Easy Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan

Here’s a healthy Instant Pot chicken parmesan recipe using fresh chicken breasts and tons of flavor! Tender meat smothered in spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese is the way to go. Dinner is ready! 

Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan Frozen

Looking for an Italian dinner made lickety split? I have the answer for you and it is done in no time at all. I bet parmesan chicken is one of your favorite dishes. This one is so much faster than our slow cooker chicken parmesan but with all the same great flavors.

You can use fresh or frozen chicken in InstaPot with this one. It is better if you can defrost them ahead of time but if not you can use already breaded pieces or small breasts. You would skip the sauteeing step and increase the timing to 12 minutes but the rest would remain the same.

Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

They’re both great though and you should really try all of our versions. Once you fall in love with this type take a peek at our roundup of easy Instant Pot chicken recipes too. Whether you serve this as is, on a bed of rice or on a bun as a sandwich you’ll love it.

Here we are going to show you how to use fresh meat. If you used frozen chicken patties I think the breading on the outside would get mushy and just fall right off but would work. We skip that step because of my texture issues and instead if you feel like you really need it, just sprinkle breadcrumbs on the top when it’s served.

Fresh meat was used this time. I prefer and recommend using free range organic poultry. Not just because the health benefits are better but the texture is best too. It is overall more moist when cooked and not as grainy tasting no matter what you make with it. Just my two cents but we cook a lot and want to share our experience.

Ninja Foodi Chicken Parmesan

Yep, this is it. We are going to use jarred sauce this time but if you insist on making homemade Instant Pot spaghetti sauce first by all means do so and use that. Let’s get down to the basic ingredients you’ll need to pick up:

1. Pressure cooker or Ninja Foodi
   1. if you’re using an Instant Pot I HIGHLY suggest getting a non stick pot

Chicken breasts are what was used and primarily the pieces you would expect. Using frozen chicken cutlets would be about the same as far as the cook time goes since those are rather thin. You can find these in the frozen section in your grocery store near the chicken nuggets.

They are basically just that, flattened nugget meat that is more the size of a patty. If you did use these then you wouldn’t need to saute at the beginning. Just lay in the sauce starting at that step and start from there on.

Chicken Parmesan Instant Pot

You will need to cook the pasta separately for this one. Below I share how to do it together but that would require the meat to be cut into smaller pieces. Both are great. You can boil on the stovetop until al dente or if you have a 2nd pot you can make butter noodles that way.

1. Spaghetti noodles
2. Jar of spaghetti sauce
3. Mozzarella cheese and lots of it
   1. a bit of parmesan cheese is good too
4. Basil
5. Salt and pepper 
6. Olive oil
7. Italian seasonings

Let’s start by seasoning your boneless, skinless chicken breasts with basil, salt and pepper. Then set your pot to saute and add a bit of olive oil so you can sear or brown both sides before adding them into your pot.

Yes they would cook throughly without this step but I think everyone likes their meat a bit more done on the outsides, and tender on the inside. It is up to you how much of a sear you put on the outsides though. Personal preference really.

Is chicken parmesan and chicken parmesana the same?

•  Yes, essentially they’re both breaded chicken cutlets with lots of melted mozzarella and/or provolone. This version is a healthier version with no breading involved.

Chicken Parmesan started way back with Eggplant Parmigiana in Campania and Sicily in Italy

There are so many great ways to make this. Of course if you don’t have a pressure cooker you can use your oven and make this easy chicken parmesan casserole style dish. This one is so much easier and healthy too though!

After you’ve cooked the chicken it’s time to add the sauce on the bottom. First remove the chicken and pour in your marinara sauce. When adding your breasts back in make sure to set them in gently and don’t push down to the bottom. This will prevent the dreaded burn notice from occurring on your screen.

• Buy your favorite brand (mine is linked above) and pour it right in!

Healthy Chicken Parmesan Recipe

The next step is to lock the lid and set to high pressure for just 7 minutes of pressure cooking time. Now chicken parm wouldn’t be complete without some noodles! We cooked those separately. Then cheese was added to the top of each breast and the lid put back on just long enough for it to melt.

Quick and Easy Chicken Parmesan No Breading

Once your chicken in the Instant Pot was ooey gooey and cheesy remove from the pot on to a plate and add drained noodles to the pot. Stir so they get nice and coated with sauce. You could add 1/2 cup more tomato sauce if there isn’t enough.

• And that’s how this Instant Pot chicken parmesan was made!

It’s a great recipe for families who love comfort food, need a quick meal, and looking for a healthier alternative to the traditional.

We we love our slow cooker version of this too but if you just have to have a crispy exterior you should try our air fryer chicken parm recipe instead! We just can’t get enough of it can you tell??!! This is a no breading chicken parmesan version that came out fantastic in our new favorite kitchen appliance.

What sides go with chicken parmesan?

Vegetables are always a win. Maybe make a tray of chunked beets, sweet potatoes and carrots alongside the main dish, or roasted squash. For a lower carb choice you can go with a side salad or quinoa which is higher in protein than something like rice or rolls.

Can you freeze cooked chicken parmesan?

First you have to make sure that whatever you have left is allowed to cool completely to room temperature. Then completely wrap the frozen chicken parmesan in a couple layers of plastic wrap, or use foil if you want.

Label and stick back in the freezer. If you are reheating this straight from the freezer cook in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour 15 minutes or until heated through. In a microwave allow to sit on the counter for 30 minutes or so first. Put on a plate with a paper towel on top. Heat in 45 second intervals flipping over until heated all the way thru.

Looking for other Instant Pot recipes?

1. Our Instant Pot spaghetti is wildly popular and just takes 10 minutes to cook all together in one ot.
2. Any of our Instant Pot casseroles are a win because you can make the noodles with your meat and vegetables at the same time.
3. All of these are just a few of the best Instant Pot recipes on the web today.

If you cut up the meat into smaller pieces you can do the same with our Instant Pot chicken parmesan casserole. You won’t have to cook the pasta separately with this method. This time I wanted to make it a bit more traditional, take your pick.

Easy Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti Sauce

Here’s a quick rundown of how it is made. There is a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post too for your reference too. Put the 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper and 1 teaspoon of dried basil in a small bowl and stir until well combined. Season the chicken breasts with the mix, on both sides.

• Turn the pressure cooker to Sauté and add the olive oil. Place the chicken breasts into the pressure cooker pot and cook for 2.5 minutes on one side before flipping.
• Cook for the remaining 2.5 minutes so outsides are no longer pink. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside on a plate.
• Pour in the marinara sauce into the pot, then add the garlic salt and Italian seasoning and give it a good stir.
• Gently place the chicken breasts back into the pot on top of the sauce, don’t push them down. Put the lid on the pressure cooker and set valve to pressure cook high for 7 minutes.
• Allow to naturally release steam for 5 minutes, then let out rest of steam. Sprinkle cheese over the top of all 4 breasts.
• Place lid back on and allow cheese to melt with the steam inside the pot.

In the meantime, boil the spaghetti according to package instructions. Rinse with cool water and set aside once done cooking. Remove breasts and plate. Then put cooked drained noodles into pot with sauce and mix so they are all well coated. Put sauced noodles next to breast on plates and serve with extra cheese on top if you’d like.