Meal Prep Diced Chicken in the Instant Pot
This is the best way to make a big batch of diced chicken for meal prepping lunches and dinners. It takes just a few minutes to cook the main protein for three very different meals.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe: This is the only recipe you need to make a big-batch of diced chicken in your Instant Pot. You can cook white rice at the same time, or skip the rice and just make chicken to turn into multiple different meals.
At my house, we love recipes that let us make multiple meals from the same protein, with minimal cooking on the later days.
I call them 3-for-1 meals, but you might be more familiar with them as two-for-one meals, cook-once-eat-twice meals, double-duty meals.
You can use this as a template where you can turn it into dozens of different meals by changing up the seasonings and toppings, so you’ll always be just a few minutes from an easy lunch or dinner.
We’ve sized this Instant Pot diced chicken recipe to make three easy smaller recipes: delicious teriyaki chicken bowls, cheesy stacked enchiladas, and a tasty classic chicken salad.
About Make-Ahead 3-for-1 Meals
I first started using make-ahead meals when I was testing recipes for my Instant Pot Baby Food and Toddler Food Cookbook. I was pregnant, low on energy, and desperately needing easy meals.
Even though a few years have passed since I last needed to make baby food, I still use our 3-in-1 recipes to meal prep for weeknight dinners and lunches.
I use these recipes to make three very different types of meals, with only needing to have one major cook day.
Having the protein already cooked makes each of the three meals come together much more quickly without the effort of cooking three meals from start to finish.
NOTE: I like to do all of the prep for the three different recipes on the same day I cook the chicken. So I’ll cut the veggies for the Teriyaki Bowls and the grapes for the Chicken Salad all on the same day. Then place each in a tightly covered tupperware in the fridge until needed. But if you want to split up the chopping, that works great as well!
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED
Here is the short and sweet ingredient list for Instant Pot diced chicken and rice:
- Chicken breasts. Dice the boneless, skinless chicken breast into bite-size pieces for even, quick cooking.
- Vegetable oil. You can also use olive oil if you prefer.
- Garlic. To infuse your chicken with a little extra flavor that is still versatile enough to pair with other sauces and dishes.
- Chicken broth. Use low-sodium store-bought or homemade chicken broth.
- White rice, optional. We like to cook the white rice for the Teriyaki Chicken Bowls or the Stacked Enchiladas at the same time we make the chicken. If you plan to use this recipe, we recommend making short-grain white rice, which has the same cook time as the diced chicken.
How to Make Diced Chicken in an Instant Pot
✅ This easy recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
Start by cooking the chicken and rice using the pot-in-pot method.
First, dice the chicken and season it all over with salt and pepper. Select Sauté on the Instant Pot to heat it. Add the oil and chicken and cook the chicken for three minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, until it’s fragrant. Finally, stir in the chicken broth.
Next, place a trivet or steaming rack into the pressure cooking pot over the chicken. In a 7-inch cake or springform pan, combine the rice and water. Use a foil or reusable sling to carefully lower the pot of rice and water onto the trivet in the pot. Lock the lid in place and cook at high pressure for four minutes.
Let the pressure release naturally for seven minutes, then release the remaining pressure with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, remove the lid and use your sling to carefully remove the pan of rice.
Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a plate. Discard the liquid in the pressure cooking pot. Now your chicken is ready to use. You can cool it completely and store for later or serve it immediately.
Important Tips for Making Instant Pot Chicken for Meal Prep
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when making this recipe:
- Cutting the chicken into equal-sized, bite-sized pieces will ensure that they cook evenly and that they’re done at the same time as the rice.
- It’s important to add the chicken broth to the pressure cooking pot to avoid a burn warning and keep the chicken from drying out.
- Likewise, be sure to stir the ingredients well when you add the chicken broth to the pressure cooking pot.
- To help separate the rice grains after cooking, use a fork to carefully fluff the rice in the pot.
Frequently Asked Questions about Making Big-Batch of Diced Chicken in the Instant Pot
Yes, if you’d only like to cook chicken and no grains, you can follow the instructions for the diced chicken and skip cooking the rice. There’s no need to change the cooking time.
After the chicken is cooked, let it cool and place it in an airtight container. Then store it in the fridge for up to four days.
You can also place some of the individual portions into freezer-safe ziplocks and freeze for up to three months.
You can store the rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.
There are so many ways to serve the chicken and rice once it’s cooked and in the fridge. At my house, we love to make loaded enchiladas (or burritos or tacos), a cold chicken salad for lunch, and teriyaki chicken bowls.
My favorite way to reheat the chicken for future meals is to place the chicken in a oven-safe bowl. Place 1 cup water and a trivet in the Instant Pot, then use a sling to lower the bowl in place. Lock the lid and select 0 minute cook time. When the cook time ends, finish with a quick release.
You can also add a splash of chicken broth to chicken and reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
Check out the individual 3-for-1 recipes
Usually when I make these meals together, I’ll cook the diced chicken and serve the Chicken Teriyaki bowls on the first day. Then I’ll mix together the ingredients for the classic chicken salad and refrigerate to allow the flavors to meld.
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Ingredients
- 6 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite-size pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced or pressed
**OPTIONAL, IF YOU CHOOSE TO PREPARE RICE**
- 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups white rice
- 2 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Select Sauté to preheat the pressure cooking pot. Season the diced chicken with salt and pepper. When the pot is hot, add the oil and chicken and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Add the chicken broth and stir.*
- IF USING RICE: Place a trivet in the bottom of the cooking pot. In a 7-inch cake pan, stir together the rice and water. Use a sling to lower the pan carefully onto the trivet.
- Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 4 minutes cook time. When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Let the pressure release naturally for 7 minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid.
- If you made rice, use the sling to remove the pan from the cooking pot and set the rice aside to use in the teriyaki chicken recipe that follows. Remove the trivet.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool and discard the cooking liquid. Divide the chicken into three equal portions.
- Proceed with the next recipe immediately OR cool and store in an airtight container for up to four days.
Notes
Nutrition
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We prefer dark meat chicken (thighs) to chicken breasts. How would pressure cooking time change?
How much broth do you add to the chicken to cook it?
I buy whole chickens at the end of the season. I would like cook whole chicken in the Instant pot & I want to dice the chicken for the freezer. Can I use a coating batter on cooled cooked chicken and then freeze?
Coating won’t adhere as well to cooked chicken. You’d be better off using the chicken in soups and dishes that have a sauce like the recipes link to in this post or this pasta dish https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/pressure-cooker-chicken-bacon-penne-pasta/ or this soup https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/quick-white-chicken-chili/
We prefer dark meat chicken (thighs) to chicken breasts. How would pressure cooking time change?
When preparing meat for future use I always freeze, then vacuum seal it for longer preservation. Freezing the meat first prevents the vacuum process from drawing the juices from it.
Great tip on freezing first, Linda. Thanks