This Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan is a super easy way to make your comfort food favourite – it’s ready in one pot and in less than 30 minutes too!
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Ingredients in chicken parmesan
It’s so easy to make this yummy dish! Here’s what you need:
- olive oil
- chicken cutlets
- Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt & pepper for seasoning
- marinara sauce
- mozzarella cheese
- Fresh parsley or basil, for garnish
How to make chicken parmesan in the Instant Pot
Here’s how to make this Italian comfort food favourite in the pressure cooker:
- Get ready to season the chicken and prepare it for the Instant Pot.
- 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, then pressure cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, if serving with chicken, boil spaghetti in a pot on the stove while chicken is cooking in Instant Pot.
- 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.
- Serve with spaghetti and enjoy!
Why no breading?
Simply put, any breading on the chicken will become soggy during the cooking process. Plus, it will fall off of the chicken and get mixed in with the sauce.
Also, leaving the breading off helps to keep the overall calories in this dish lower, and it makes the chicken itself gluten-free.
TIP: To make the entire dish gluten-free, be sure to use a gluten-free pasta as well.
Ingredient substitutions
- Chicken – while cutlets are the popular choice, tenders or boneless skinless thighs will also work.
- Pasta – replace the spaghetti with penne, rigatoni, rotini, or even zucchini noodles.
- Cheese – substitute part of the mozzarella for freshly grated Parmesan.
Make your own chicken cutlets
It’s easy to make your own cutlets from boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Place the chicken breast on a cutting board.
- If the tender is still attached, use a sharp knife to remove it.
- Hold the chicken flat with the palm of your hand and cut horizontally through the middle of the breast.
- Cover the two pieces tightly with a piece of plastic wrap.
- Lightly pound the chicken until it’s about 1/4-inch thick.
Instant Pot chicken parmesan with pasta
While it’s not required, chicken parm is typically served over pasta to complete the dish.
Cooking the pasta with the chicken in the Instant Pot would save some extra dishes, but it’s not possible with this particular recipe.
First, more liquid would need to be added to the Instant Pot to fully cook the noodles. Doing this, however, would affect the texture of the chicken and the flavor of the sauce.
Also, since the chicken would be combined with the pasta, it would make it very difficult to melt cheese over the top.
The best way to make this dish is by cooking the noodles separately on the stove and then combine them with the chicken when serving.
What to serve with chicken parmesan
- Tossed green salad – Caesar salad is a classic, or try something lighter with Italian or balsamic dressing.
- Garlic bread
- Roasted vegetables – try broccoli, zucchini, or asparagus
Storing and reheating
If you’ll be using this recipe for meal prep, divide the spaghetti evenly between your containers. Then, add some sauce and place a piece of chicken on top of each.
Otherwise, store the chicken and pasta in separate airtight containers. Keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Reheat as follows:
- In the microwave: Heat the pasta, sauce, and chicken together until warmed through. It may help to slice the chicken first so it heats more evenly.
- In the oven: Add everything to an oven-safe dish and cover with foil. Then, heat in the oven at 325 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.
Freezing the chicken
Leave off the cheese if you’ll be freezing the chicken for later. Dairy does not freeze well, and the texture of the cheese will be unpleasant when thawed and reheated.
Instead, cool the chicken then freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a ziploc storage bag or airtight container with layers of parchment between each piece.
Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then top with cheese 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
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Learn how to use your Instant Pot to meal prep by subscribing to our newsletter!
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!
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