BBQ Ninja Foodi chicken breast with no breading is a low carb keto dinner that even your kids will love. Tender protein with a bit of crisp on the outside.

Want to make tender Ninja Foodi chicken breast for dinner? Not only is it healthy but it’s packed with flavor. Once you fall in love with this you should try our other easy Ninja Foodi recipes here on The Typical Mom blog. (participant in the Amazon program, affiliate links present)
Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
I mean this is oh so versatile! Dice it up and put it on a salad, throw it in some fettuccini alfredo or just eat it plain with air fryer vegetables with it.
Use any type of sauce you like before you air crisp, teriyaki is yummy too. Just one of our favorite healthy Ninja Foodi Recipes to choose from.
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If you too are obsessed with your Ninja Foodi pressure cooker air fryer machine, here are a few resource to start with:
- First LIKE my Facebook Page because I share new ideas there a lot!
- You can bookmark our Ninja air fryer recipes page, we add to that weekly.
- Here’s a printable air fryer cooking times chart here for your fridge.
- Be sure to save this link to Instant Pot recipes for beginners too. You can use any of those in your pot too.
- Grab a set of wooden utensils to work with. They are great so your pot doesn’t get scratched!
- Then join our Ninja Foodi EASY Recipes – Facebook group where you can share and find more ideas you’ll love. Thousands of others share both pressure cooker and air fryer recipe ideas there daily and you can too!
If you need to know how to cook frozen meat in a pressure cooker, we have information on that. NO, you aren’t the only forgetful one. 😉

This is literally all that you need. It is best to use defrosted boneless skinless chicken breasts but if you only have frozen chicken we have directions for that too in the post above.
We have made a bunch of low carb air fryer recipes like this one in the past few months.
If you’re not concerned with carbs, go all out and try our Ninja Foodi pineapple chicken over rice.

All of them are listed on our Ninja Foodi chicken recipes post but this one is just simple and delicious.
- If you want ALL THE THINGS including a bit of spice inside wrapped with bacon you can also try this air fryer stuffed chicken breast.
This is all you need for this easy Ninja Foodi chicken breast recipe though
- Defrosted boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Barbecue sauce
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- A marinade brush is very helpful to have
Like I said, you could use our lemon pepper chicken marinade beforehand if you prefer. Using sauce at the end gives it an added punch though, and keeps it moist.

Yes you can cook pressure cooker chicken and we do have a few Instant Pot recipes that feature this low fat meat choice.
BUT having the ability to air crisp the outside in the same pot is a game changer.
- Now that we air fry everything around here we’ve been experimenting with every food imaginable.
- From appetizers to dinner recipes there is literally nothing we’ve made in it that isn’t better than in the oven or on the stovetop.
I bet you’ll think the same way in no time at all, you can even cook a whole chicken in the Ninja Foodi.

Here are the steps to follow to make this:
- Mix 1/2 cup of your bbq sauce and water in a bowl, pour it into your pot.
- Place a trivet inside and lay your chicken breasts on the top.
- It’s kinda’ helpful to spray the rack with non stick spray so lifting them off later is easier.
- In a bowl mix together remaining barbecue sauce with seasonings and brush this over the top of your meat.
Close pressure cook lid (one that isn’t attached), set steam valve to seal position. Both Instant Pot and Foodi have one that looks similar to the one below.

- Cook on high for 6 minutes with a 3 minute natural release time.
- Remember it will take approximately 10 – 15 minutes to reach pressure initially.
Do not quick release or meat will not fully cook and won’t become as tender.
- Time will vary depending on thickness of breasts, medium is best
- Pour out liquid in basket
- Place air fryer basket into pot with chicken inside
- You can brush additional sauce on the top for more packed on flavor.
Close air crisp lid and set to 400 degrees for 4-6 minutes or until the top is as crisp as you’d like.

THIS answers the question of how to cook chicken breast in a Ninja Foodi and I bet you’ll love it. If you do want to make this with a crispy crunchy coating kinda’ like KFC, try our air fryer fried chicken breast recipe. We also have instructions when using ONLY the air crisp function. Read air fryer bbq chicken for those steps.
Try our Ninja Foodi chicken legs after that.
SO is a Ninja Foodi worth it?
- Even though it is double the cost of most pressure cookers I would say yes!
- If you think you’ll use the air frying or dehydrating functions frequently, but don’t want 2 or 3 different appliances this is great.
You can see the differences between an Instant Pot vs Ninja Foodi here. Then make a decision on your own.

How do you keep chicken from drying out?
- Pressure cook it first, then air fry the outsides just slightly to get a light crisp to it.
- Allow for a natural release of steam once it is done cooking. This will maintain the juiciness of the protein for sure.
- Allow it to rest once it is done. Once you’re finished cooking the chicken, leave it alone in aluminum foil for at least five minutes before you cut into it and serve.
What should I serve with chicken breast? Of course this is subjective but since we’re focusing on a low carb dish we will share options as such:
- We usually opt to make mixed air fryer zucchini with almost every meal.
- Our air fryer Hasselback potatoes are the best side dish, or appetizer really.
The lowest caloric choice would be air fryer cabbage steaks!

Below is a printable recipe card with the entire recipe.
Of course you can just bookmark this page and come back as often as you’d like because we love “seeing” you!
- We add new Ninja Foodi recipes to our site each and every week so stay tuned and follow The Typical Mom for more great family friendly ideas as well.
Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
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Ninja Foodi Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts boneless, skinless preferred
- 1/2 c water
- 3/4 c barbecue sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a bowl mix together bbq sauce, garlic powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl add 1/2 cup of this bbq sauce mixture + your water and whisk together. Pour this into the bottom of your Foodi pot.
- Lower down a trivet (the metal one your pot came with works perfect)
- Lay chicken breasts on rack and brush on remaining bbq sauce in your bowl on to meat.
- Close lid and steam valve and set to pressure cook high for 6 minutes. Allow to naturally release pressure when done for 3 minutes. (timing will vary depending on how thick your breasts are, always check temp when done to ensure it's done in the middle)
- Lift off pressure cooker lid and set aside.
- Lift out rack with chicken, set aside, and pour out liquid at the bottom of your pot.
- Transfer meat into your air fryer basket and lower into your pot. (you can brush on more bbq sauce now if you want it really layered on)
- Take note: if you follow the next steps to get a bit of crisp on the outside it will dry your chicken out more than if you ate it without the air crisp function. Close air crisp lid and cook at 400 degrees for 4 minutes or until internal temp when removed is 160 degrees.
Patty
Sunday 16th of April 2023
Iam going to try this tonight iam kinda new at this so we will see what happens wish me luck...
Nan Sommers
Tuesday 16th of March 2021
So, if it says "natural release" 3 minutes, do you do a quick release after that?
The Typical Mom
Tuesday 16th of March 2021
Exactly
M
Tuesday 5th of January 2021
Ninja foodie 5 in 1 . How long and what. Temp for baking chicken breast
Barbara
Tuesday 4th of May 2021
Sounds like a great recipe, but the sodium level is outrageous.
marywallis soetebier
Wednesday 30th of December 2020
no pictures at important steps placing in pots or baskets
Jenn
Wednesday 2nd of December 2020
I just made this tonight and it was amazing!!! The chicken was so juicy and perfectly cooked!
The Typical Mom
Thursday 3rd of December 2020
Yay for a great dinner!