This delicious Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli is a healthier spin on the take-out favorite! It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, 21 Day Fix approved, and oh-so-easy to make in the Instant Pot! This post contains affiliate links to products I’m obsessed with.
Confession #137 – I am not sure that I could EVER put into words how cool it is to see what you guys are cooking from this blog.
And sometimes a recipe just takes off from the start…and there you are on social media, cooking up my latest blog post and it’s honestly beyond my wildest dreams.
Like the Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli I posted earlier this month. You guys wasted no time trying that one and I am so, so happy it seems like a major win. And for all of you who have wanted a chicken version, this is essentially the very same recipe using diced up chicken breast, so I hope it makes you just as happy as the beef one!
What Ingredients are Needed for Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli:
- coconut oil (can sub olive or sesame oil)
- boneless chicken tenderloins, cut into bite sized pieces
- shallots (about one whole shallot)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- ginger
- low sodium chicken stock (or sub water)
- coconut aminos (or sub low sodium soy sauce)
- honey
- fresh broccoli florets
- arrowroot or your favorite thickener/flour (cornstarch also works well)
- scallions
- salt
- crushed red pepper
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli
Because the boneless chicken tenderloins were cut into bite sized pieces before cooking, this only took 7 minutes on high pressure. You can totally sub chicken thighs if you want, but I was really pleased with how the breast cooked for this recipe. I did take them out when I was thickening the sauce so they wouldn’t get dry, as I have to admit I get a little worried when it comes to IP and overcooked chicken…but it delivered this time!
And just like the Beef version, the broccoli just steams itself in the hot pot after cook time. Pretty freaking awesome not to have to dirty another pot steaming it, isn’t it? And if you hate broccoli, you can totally make this with sugar snap peas, bell peppers, or whatever your heart desires. Do you, ok?
Oh – and for all of your guys following the 80 Day Obsession, you could easily cut the oil in half and add some sesame seeds!Then you have a perfect Green, Red, Orange meal here! This preps really well, too, so you can make a bunch for the week.
And now for some Q and A
How do you cook broccoli in the Instant Pot?
Typically, I steam broccoli in the instant pot for ZERO minutes. Yup – I said zero…this is a thing! Otherwise, your broccoli will turn to mush. I also tend to keep the florets bigger to help them stay crisp.
But for this recipe, I find that just placing the lid on the Instant Pot helps to steam the broccoli enough for me! If you feel like it needs to cook longer, just set your pot for zero and then do a quick release after it comes to pressure!
What are the 21 Day Fix Container Counts for this Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli recipe?
This recipe counts as 1 RED, 1 GREEN, and 1/2 tsp. I like to serve this with Freezer Friendly Instant Pot Brown Rice or even some cauliflower rice for more veggie power.
Is this Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli Weight Watchers friendly?
Yes! It’s only 5 freestyle points per serving, too! Woohoo!
Is this Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli Paleo?
Yup…it’s gluten and dairy free, too!
Another quick and easy Instant Pot Meal!
Looking for more Healthy Asian Inspired Dishes? Check out these posts:
The Best 21 Day Fix Asian Inspired Recipes | The Foodie and The Fix
Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli (21 Day Fix)
Healthy Chicken Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
21 Day Fix Instant Pot Asian Chicken
Instant Pot Orange Chicken | My Crazy Good Life
Instant Pot Ramen Noodles (Stovetop Option) | 21 Day Fix Ramen Noodles (Gluten-free/Dairy-free)
21 Day Fix Chicken Satay with Creamy Peanut Sauce
Want to see this Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli on a Meal Plan? Check out this post:
Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli on 21 Day Fix Meal Plan & Grocery List {63} Low Carb | Weight Watchers Meal Plan
Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli (21 Day Fix)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
This delicious Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli is a healthier spin on the take-out favorite! It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, 21 Day Fix approved, and oh-so-easy to make in the Instant Pot!
Ingredients
- 2 tsp coconut oil (can sub olive or sesame oil)
- 1 lb of boneless chicken tenderloins, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 cup diced shallots (about one whole shallot)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 2/3 cup low sodium chicken stock (or sub water)
- 1/3 cup of coconut aminos (or sub low sodium soy sauce)
- 2 T plus 1 tsp honey
- 3 1/2 cups of broccoli florets
- 1/2 T arrowroot or your favorite thickener/flour (cornstarch also works well)
- scallions
- 1/4 tsp salt
- crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Whisk coconut aminos, chicken stock, honey and fresh ginger together. Set aside.
