Instant Pot Easy Chicken & Sweet Potato Dinner
Here’s an Easy Instant Pot Chicken & Sweet Potato Dinner recipe that only takes 35 minutes. It’s a delicious pantry meal perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
This recipe was created at the end of a long week when I hardly had any food left in the house. Please tell me I’m not the only one who runs out of food sometimes?
I was so happy that even though the ingredients are just so simple, they tasted great cooked together this way. This recipe is also perfect if you are trying to cook out of your pantry and don’t have a lot of fresh ingredients on hand.
I am so in love with cooking chicken in the Instant Pot. I have yet to have a chicken dish that wasn’t juicy and full of flavor. I think it’s one of those foods that is ideal for pressure cooking, since the moisture is trapped inside the pot.
For Instant Pot chicken, the general cooking times are:
- Whole, bonelesss chicken breasts – 10-12 minutes
- Cubed chicken breasts or chicken tenders – 8-10 minutes
- Boneless or bone-in chicken thighs – 8-10 minutes
- Whole chicken – 23-25 minutes (or six minutes per pound)
Since this recipe uses chicken pieces, you only need to cook it at pressure for 8 minutes.
Recipe Steps
You’ll never believe how easy this recipe is.
Step One
The first step is to sauté the chicken and onion in the pot with a little olive or avocado oil. You can skip this step if you are in a real hurry, but it will add extra flavor to the dish. Next, add the dried thyme, garlic powder, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
Step Two
Cancel the sauté function and add the sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and water. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
Step Three
When you’re ready to serve, stir in the chopped cilantro and fresh lemon or lime juice.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, this recipe is paleo, Whole30, and gluten-free!
FAQS
What if I don’t have onions?
You can just leave them out. This recipe is very forgiving. You can get creative with the spices, too. Just use what you have and love.
Can you use frozen chicken for this recipe?
Yes, you can use frozen chicken. Just add 10 minutes to the time (so 18 minutes total).
Other Easy Instant Pot Recipes You Might Like
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup with Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken & Potato Stew
- Instant Pot Beef Chili with Sweet Potato
- Instant Pot Salmon with Vegetables
- Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi
- Instant Pot Peanut Butter Chicken & Rice
Also, don’t miss my epic round-up of Instant Pot chicken recipes, all gluten-free and dairy-free.
You might also want to check out my entire index of healthy Instant Pot recipes.
Here’s my printable recipe:
PrintInstant Pot Chicken and Sweet Potato Dinner
Here’s a super simple and easy Chicken & Sweet Potato Dinner recipe that only takes 35 minutes. It’s a delicious Instant Pot chicken recipe perfect for busy weeknights.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Instant Pot pressure cooker
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped*
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups)
- 1 14.5-ounce canned chopped tomatoes, with the juices
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional, for topping)
- 1 medium lemon or lime, juiced
Instructions
- Drizzle your cooking oil into the Instant Pot bowl and press the Sauté button. Let the oil heat up for about two minutes.
- Place the onion and chicken in the pot and use a wooden spoon or spatula to move it around. Add the thyme, garlic powder, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
- Cancel the sauté function and add the water, chopped sweet potatoes, and tomatoes, and stir to combine.
- Lock on the lid and set the cooking time to 8 minutes on high pressure.
- When the cooking time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick-release the remaining pressure. Remove the lid and stir in the cilantro and lemon or lime juice.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator in a tightly-sealed container for up to 4 days.
Notes
This dish will keep up to several months in the freezer in a tightly-sealed container.
*Leave out the onions if you don’t have one or don’t like onions.
Keywords: instant pot chicken recipe, instant pot chicken, chicken dinner, healthy instant pot recipe
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I had a long day at the clinic and wanted to see if the Easy Chicken with Sweet Potatoes was a fast and simple as described. I started at six PM with some modifications : I used shallots for half the volume of onion (I used sweet onion), twice the cinnamon, twice the thyme, twice the salt, three times the black pepper, some bright sweet paprika, some smoked paprika, chicken stock instead of 1/2 cup H2O. The prep took me about 30 minutes (I like to take my time and relish the chopping, measuring, and feeling all that I am handling). I also browned the skinless, boneless chicken separately then added the onion and shallots and spices. Everything else was the same. I had a red and orange bell pepper on the counter but I forget to chop and use them. Everything else was as in the recipe.
Set the Instant pot into action and in about 23-24 minutes I took of the lid and added only half the lemon juice. I ladled a bowl of the IP Easy Chicken and Sweet Potatoes onto some fluffy Jasmine white rice. OMG… this is sooo delicious, fast to fix, and with ingredients I had at home already. I love you recipe, Carrie, this is a wonderful dish that tastes great, easy to prepare after work, and such a comforting food that is so tasty. Thank you, Carrie! This recipe goes into my “favorites” folder.
★★★★★
How long do I cook this recipe in my IP since my diced chicken is already cooked
I would cook the chopped sweet potatoes with the tomatoes and broth for 6 minutes and then stir in the cooked chicken at the end.
Didn’t have canned tomatoes…. but did have a can of Trader Joe’s fall salsa. It came out amazing. Great recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome, that’s a great substitution! So happy it came out well for you.
I just made this and I’m eating it as I type. I had to comment to say this is amazing. I had almost everything in my kitchen to make this except for the thyme, so I used some sweet paprika instead. I also doubled the spices and I had some leftover chicken stock I had to use up, so I used that instead of the water. I had a lime at hand so I used that. I didn’t even make rice to go with it. I’m just having it as is, and I love this! I will definitely make this again. Thank you for an awesome recipe! So good! The cinnamon in it is fantastic.
★★★★★
I’m so happy you liked it, Renee! Thanks for the feedback!