you set the time on the instant pot do you put 38 minutes or 12 minutes? Or do you mean that with the time it takes to get to pressure, it takes 38 minutes total?
Set the instant pot to 38 minutes.
Did I miss how to subscribe to the blog? Thanks!
Yes you did - the box to subscribe is right above the recipe card.