- Set Instant Pot to Saute. When it’s hot, add coconut oil and shallots and sauté until they begin to soften and become fragrant. Add in garlic and cook an additional minute.
- Pour stock mixture into the IP and add in diced chicken. Cover and lock your Instant Pot and set to manual/pressure cook for 7 minutes. When cook time is up, finish with a quick release.
- Carefully take off the lid and remove cooked chicken, set aside.
- Remove 1 cup of the cooking liquid and make a slurry by whisking in 1/2 T of arrowroot starch. Mix until well combined and then return to pot. Set IP to sauté and stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Repeat slurry process if necessary (it wasn’t for me) . Stir in salt. Turn pot to keep warm.
- Add in chicken and chopped broccoli florets and stir everything together. Place lid on IP and give the broccoli 5-10 minutes to steam from the heat of the pot.
- When broccoli is to desired tenderness, garnish with some scallions, crushed red pepper, and additional grated ginger if desired (I did all three). This would also be delish with sesame seeds – just be sure to count your orange container!
- Serve over rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.
Equipment
Buy Now →
Notes
4 servings ~ 3/4 cup each 1 RED, 1 GREEN, 1/2 tsp
Weight Watchers Freestyle Points – 5 per serving
Keywords: Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli, Healthy Instant Pot Recipes, Gluten Free Instant Pot Recipes, 21 Day Fix Instant Pot Recipes, Weight Watchers Instant Pot Recipes, 21 Day Fix Chicken and Broccoli, Healthy Chicken and Broccoli, Weight Watchers Chicken and Broccoli
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Brianna Forman says
This was absolutely amazing! I already loved the beef and broccoli recipe and now I love this one too! I have an excuse to have Chinese food twice every week! Hahahahaha I’m seriously loving every single recipe i try from this blog! I can’t even pick a favorite! Lol
Nancylynn says
Awww…that’s SO great! You keep kicking butt, lady, and I’ll keep cooking for you! <3
Mindy says
Your first step of the directions say to add beef stock. I’m sure it is supposed to say chicken but just wanted to let you know. I look forward to making this asap!
Nancylynn says
Yes! I really thought I changed that :). Thank you!
Sara says
Wow! Just made this and am actually eating it right now. So flavorful! Thank you for the great recipe 🙂
Nancylynn says
YAY!!!
Motgan says
Just finished eating. Had to adapt for my dietary issues but it was delicious despite that and I don’t find many recipes that work out like that. After the broccoli finished cooking, I tasted for salt and.felt it was just calling for pineapple so I added some, then served it over riced cauliflower. Perfect fit. Thanks so much.
Nancylynn says
That’s amazing!! So, so happy!!
Jennifer Clausing says
Tried this for my very first go at the Instant Pot. Winner! It was very very good! Although I didn’t feel very “Instant”. #iwantmagic #rookie Tagged on Insta. 🙂 Thank you!
Nancylynn says
LOL! I am happy you liked it!
Melissa says
About to make this tonight for the first time – I’m worried the chicken will come out rubbery. I’ve had such bad luck with this issue in the past! Any thoughts on how to prevent this?
Nancylynn says
The short cook time plus the chicken being diced will prevent this! I promise!
Amy says
I was actually shocked and very impressed at how tender, juicy and moist the chicken was! And I even let mine cook a smidgen longer to make the broccoli a little more soft. I loved the recipe!!!!
Melissa Kendall says
Made this for dinner tonight, sooo good! The only thing I did differently was that I marinated the cut up chicken in the sauce mixture for a few hours. Will make again!
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
I love that idea! Thanks, Melissa!
Liz says
This looks amazing, definitely going to be making this in the near future! I just found your page and have been saving pretty much every recipe so far. As far as this recipe goes, do I need to add any extra liquid for an 8 quart cooker? I have seen where you usually make notes to do so on other recipes and just want to make sure it turns out. Thanks in advance and I can’t wait to try all of these!!
Nancylynn says
Hi! You should be ok to not add water to this recipe! Let me know how it goes!
Angela says
Hi, Can you clarify the broccoli part? I used pre-cut broccoli florets and they did not cook at all. I might be misunderstanding the instructions. After cooking the chicken and sauce, I placed the broccoli in the IP with the other ingredients and the power set to “Keep warm” for 5 minutes. It didn’t cook at all, so I had to take it out to microwave it, especially since the chicken and sauce were done and I was afraid the sauce would burn and the chicken would disintegrate. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!
