Instant Pot Chicken and Gravy
Chicken and gravy made in the Instant pot have tender chicken breast and creamy thick gravy made from scratch. Made totally from scratch without any gravy mix or canned soup mix. Comforting dinner to serve with rice / mashed potato and green beans on the side.
Juicy tender chicken in a smooth creamy gravy is a classic and one can never get bored of this. This recipe is made from scratch without any gravy mix or canned soup. Yet the gravy is packed with flavor.
I usually make this in my crockpot but it comes out equally good in the Instant Pot in less than half time. The chicken breast stays moist and juicy.
How to make Instant Pot Chicken and Gravy?
This chicken and gravy is all about the gravy. The last thing you want is the gravy to be bland and without any flavor.
But this gravy is just spot on with layers of complex flavor. This tastes close to the gravy you make with the drippings post-roasting chicken.
Make the Seasoning: Onion powder, Garlic powder, and pepper. Season the chicken.
Roasting Chicken: Next is to roast the chicken on both sides and get the caramelization. This additional step of browning the chicken is for the brown bits which are nothing but more flavor.
Chicken Stock: A good quality low sodium chicken stock. I always use homemade to control the amount of salt.
Chicken Bullion: For an extra depth of flavor. Again a good quality chicken bullion that has really stuff, not loaded with salt and MSG.
Roux: Instead of thickening the gravy with a cornstarch slurry. For a more rich silk gravy, we are making a roux by mixing an equal amount of butter and flour.
Chicken and Gravy In the Crockpot
This recipe works perfectly if you want to make it in a crockpot. Sauté chicken in a skillet and then add everything to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours.
30 minutes before the end, in a pan melt butter and saute flour for about 30 seconds until the raw smell is gone. Then take a couple of ladles of stock from the crockpot and add to the pan to make a creamy roux. Add the roux back to the crockpot. At the end of cooking, the gravy will thicken.
Can we use Frozen Chicken?
Well, that the best part of using Instant Pot is you can directly pop in frozen chicken, and chicken and gravy is ready in no time.
- If you are using frozen chicken breast, make sure they are separate, not as a big lump.
- Skip the roasting chicken breast step.
- Increase the cooking time to 12 minutes and let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
How to Store the leftover Chicken and gravy
- Once it is cooked, set the Instant pot to keep warm mode and this will stay warm up to 2 hours.
- To store- Transfer Chicken and Gravy to an airtight container and store for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Freeze: Freeze this dish for up to 3 months. Cool completely and seal tightly. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipe…
Instant Pot Chicken in a creamy tomato sauce
Instant Pot Chicken and Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Boneless Chicken Breast
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- 2 cups chicken stock (ref note 1)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 stalks parsley
- 1 cube chicken bullion (10 grams) ( ref note 2)
- 2 tablespoon unsalted Butter
- 2 tablespoon flour
Seasoning mix
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder.
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Mix onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Pat dry chicken and season both sides with the seasoning mix.
- Switch on Instant Pot and set to saute mode. When the inner pot is hot enough, add 1 teaspoon of oil.
- Place the seasoned chicken breast in a single layer and cook it for 2 minutes, turn it and fry it for another 1 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and keep it aside.
- Add chicken stock to the pot. Scrap the bottom to release any brown bits.
- Add crushed bouillon cube, thyme, parsley, remaining seasoning, and chicken breast to the pot.
- Close the lid, seal the valve, and set the pot to manual mode/-high pressure mode. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Once the timer is off, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, and then release the rest of the pressure manually.
- Take out the cooked Chicken breast from the pot and keep it covered with a foil.
- Empty all the stock from the pot, strain it in a colander.
- Keep the empty inner pot back and switch the Instant pot to saute mode again.
- Melt butter and add flour to it. Saute the flour until it's bubbly, the raw smell is gone but the flour is not browned.
- Add back the strained stock slowly back to the pot. Keep stirring the mixture to avoid any lump. The gravy will start to thicken.
- Shredd or make thin slices of chicken. Add it to the gravy.
- Serve over mashed potato or rice.
Notes
- Use low sodium chicken broth, because there is enough salt in the chicken bouillon cubes.
- Use good quality bouillons cubes. cheaps ones could be loaded with MSG and salt.
- Straining the stock after the chicken is cooked is optional. But for a silky smooth gravy, I like to strain it, to get clear stock.
Nutrition
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This is a great fast and easy recipe for weeknight dinners. My kids love this and we make it weekly.