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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.
Instant Pot Chicken
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:
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Instant Pot Chicken and Sweet Potato Dinner
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
Prep Time:
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Pin RecipeDescription
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.
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.
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Elisha @UseHealthTips says
I tried it for my guests and wow, it turned out to be super delicious, and really, it was like finger licking good, they literally tasted the plates as well, thanks Carrie for making it superb 🙂
★★★★★
Emily Robers says
If I want to double the ingredients for this recipe would I double the cooking time?
Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition says
Nope! Same cooking time, just don’t go over the “max” line on the Instant Pot, Emily.
Becky Tesch says
Echoing the other comments, this was simple and delish!! My partner is not a fan of sweet potatoes and I though he’d possibly not like it because he also doesn’t like to mix sweet flavors and chicken, so I wasn’t sure with the cinnamon ad the sweet potatoes both being out of his range, and also we have a 3.5 year old, and they are just totally unpredictable in the food liking department, but we all loved it! Miracles!
★★★★★
Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition says
Ohhhh, this makes me so happy, Becky! Thrilled that everyone liked this easy, simple dish. Yay!
Leanne says
I love cilantro but I’ve never used it frozen. Do you freeze fresh and just break off what you need? Why frozen in this dish?
Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition says
Great question, Leanne! You can use fresh chopped cilantro at the end of this dish. I buy the frozen cilantro cubes at Trader Joe’s so that’s what I had on hand. But, fresh would be fine, just add it at the end. 🙂
Veronica says
Can i substitute lime for lemon, would it still taste good?
Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition says
Yes, absolutely!
Brian says
Just got home at the end of a long week at work, and was trying to figure out what to do with the little food I have left. So no, you are not the only one! Thanks this is perfect.
Debra Wilson says
Loved, loved, loved this! I used 2 lbs skinless thighs, doubled the spice and canned diced tomatoes (with the liquid), 1 large cubed sweet potatoe & used 1 cup chicken broth. Didn’t have time to make the ghee, so used butter & lemon juice then thickened with a bit of the broth and corn starch. It was amazing. Served it with a roasted head of cauliflower seasoned with spice & Dijon mustard & tossed salad – amazing!
Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition says
Awww, you’re so welcome, Debra! Thanks for sharing your modifications. I’m glad it worked for you!
Helen says
This was really good! It came out somewhere between soup and stew. It would be good over rice. I added some chard greens at the end. Tasty and pretty!
Rob Quee says
Simple, quick and delicious. This is going straight to the Keepers section. We have some family with Nightshade intolerances so we replaced the canned tomatoes with a tomato substitute (like Nomato / Notmato / etc) we made ourselves.
★★★★★
Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition says
I’m so happy you liked the recipe and that’s a great substitution idea!
Sarah says
So delicious! I love that your recipe was so easy, flavorful and healthy! Thank you.
★★★★★
Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition says
You’re so welcome, Sarah! I’m glad you enjoyed it!