How to cook boneless skinless Ninja Foodi chicken breast with BBQ sauce and no breading is here. Our favorite quick low carb dinner pressure cooked and air fried 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)
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. There are so many ways to serve it but any which way is a healthy meal everyone loves.
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. If you wanted to use just the pressure cooker method click on the link at the top of this page instead.
Ingredient Notes
For the cook time below you want to buy fresh or defrosted boneless skinless chicken breasts. You should buy medium sizes for best results. I may use larger cuts for Ninja Foodi shredded chicken but using the air crisp function you want thinner to allow the middle to get to a safe temp. of 165F.
1/2 cup to 1 full cup of your favorite Barbecue sauce is needed (or sauce of your choice). Sweet Baby Rays is probably our favorite one to use here because it is almost always on sale and the whole family loves it.
Salt and pepper if you like to season the outsides initially and when serving, to taste, is typically kept on hand or on the table. Garlic powder also if you want more but typically sauce is enough
Tips
You could use a marinade beforehand if you prefer. Using sauce at the end gives it an added punch though, and keeps it moist. When making Ninja air fryer recipes you want to ensure that you have some sort of sauce so the outsides doesn’t dry out. Teriyaki is another popular choice to coat them with too.
When cooking chicken in the Ninja Foodi with the air crisp function (and lid that is attached) the way to keep it moist is to keep steam valve in the sealed position when timing is up. A quick release will suck all the moisture out of the meat making it dry, don’t do it!
If you use really large pieces you may need to increase the total cook time from 13 to 15 minutes. With that said I would increase the pressure cook timing. Crisping too long will dry the protein out.
with Frozen Chicken Breasts
If you only have meat that is still rock hard you have two options. You can cook frozen chicken breast in air fryer which will make the outsides crispy. Or you can follow our Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breast with Sauce directions which will make them super tender, fall apart melt in your mouth wonderful.
Ninja Foodi Chicken Breast Recipe
Equipment
- 1 ninja foodi
Ingredients
- 3 medium chicken breasts, boneless, skinless preferred
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup 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. Serve.
- Optional to crisp – 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). Air crisp at 400F for 2-4 minutes to brown
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.
We are basically making a version of our air fryer bbq chicken but with both functions so it is as tender as possible. Just one of our favorite Ninja Foodi chicken recipes using your favorite sauce, even teriyaki is fabulous this way.
Can you add breading?
If you do want to make this with a crispy crunchy coating kinda’ like KFC, try our air fryer fried chicken breast recipe. You would want to just use the lid that is attached for this since you want it to stay crispy. Just dredge in egg and press in breadcrumbs first.
How do you keep chicken from drying out?
Pressure cook on high 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. Let it 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. We use both functions to make Ninja Foodi chicken legs too.
What should I serve with chicken breast?
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!
Iam going to try this tonight iam kinda new at this so we will see what happens wish me luck…
So, if it says “natural release” 3 minutes, do you do a quick release after that?
Exactly