How To Make 3 Easy "Dump Chicken" Recipes In Your Instant Pot (2024)

“Dump chicken” (despite it’s somewhat questionable name) has long been one of my go-to crockpot dinners. You can probably find a thousand different dump chicken recipes on Pinterest, but my personal favorite version of dump chicken is flavored with lots of lemon and garlic. (In fact, I’ve written a whole blog post about that recipe – check it out using the link below!) Dump chicken makes a great weeknight meal because they’re easy to make ahead of time and freeze for later use.

Related: Lemon Garlic Dump Chicken – The Ultimate Make-Ahead Meal

I’ll be sharing a few more tasty dump chicken recipes today, but with a twist! Instead of focusing on crockpots as the cooking apparatus, I’ll be showing you how to make dump chicken in your Instant Pot! It’s so dang quick and easy to do, and it’s endlessly versatile too. Read on for 3 yummy dump chicken recipes (lemon garlic, salsa, and honey dijon), as well as a few tips for creating your own unique variations on dump chicken right in your Instant Pot!

Related: 13 Extra Simple 3-Ingredient Recipes That Will Save Your Sanity

3 Instant Pot Dump Chicken Recipes

1. Lemon Garlic Dump Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbsp parsley flakes
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice (or the juice of one whole lemon)
• 4-6 chicken breasts (or 8 to 10 chicken tenders)

Directions:

Combine the garlic, olive oil, parsley, lemon juice, and chicken in a ziplock bag. Let the chicken marinate in the bag for at least 2 hours, or you can freeze it to cook later.

When you’re ready to cook the chicken, empty the contents of the bag into your Instant Pot. Add water and a bit of extra lemon juice until you have about 1 cup of liquid in the pot.

If your chicken is not frozen, cook it on high pressure for 10 minutes. If it is frozen, cook it on high pressure for 20 minutes. When the cooking time is up, press the “Cancel” button and use the Quick Release valve. Remove the chicken from the pot.

At this point, you can either discard the remaining liquid, or make a sauce with it. To make a sauce, select the “sauté” function on your Instant Pot and add around 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Whisk constantly until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.

Serve your Lemon Garlic Chicken warm, topped with the sauce if you made one, alongside some steamed veggies and potatoes or rice. Enjoy your quick and tasty dinner!

2. Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup water (if necessary*)

*Note: The salsa I used was a pico de gallo that didn’t have much liquid content, so I added a cup of water to my Instant Pot along with the salsa. If you’re using a “saucier” or more liquid-y salsa, you probably won’t need to add the water.

Directions:

Add the chicken, salsa, and water (if necessary) to your Instant Pot.

Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. (Again, if the chicken is frozen, cook for 20 minutes.) When the cooking time is up, press “Cancel” and use the Quick Release valve.

Pull the chicken and salsa out of the pot, and discard any leftover water/liquid. Use a couple of forks to shred the chicken and mix the salsa throughout.

Use your salsa chicken for tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, or in a burrito bowl!

3. Honey Dijon Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup mustard
• 1/2 cup honey

Directions:

Add the chicken, mustard, and honey to your Instant Pot, along with 1/2 cup of water if the honey and mustard mixture seems a bit thick.

Cook for 10 minutes on high pressure, or 20 minutes for frozen. When the timer is up, press “Cancel” and use the Quick Release valve.

Remove the chicken from the pot, then either discard the liquid or you can choose to make a sauce with it. (To make a sauce, select the “sauté” function on your Instant Pot and add around 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Whisk constantly until thickened.)

Shred the chicken, then serve it with rice, potatoes, or as a sandwich. Top with the honey dijon sauce, if desired. :-)

Tips For Perfect Instant Pot Chicken

• This method is easily adaptable, and you can use almost any kind of sauce you can think of. Just make sure you have about 1 cup of water/liquid in the Instant Pot before cooking, so that it can build up enough pressure to cook. (This could be 1/2 cup of sauce and 1/2 cup of water, or all sauce, or all water, depending on the recipe.)
• Most sauces and marinades will taste better if you let the chicken marinate in them for a while. A good rule of thumb is to marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours in your chosen sauce or marinade. You can also let it hang out in the fridge for up to 2 days for a more intense flavor.