This Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan is a super easy way to make your favourite comfort food – it’s ready in one pot in less than 30 minutes!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil such as avocado oil.
- Chicken cutlets – slice two boneless skinless chicken breasts in half lengthwise.
- Italian seasoning – make your own using a blend of dried oregano, basil, thyme, sage and rosemary.
- Garlic powder – onion powder would also work.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Jar marinara sauce – use any jarred marinara or tomato sauce of your choice.
- Shredded mozzarella – freshly grated parmesan would also be good here.
- Fresh parsley – fresh basil would work or you can leave this off altogether.
To serve
- Spaghetti – you could also serve your chicken parm with penne, rigatoni, rotini or even zucchini noodles.
How to make chicken parmesan in the Instant Pot
- Assemble your ingredients.
- Season the chicken.
- Pour marinara sauce into the Instant Pot.
- Place the chicken over top.
- Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Serve with spaghetti noodles and enjoy!
What do you serve with chicken parmesan?
While this chicken parmesan is a complete dish on its own, you can definitely serve it with some side dishes. Since this recipe is already heavy on the carbs and cheese, I’d recommend sticking to veggie-based sides – although you can’t go wrong with some nice garlic bread!
Here are some ideas on what to serve with your chicken parmesan:
- Green salad: Caesar salad is a classic or you can do a simple salad with Italian or balsamic dressing.
- Roasted vegetables: Try broccoli, zucchini or asparagus.
- Garlic bread: Crusty bread would also be good.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken parmesan and chicken parmigiana are actually the same dish! They’re two different names for the same recipe. American restaurants will often use the name chicken parmigiana to make the dish sound more Italian.
Simply put, any breading on the chicken will become soggy during the cooking process in the Instant Pot. Plus, it will fall off of the chicken and get mixed in with the sauce. Leaving the breading off helps to keep the overall calories in this dish lower and makes the chicken itself gluten-free. To make the entire dish gluten-free, use a gluten-free pasta as well.
This chicken parmesan recipe has 552 calories per serving. If you want to cut down on the calorie count, use zucchini noodles instead of spaghetti noodles.
There are a lot of different theories as to why this dish is called chicken parmesan when it’s actually made with mozzarella. One theory is that it was named after the town of Parma in Italy – but no one really knows how or why this delicious dish got its name!
Storing and reheating
If you’ll be using this recipe for meal prep, divide the spaghetti evenly between individual meal prep containers. Then, add some sauce and place a piece of chicken over top of the sauce. Otherwise, store the chicken and pasta in separate airtight containers and keep the containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
You can reheat this dish either in the microwave or in the oven. If you’re reheating in the microwave, I’d suggest slicing the chicken first so it reheats more evenly. If you’re reheating in the oven, add everything to an oven-safe dish, cover it will foil then bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 325° Fahrenheit.
Can you freeze chicken parmesan?
You can freeze this chicken parmesan recipe if you leave off the cheese. Dairy tends not to freeze well, and the texture of the cheese will be unpleasant when thawed and reheated.
If you plan on freezing this dish, cool the chicken then freeze it in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer the chicken to an airtight container or Ziploc bag with layers of parchment paper between each piece of chicken. This recipe will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw this dish in the fridge overnight, then top with fresh mozzarella when reheating.
More Instant Pot Italian recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls for the leftovers.
- I get all my grass-fed ground beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 chicken cutlets
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 1 (680mL) jar marinara sauce
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Fresh parsley or basil, for garnish
To serve
- 1/2 lb spaghetti
Instructions
- Rub chicken cutlets in olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt & pepper. Pour marinara sauce in bottom of Instant Pot. Place chicken overtop of sauce.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, if serving with chicken, boil spaghetti in a pot on the stove while chicken is cooking in Instant Pot.
- The Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure, then notify you it's done by beeping. Press the Cancel button then do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Spoon extra sauce overtop of chicken, then sprinkle mozzarella cheese overtop of chicken. Replace lid on the Instant Pot and let sit for 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Alternatively, you can broil chicken in the oven for 2 minutes. Serve with spaghetti and enjoy!
