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This Instant Pot chicken and gravy recipe has tender chicken breasts smothered in gravy. It’s easy to make and ready in just over 30 minutes!
Try my Easy 3-Ingredient Shredded Chicken and Gravy for a super easy alternative to this one.
So, I had this idea to do a Crockpot Chicken and Gravy recipe, and I knew I also had to try it out in my Instant Pot. It took a couple of tests of each to ensure that they were blog-ready, and I am glad to now have both recipes published. Update: you may also like my Skillet Chicken and Gravy recipe.
I didn’t want to use a “cream of” soup in this recipe. I don’t know… something about them I’m just not a fan of. Also, there are already plenty of chicken and gravy recipes out there with cream of chicken soup, so I wanted to try something a little different. It seems like Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning has been on my brain lately, so it was the first thing that came to mind for what else I could add to this recipe to get some extra flavor without a lot of extra work. I just love the subtle herby buttermilk flavor it adds to the gravy. I don’t think you’d guess that ranch seasoning was in here if you didn’t know!
One thing I prefer about the Instant Pot vs. the slow cooker is that the IP has the sauté function. It’s so handy to quickly thicken the gravy at the end!
How to make Instant Pot chicken and gravy
- Add the chicken broth, ranch seasoning, garlic powder, and pepper to your Instant Pot and whisk until the powders have dissolved;
- Add the chicken and spoon some liquid over top if it’s not entirely submerged;
- Seal it up and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes; once the countdown has finished, do a quick release after 5 minutes;
- Take the chicken out of the Instant Pot and cut it up/shred it; meanwhile, add the gravy mix and cornstarch slurry to your Instant Pot (hit the sauté button to help the sauce thicken faster);
- Add the cut-up chicken back in and combine with the sauce.
(Full ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below)
Recipe notes, tips, and tricks:
- The gravy mix and ranch seasoning both have salt, so use low-sodium chicken broth if you’re concerned about the salt content.
- You can make your own ranch seasoning mix if you prefer.
- Make sure you don’t add the gravy mix in at the beginning – it contains cornstarch, and that is not a good thing for the electric pressure cooker – it can cause scorching and goes weirdly gloopy (yes, I tested it).
- Packets of ranch seasoning and gravy mix can vary from brand to brand, so that’s why I don’t list sizes, but the ones I used were each around 1 ounce.
More Instant Pot chicken recipes to try:
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken (Chicken Breasts and Thighs)
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Made this recipe? Questions? Talk to me in the comments below!
As always, if you’ve made one of my recipes, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram. 🙂
Instant Pot Chicken and Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts boneless skinless
- 1.5 cups chicken broth
- 1 packet ranch seasoning mix (I used Hidden Valley)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch + 1 teaspoon cold water
- 1 packet chicken gravy mix
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth, ranch seasoning mix, garlic powder, and pepper to your Instant Pot. Whisk until the powders have dissolved.
- Add the chicken and ensure it's mostly submerged (spoon some liquid over top if it's not). Close the lid, ensure the valve is on "sealing", and then set the timer to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Take the chicken out of the Instant Pot. Mix the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl. Pour it into your Instant Pot, along with the chicken gravy mix. Press the "sauté" button and whisk until the gravy mix has dissolved. The sauce will thicken within a few minutes, so turn the sauté function off (press the "keep warm" button) once it's about as thick as you want it. Meanwhile, cut the chicken up, and then add it back into the Instant Pot.
- Serve immediately. It's delicious with mashed potatoes (or baked potatoes), pasta/egg noodles, or rice.
Notes
- 4 medium-to-large chicken breasts total about 2 pounds. Anything in that ballpark works. If the chicken breasts are very large, add another minute or two to the cook time.
- Use low-sodium chicken broth if salt is a concern for you. Keep in mind ranch and gravy mixes both contain salt as well.
- Here's the Crockpot version of this recipe.
- This is the 6-quart Instant Pot I used to make this recipe.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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My daughter, who is impossible to please, absolutely loves this and we have it at least once a week! So thank you!! We make mashed potato bowls out of it, layering mashed potatoes, corn and then this delicious goodness on top! Soooo good!!
Well that’s so nice to hear!! 😀
Just wondering, could I use 2 lbs of chicken breast tenerdloins and keep the same cook time?
Hi! I think that should be ok. I am somewhat concerned they may overcook as they’re cut up and will likely cook faster, but I can’t really advise on giving it less time without testing. If you opt to reduce the cook time a bit, just ensure they’re fully cooked before consuming.
Can you use an Italian dressing mix packet??
Hi! I’ve never tried that. You mean instead of the ranch? You probably could give it a go. Let me know if you try! 🙂
I tried this tonight and omg.. it was SO good. I didn’t have the chicken gravy so I used turkey gravy, but everything else was exact. It was delicious!
Awesome to hear, Desirae! 🙂
What if the chicken is frozen?
Hi! I haven’t tested it from frozen, but I’d probably add on an extra 2-3 minutes to the high pressure cook time. Just make sure it’s thoroughly cooked when you open up the IP. You could always cook it for a bit longer on the sauté function if needed once you’ve unsealed the IP.
Yum… My entire family loved this recipe, and it’s really hard to please the 7 year old;) Thank You for sharing!
That’s wonderful to hear!! Thanks for letting me know! 😀
Hi this sounds delicious…just wondering if I could saute the chicken alittle before adding the broth and other ingredients? I made a pork chop version of this and browned them a few minutes and scraped the bottom using the broth. The gravy was good with the bits of browned meat in it. Tyia
Sure, I don’t see why not! 🙂
When you take out the chicken in step 4 do you also remove what was left in the pot too? The chicken stock, etc? Are you putting in the gravy mix with that stuff, or starting new? That’s not very clear.
Hi Ashley! You don’t take anything out aside from the chicken. You’re just taking it out to cut it up. If I intended that the IP contents were to be dumped out, that would be explained. No one would know to do that unless it was clearly stated. You definitely don’t want to dump that stuff out… it adds a ton of flavor (and the base for the gravy/sauce). Hope this helps! 🙂
Delicious and easy!! My 2 favorite things 👏🏼 Was going to do this in the crockpot and then found this IP version so I couldn’t pass it up. I did use 2 packets of chicken gravy mix and I don’t regret that! Looking forward to trying more recipes!!
Yay!! So glad it worked for you, Anne. Thanks for letting me know.
This was very good. I had frozen chicken breast so I cooked for 15 minutes, then released for 5 mins. Came out perfect!
Wonderful!! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!