Nancylynn says
That’s exactly what I do! You can always remove the chicken and steam the broccoli for zero minutes before thickening the sauce.
Karrie Robertson says
If I double the recipe how long should I cook it in the IP?
Nancylynn says
Same cooktime!
Jamie says
Hi Nancylynn!
Would it be possible to use your Kung Pao sauce recipe in this dish instead? If so, would I need to adjust any of the steps?
Also, I am OBSESSED with this recipe! I make a double batch once a week for my boyfriend and I. It’s so easy and delicious!!!!!
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
Are you making it in the Instant Pot? I would double the sauce!!! And YUM!!! I’m gonna try that, too! Thanks for the awesome review!
Michael O'Connell says
Do you think it would be possible to cook rice on a trivet and in a pot while this cooks?
Nancylynn says
Are you talking about brown rice or white?
Annie says
I follow the portion containers so when you say a serving is 3/4 cups I use the red container to measure , however when doing so there is def more than 4 servings – maybe 5 to 6 – and I preweighed everything before cooking – do you measure it differently?
Nancylynn says
Hi! The serving size is approx 3/4 cups (that’s what ~ means 🙂 It’s possible that my broccoli cooks down more than yours, etc and the serving size might be closer to a full cup. Regardless, this recipe serves 4, so you can just make your portions bigger!
Tasha H. says
This was a fail for me. Flavors were good, but after the 7 min Pressure Cook and a quick release the chicken was chewy and yuck. I forged ahead and added the broccoli, but the broccoli was still too al dente for my taste. I then set the IP back to Pressure Cook for 0 min and did a Natural Release. Needless to say my broccoli had turned to mush, however the chicken was now perfectly cooked and delicious. Also, after adding 2 TBSP of cornstarch, my dish was still soup like. That coupled with the mush broccoli made this a soup for sure. Flavors were great, and thankfully only I will eat it — but beware.
★★
Nancylynn says
That is SUCH a bummer as we love this recipe. Did you cut the chicken into pieces or cook it whole? And yes – broccoli is tricky in the IP which is why the directions are written the way they are.
Nicole says
My whole family loved this one! Quick weeknight meal! Thank you!
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
YAY! This makes me SO happy!
Tiffany says
I’m so sad about this! We did everything exactly as instructed and the sauce didn’t thicken at ALL!! The flavor was really good but I don’t know what we did wrong. We even added extra cornstarch and nothing worked. I’m bummed!
★★★
Nancylynn says
Did you keep the pot on saute when adding cornstarch? Did you continue to stir? Was your cornstarch expired? I use arrowroot and it works amazing, so I’m not sure what happened but I am glad you enjoyed the flavor!
Danae Macaro says
I just made this tonight and my husband actually ate it. Picky eater approved.
★★★★
Nancylynn says
That’s wonderful!
Cissy bowles says
Ridiculously easy and even more tasty. My whole family enjoyed this dish..I had frozen broccoli so I steamed it in the bag in the microwave and then added it to the chicken. I actually had to leave it on warm for 2 hours before we could eat it. It was still delicious!
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
This is AWESOME!! Thank you so much, Cissy!!
Kerri says
Hi! I have a question as I am starting 21 Day Fix- looking through the book I don’t see arrowroot/cornstarch listed and the free foods list salt as a no (soy sauce). I am trying not to be too crazed with it all but want to stick to plan as much as possible. Are these approved and I’m just missing it?
Nancylynn says
Arrowroot is derived from a plant and will be just fine to add during your 21 day fix. And using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce will work wonderfully. It’s important to remember that the 21 day fix food list is not all encompassing and there are foods out there that are healthy and clean that just aren’t on the list. You’re doing a great job of asking questions- keep it up! Good luck!
Amy Kohring says
Can you make this in the slow cooker? If so, what would the process be the same?
Nancylynn says
I will test this in the slow cooker and let you know!
Cindy Benson says
I just finished making this and it is on keep warm. Waiting for my husband to get home. My only complaint is in the directions to whisk together the chicken broth honey ginger and the other ingredient it would have helped if you put soy sauce in parentheses. I didnt realize it until after the chicken was cooking so I just added it after gave it a quick stir then removed the chicken and moved on. It should be fine I just wanted to let others know so they dont miss this step. I am looking forward to dinner tonight!
Nancylynn says
Thank you for this feedback! Hope you enjoyed it!