Instant Pot Cranberry Chicken is a one-pot sweet and tangy chicken dinner. This easy recipe turns a few pantry-staple ingredients into a delicious dinner with almost no prep!
Instant Pot cranberry chicken is tasty one-pot dinner recipe. This flavorful recipe is a great combination of sweet, sour, and savory.
This recipe is the Instant Pot version of the classic baked chicken. That recipe is made from Catalina dressing, cranberry sauce, chicken, and a packet of onion soup mix.
This recipe keeps the same flavors but uses a few common seasonings in place of the onion soup mix. And since it’s made in the Instant Pot, there’s almost no prep!
How to make Instant Pot cranberry chicken
Step 1: Place the chicken breasts in the Instant Pot inner pot of a 6 quart pot.
Step 2: Pour the chicken broth over the chicken.
Step 3: Sprinkle the dried onion, garlic powder, pepper and salt over the chicken.
Step 4: Pour the dressing over the chicken.
Step 5: Add the cranberry sauce over the dressing. Do not stir.
Step 6: Close and lock the lid. Be sure that the pressure release valve is set to sealing. Press manual high pressure and adjust the cooking time to 10 minutes.
Step 7: Once the cooking time has finished, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes.
Release any remaining pressure.
Step 8: Remove the chicken to a plate, and give the sauce a good stir. Serve the sauce over the chicken.
Serving suggestions
This is a saucy chicken recipe. I recommend serving the chicken over mashed potatoes, rice, quinoa to help absorb some of the flavorful sauce. Since the sauce is fairly rich, I like to serve the chicken with steamed green beans or a fresh green salad.
Storage
Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The chicken will keep for up to 4 days when properly stored in the fridge.
Instant Pot Cranberry Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons dried minced onions
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Catalina dressing or Russian dressing
- 14 ounces can whole berry cranberry sauce
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in the Instant Pot inner pot of a 6 quart pot.
- Pour the chicken broth over the chicken.
- Sprinkle the dried onion, garlic powder, pepper and salt over the chicken.
- Pour the dressing over the chicken.
- Add the cranberry sauce over the dressing. Do not stir.
- Close and lock the lid. Be sure that the pressure release valve is set to sealing.
- Press manual high pressure and adjust the cooking time to 10 minutes.
- Once the cooking time has finished, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes.
- Release any remaining pressure.
- Remove the chicken to a plate, and give the sauce a good stir.
- Serve the sauce over the chicken.
Notes
- Chicken broth: I use reduced-sodium chicken broth to avoid a saltier dish.
- Garlic powder: Be sure to use garlic powder, not garlic salt.
- Stirring: It’s important to avoid stirring the sauce before cooking. The dressing and cranberry sauce will cause a burn notice if you stir it before cooking.
- To thicken the sauce, stir 2 tablespoons of corn starch together with 2 tablespoon of chicken broth in a small bowl.
Press sauté, and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Let the sauce cook, stirring regularly, until thickened. Serve over chicken. - Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
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Did You Make This?
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This was amazing! I love the simplicity of the recipe and the sub for onion soup mix. Since there’s only the two of us, I decreased the amount of chicken to just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. Skipped adding salt because of the sodium in the dressing and, when heating the sauce to thicken it, added a handful of dried cranberries. It was absolutely delicious and so fast and easy!
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked it!