A quick weeknight chicken dinner with creamy mushroom gravy, made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Imagine a cream of mushroom soup crossing paths with tender cooked chicken breasts, and you’ll get a good idea of what this dish is like. The chicken is pressure cooked in an Instant Pot until tender and juicy, while smothered with sauteed mushrooms and a smooth brown sauce.
Both thick and creamy, the sauce is a rich gravy made using heavy cream and finely grated parmesan cheese, thickened with a bit of corn starch. It’s flavored with some garlic and just a pinch of cayenne powder for added kick.
I’ve been hearing from a lot of readers who’ve received their first Instant Pot as a gift for their birthday or for Christmas. Many of them have made my Instant Pot chicken tikka masala and are looking for more chicken dinners that are also low in carbs and keto friendly. This mushroom chicken dish is similarly healthy and flavorful.
I initially experimented with making pork chops with mushroom gravy but ended up making this with chicken instead, as I much prefer the taste of chicken with this particular sauce. Moreover, I haven’t found a way to cook pork chops in the Instant Pot so they don’t easily overcook and become tough.
I use two chicken breasts in this recipe, each weighing about 6-8 ounces. If your chicken breasts are larger, you may want to increase the pressure cooking time by 1-2 minutes. Note that the recipe doesn’t call for pan searing the chicken before pressure cooking — just drop the chicken in and start the pressure cooker. Easy and simple.
This recipe yields 2 hearty servings, so it’s ideal for dinner for two. You won’t have to deal with any leftovers. If you’re wondering what to serve this with, I suggest appetizers such as bacon wrapped jalapenos or low carb biscuits.
Instant Pot Chicken With Creamy Mushroom Gravy
A creamy chicken dinner with mushroom gravy made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound total)
- 10 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper
For the gravy:
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch of cayenne powder (1/8 teaspoon or less)
Instructions
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Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Generously season all sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
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Select the sauté mode on the pressure cooker for medium heat. When it has reached temperature, add olive oil to coat the bottom. Add mushrooms, cooking until they release their juices, a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Add cream, water, garlic, and cayenne. Stir together until well-mixed. Turn off the sauté mode.
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Add chicken breasts to the pot in a single layer, nudging aside the mushrooms. The chicken should be sitting at the bottom of the pot, submerged in the liquid.
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Cover and lock the lid, and seal the vent. Select the manual mode to cook for 6 minutes at high pressure. Let it naturally release pressure for 5 minutes, followed by a gradual manual release.
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Uncover and transfer the chicken breasts onto serving plates.
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Stir the liquid left in the pot, and scoop about 1/4 cup into a small bowl. Combine with corn starch and stir until completely dissolved.
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Add corn starch mixture to the pot. Gradually stir in parmesan cheese. Let simmer on the sauté mode until thickened to form a gravy, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
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Turn off the sauté mode. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Spoon gravy on top of the chicken. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Nutrition Notes
This recipe yields 10 g net carbs per serving.
| Nutrition Facts Per Serving |
| Calories 680 | |
| Total Fat 38g | 58% |
| Saturated Fat 22g | 108% |
| Trans Fat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 252mg | 84% |
| Sodium 910mg | 38% |
| Potassium 990mg | 28% |
| Total Carb 10.5g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 0.5g | 2% |
| Sugars 0g | |
| Protein 60g |
Loved this so much last night we are making it again tonight! I want to double the recipe. Is that advisable? If so how should I adjust cooking times? Thank you!
Hi Diana! If you double the ingredients, you should keep the cooking time the same. I haven’t doubled this particular recipe before, but I see no reason it wouldn’t work out 🙂
How long should I cook if I am using bone in, skin on chicken thighs?
When you’re mixing the sauce and doing all that mixing, do I leave the top off of the pot? Seems like a silly question but just want to be sure.
Yes, you leave the top off. The Instant Pot cover should only be on during the pressure cooking step. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi Julia, I would like to double the sauce – will that work?
Hi Tricia! Yes, that will work. Keep the pressure cooking time the same.
I made this tonight and the sauce curddled after using the pressure. The only substitution I made was half n half for the cream. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Hi Emily! The issue is the half-and-half; the sauce doesn’t curdle if you use heavy whipping cream.
Hey there,
Just tried to make the recipe myself. Used heavy whipping cream, followed the directions to a T. The sauce curdled! I’m so sad. What happened?
I’m sorry to hear that happened to you! Here’s what I can think of:
Did you add 1/2 cup water?
Did you turn off the saute mode as soon as you added the water?
Are you able to cook this in a crockpot?
Probably, but I recommend pressure cooking in this case.
Made this tonight! It was delicious and easy! Thanks for the recipe! ❤️
So glad to hear that! 🙂
This was wonderful! I think I’ll add a bit more time next time since the chicken was a bit underdone but I just kept it warm in the oven while I made the sauce and then added it to the sauce on low for a while. The flavor was great; wonderful mushroom-chicken combination. Thank you!
Thanks you so much for all of your instant pot easy dishes. Also thanks for the pint being big enough to see when you print it out. Some print is too small to read. Also thanks for always indicating how much water to add in. I am new to instant pot and I never know how much liquid to add.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you find all of this helpful and I hope you enjoy these dishes.
Are the cooking times for chicken that is frozen? If not, could frozen be used and how should cooking time be adjusted?
This recipe is not for frozen chicken. If you have frozen chicken breasts, thaw before using them in this recipe. You can do a quick thaw by submerging frozen packaged chicken in water.
The issue with frozen chicken is that they will add extra liquid content to this dish, which is why I recommend using thawed chicken. If you must use frozen, then I would pressure cook for 10 minutes.
Hi! Will it require same cooking time if I rather use chicken legs or thighs? tyvm
Hi Melissa, I would keep the cooking and natural release time the same.
Fantastic! Definitely satisfied my cream of mushroom soup cravings.
how can you cook this on stove top or oven??
For the stovetop version, follow the same recipe except whenever it says “saute mode”, just simply use a pan on stovetop to saute the ingredients, and when it says “pressure cook”, just cover the pan with a lid and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. You may need to add extra liquid because pressure cookers are tightly sealed unlike stovetop pans with lids.