Instant Pot Kebab Chicken Breast
Seasoned kebab chicken breasts, marinated in savory kebab sauce provide the basis for endless chicken recipes including a delectable kebab chicken pita pizza that is reminiscent of your favorite pizzeria.
Easy to make and extremely versatile, these savory chicken breasts can be used in a variety of recipes with sliced chicken.
This Instant Pot kebab chicken breast is perfect sliced on top of kebab chicken pita pizzas.
Any way you slice it, these chicken breasts will make their way into so many chicken recipes. You can be creative and incorporate this chicken in just about any recipe that calls for marinated chicken breasts.
It doesn’t even take long at all, aside from the marinating, that is. You can marinate this in the fridge for an hour or longer, up to overnight.
But once that’s done, all it takes is 2-3 minutes of cooking on each side. Then add a quarter cup of water or broth and set your Instant Pot in POULTRY mode (20 minutes). After cooking, ensure a safe temperature over 165 degrees Fahrenheit on your food thermometer.
While the Instant Pot is cooking the chicken, you can prepare your asparagus cucumber tomato salad or prep the ingredients for kebab chicken pita pizza.
You can also take advantage of the time you have while the Instant Pot is cooking, to make Swedish pizza salad to go with your pita pizzas!
It’s a great side dish for pita pizzas because it is low carb, filling and accentuates the pizza in a refreshing way.
Content in this Post
Ingredients in Instant Pot Kebab Chicken Breast
- Chicken Breasts — two chicken breasts, preferably organic
- Kebab Sauce — a doner inspired sauce, our recipe uses yogurt instead of mayo or sour cream. It is lighter but full of flavor – you won’t know the difference!
- Lemon Juice — freshly squeezed for this marinade.
- Oregano — add some oregano if you like, there’s some seasoning already in the kebab sauce, but we like to add a little more anyway.
How to Make Instant Pot Kebab Chicken Breast
Instant Pot kebab chicken is very easy to make. First you marinate the chicken (in mixture of kebab sauce, lemon juice and oregano) in the fridge, for at least an hour or up to overnight.
Next you sear the chicken for two minutes on each side in your Instant pot on SAUTE mode.
Add a quarter cup of water or broth to the Instant Pot with the chicken (needed for the Instant Pot to build up pressure). Use this liquid to deglaze the pot.
Ensure there are no stuck bits on the bottom of the pot, use a spatula to feel around to make sure the bottom is clean. You can pour the leftover marinade onto the chicken breasts, try not to get it on the bottom of the pot, it’s ok if a little bit does, but majority should be on top of the chicken to avoid the Instant Pot burn signal.
Then you set your Instant Pot to the POULTRY setting and allow it to cook for 20 minutes. If you don’t have a POULTRY setting you can set it on HIGH pressure for 10 minutes.
Additional Cooking Methods for Kebab Chicken Breast
If you don’t have an Instant Pot but would still like to make this, you can use the oven or crock pot methods below.
Oven Baked Kebab Chicken Breast
Bake the chicken breasts with the marinade for 18-20 minutes at 450 ºF until the internal temperature reaches at least 165 ºF.
Remove from oven and let sit, covered for five to ten minutes after baking to keep the chicken juicy!
Slow Cooker or Crock Pot Kebab Chicken Breast
Another easy method for cooking chicken breasts is in the the slow cooker. It takes longer but can be conveniently set before going out for a few hours. I use my smaller crock pot (2 quart) for two chicken breasts.
Place the chicken with the marinade in for three to four hours on HIGH until the safe internal temperature (at least 165 ºF) is reached, measure with a kitchen thermometer.
Chicken should be easy to shred with a fork, completely cooked through and with no pink inside.
What to Serve with Kebab Chicken Breast
This kebab chicken is an extremely versatile recipe that can be used in a number of easy dishes, in addition to chicken pita pizzas. Don’t forget to add Swedish pizza salad and an extra side of kebab sauce.
If you have leftovers there will be plenty of ways to incorporate this chicken into your meals.
Slice it into strips and you can make chicken pitas, sandwiches or wraps. You can even wrap kebab chicken in large lettuce pieces with your favorite toppings for a low carb sandwich.
The chicken strips taste so good in the kebab sauce you will want to just dip them as is!
Or slice kebab chicken breast and place on top of salads. Greek, Caesar or Italian house style salad would be nice choices.
Another easy dinner idea – serve this kebab chicken breast with kebab sauce on the side, with asparagus cucumber tomato salad and any other favorite BBQ side dishes, like mini dill potatoes and Instant Pot orzo.
Time Saving Tips
To save time marinating your kebab chicken, it’s a great idea to freeze chicken breasts in the kebab marinade. Just place the chicken in a freezer safe bag with the marinade in it and make sure it is tightly sealed with no air in the bag.
That way, while you thaw out the chicken, it will already be in the marinade and ready to go by the time it is thawed.
When you look through your freezer and find frozen chicken in marinade – it’s a great thing!
I like to make the kebab sauce ahead of time so that it’s ready to be used to marinate the chicken. But don’t worry, if you don’t have it already made it doesn’t take very long to whip up. You can freeze leftover kebab sauce to use in future recipes to save time.
Storage Tips
Raw chicken should only be stored in the fridge for up to two days.
We try to avoid keeping raw chicken in the fridge for more than one day and usually plan to cook it within a day or freeze it.
You can keep raw chicken breasts frozen for nine months, so long as they are wrapped and sealed well in an airtight bag or freezer safe container.
After cooking, chicken can be stored in the fridge for about three days, best if consumed within a day or two.
Cooked chicken can be frozen for up to six months if properly sealed in a freezer safe bag or container.
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Instant Pot Kebab Chicken Breast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken Breasts
Kebab Chicken Marinade
- ¼ Cup White Doner Kebab Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
White Doner Kebab Sauce (Makes about 1 Cup)
- ½ Cup Dahi
- ¼ Cup Labneh
- 1 teaspoon Hot Sauce, we use half Frank's and half green tabasco
- 1.5 tablespoons Sweet Chili Sauce, rooster brand
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon All Purpose Seasoning, sub taco seasoning or kebabkrydda
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 Clove Garlic , minced
Instructions
- Marinate Chicken breasts in the kebab sauce marinade in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode, when hot, add the chicken breasts (reserve the extra marinade) and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Watch to ensure the bottom of the pot doesn't burn.
- Add ¼ cup of water to the instant pot (for the pot to come to pressure) and use to deglaze the pot if necessary. Ensure there are no stuck bits on the bottom of the Instant Pot. Pour the reserved marinade onto the chicken breasts, try to avoid getting any on the bottom of the Instant Pot to avoid getting a burn signal.
- Fasten lid securely and set Instant Pot to POULTRY mode. That will automatically run it for 20 minutes. If you don't have POULTRY mode on your Instant Pot, then set to HIGH pressure for 10 minutes.
- Once complete, open lid and transfer chicken to a plate. Measure internal temperature with a food thermometer to ensure the temperature is at least 165° F. Let cool a bit before slicing it into strips.
- Enjoy as a topping on Kebab Chicken pita pizza. Or serve as is with a salad.
Nutrition
Note
The above nutritional values are estimates and should only be used as a guide. If you are following a specific diet or have dietary restrictions, please use your preferred nutritional calculator. If you have a food allergy please ensure that none of the listed ingredients are part of your restrictions. As well, always use a food thermometer to ensure safe cooking temperature of the food items.
