I admit I was given an Instant Pot over a year ago and I have struggled to figure out how to use it or even why. But starting with this slightly altered recipe from #Wholesomelicious, I am beginning to see what the fuss is all about. It is so easy and so quick and so delicious…which sounds A LOT like my idea of heaven! You can serve it multiple different ways and the leftovers are AMAZING and it freezes like a dream. This recipe is about 20 minutes of preparation and then 10 minutes of high pressure cooking (which is probably more like 30 minutes of cooking once it powers up, etc. but you don’t have to do anything). Let’s get to it…
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts or boneless/skinless chicken thighs (I used breasts)
- salt & pepper
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2/3 cup (or so) pepperoncini juice
- 1 cup pepperoncinis (I prefer to remove stems and slice them but you can leave them whole)
- 3 tablespoons ranch dressing mix (about one envelope)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or chicken bone broth
Instructions:
- Select the saute function on the Instant Pot. Salt and pepper over chicken breast. Once pot is hot, add oil and saute the chicken for 2 minutes on one side, then flip over, toss in minced garlic at same time. Cook for another 2 minutes. Repeat with other breasts until all are slightly seared on both sides. Select cancel.
- Add pepperoncini juice to the pot and deglaze any browned bits with a spatula or wooden spoon. Put chicken back in and top with pepperoncinis, ranch seasoning dressing mix, butter, and chicken broth. Secure the lid.
- Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Once cook time is complete, use quick release. Remove the lid and shred the chicken before adding it back into the sauce.
Three quick notes, I doubled this and it worked just the same but with more leftovers. If you cannot find pepperoncinis, banana peppers will work fine. They are just slightly sweeter. Lastly, it is pictured here served in a flour tortilla but it is equally as tasty served alone or over traditional rice (or cauliflower rice).