This is probably the most ridiculously easy “recipe” of this entire Instant Pot shindig, and yet it might just be the one I’ve made most often. There’s a lot to be said for putting in a few minutes of work and having homemade convenience foods at your fingertips. Happy sigh.
We’re one of those weird families who prefers to be able to pronounce all of the ingredients in our daily diet, which typically rules out most lunchbox convenience foods. We bought nitrate-free deli meat for years (and still might on occasion), but finally decided to kick ourselves into gear and come up with a new norm that didn’t include daily compromising on our attempts to avoid preservatives, sugars, and assorted other questionable ingredients.
We wanted a quick-grab option made from actual fresh meat, and seasoned simply with unprocessed herbs and salt. And, most importantly, one that our kids would all eat in their lunch boxes, day after day. A tall order? Actually, not at all. So easy, in fact, that we can’t believe we didn’t do it sooner.
Here’s how it goes:
Place chicken breasts in the instant pot (fresh or frozen – both work), sprinkle with your choice of seasoning. We typically just use some Redmond seasoning salt, our fave, or Herbamore, which was our AIP go-to. Our pickiest eater prefers the meat pretty plain, so we keep it simple.
Cook, slice, and freeze. Done. MAN OH MAN, it’s SO easy and fast. The instant pot cooks the chicken so perfectly juicy. And guys – you won’t miss the easy option of deli meat, honest! Plus – these chicken slices are delightful on a big lunch salad and they’ll thaw in about ten minutes, so this covers the entire family’s lunches, not just the kiddos.
If you want to try another non-oven method (my chicken breasts always dry out so easily in the darn oven!) then check out this recipe for Air Fryer Chicken Breast. We loooooove our air fryer and this method looks equally as simple.
Looking for more posts like this one? Check these out:
- 19 Easy (Real Food) Instant Pot Recipes for Hesitant Beginners
- 4 Things I Learned About My Instant Pot in the First 6 Months
- Quick Healthy Meals Ultimate Guide (101 Tips, Recipes, and Strategies)
Instant Pot Herbed Chicken Lunchmeat
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- seasoning of your choice (my go-to's are listed below)
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- 1. Place chicken breasts in your instant pot. Use your trivet if you're cooking a lesser amount, and they fit, otherwise it's fine without.2. Sprinkle generously with your favourite herbs and real sea salt.3. Set instant pot for 8 minutes (for fresh chicken), or 10 (for frozen).4. Allow for natural pressure release, and then let chicken cool for an hour. (It's much easier to slice when it's cool.)5. Slice chicken as thinly as you'd like, and lay it in a single layer on a baking sheet. Separate additional layers with parchment paper. 6. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight, then place chicken pieces into a large ziplock bag, and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Use in packed lunches, on top of salads, or whatever else you'd like!
Notes
- In case you're wondering why there's very little difference in cooking time between fresh and frozen, it's because the instant pot will take longer to come up to pressure (the period before your cooking timer kicks in) when using frozen food, and pretty much defrosts it during that time.
- I've been a long-time fan of Redmond seasoning salt, which is *amazing* on chicken. I also enjoy Herbamore, which I started using when we did the AIP Diet because it has no seed-based spices, which are a no-go in the elimination phase.
- Of course, feel free to use whatever seasoning you'd like for your lunchmeat. Saucy chicken recipes might be good here too - it totally depends on your family's preferences. We all like it fairly plain so that it's the most versatile.
Nutrition
Barbara Fonseca
This is my favorite way to make chicken for salad because it’s sliceable, thank you!
Amy!
you didn’t say what to do with the 1/2 cup water? I assume you toss that in when you put in the chicken?
Beth
Oh, sorry about that! Yes, you just put it in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
MamaV
Love this. I need to try it, maybe it will help our salami bill go down.
Beth
It definitely helped for us. Deli meat is expensive! You get way more bang for your buck doing this, even when using boneless/skinless chicken breasts.