How long to cook chicken tenders in instant pot?

Family-friendly, plump, juicy Instant Pot chicken tenders are available. This quick and simple chicken dish can be prepared in as little as 2 minutes, and it cooks quickly, making it a great option for a weeknight meal. Naturally gluten-free, grain-free, low-carb, and keto-friendly, Instant Pot chicken tenderloins are also available.

No matter how old you get, there is something about chicken tenders that makes you feel like a kid again. These tenders are delicious to eat on their own, as an ingredient in a vegetable salad, or even in a sandwich.

Cooking this chicken tenderloins recipe in an electric pressure cooker is a game-changer in addition to the fact that it tastes amazing. The pressure cooker does all the work, so it’s a low-effort meal for me and the chicken has an amazing texture. I have the time to prepare side dishes like my Keto Fries, Spaghetti Squash Bites, and Cheesy Cauliflower Rice.

Pressure cooking will become one of your best kitchen achievements once you get the hang of it.

If you haven’t noticed it yet, I always enjoy recipes that call for few ingredients. There are only 5 ingredients total for these chicken tenders, and the majority are seasonings. Limited ingredients mean less expensive!.

Olive Oil: Cooking chicken in olive oil results in delicious food. If you prefer, you could also use refined coconut oil or another oil.

Chicken Tenders: Ensure that they are all cut to the same size. Consequently, you won’t have to worry about some of them being overcooked while others are still raw because they will cook evenly.

Seasonings – I like to keep my seasonings simple, using just a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic powder to give the chicken flavor without going overboard. You can add other spices if desired.

Instant Pot Chicken Tenders- Shredding, slicing or dicing!

I’ve cooked a lot of chicken since receiving my first Instant Pot from my mom—THANK YOU! I feel like I am constantly buying more chicken at the store, especially since I started blogging, developing recipes, and testing recipes.

I have cooked with both chicken breasts and chicken tenders. As you can see and learn more about in my post about Instant Pot chicken breasts, I’ve tested and perfected chicken breasts.

Readers frequently ask me why their chicken breasts didn’t turn out well, either because they were undercooked, rubbery, or simply unpalatable.

Since chicken breasts are never the same size—I might purchase a package of A’s one day and DD’s the next—a standard cook time for all chicken breasts just doesn’t make sense. I go into much more detail about this in my post on chicken breasts.

It’s understandable why people have so many issues with them. In all of my recipes using chicken breasts, I always remove those variables to ensure you always get reliable results.

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tenders

Turn On the Instant Pot: Set the Instant pot to SAUTE on normal.

Add Chicken: Heat olive oil in the pot, then add the chicken tenders. Season them with salt, pepper, and oregano.

Saute: Brown the chicken tenders for 1 or 2 minutes on each side. This step is optional, but recommended for better texture and locking in the flavor.

Deglaze: Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Deglaze the pot by adding a little bit of water and scraping off any bits of chicken stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Set Up Instant Pot: Place the trivet in the Instant Pot, and add the rest of the water.

Add The Chicken: Return the chicken tenders to the Instant Pot, stacked on the trivet.

Pressure Cook: Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 3 minutes.

Manual Release: When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam. Remove the tenders from the Instant Pot, serve, and enjoy!

Ingredients in Instant Pot Chicken Tenders

Chicken Tenders – They’re called mini chicken fillets in the UK. You’ll need about 2 pounds/900g of chicken tenders for this recipe.

Olive Oil – we’ll quickly brown the chicken in olive oil before pressure cooking to get that nice, brown crust.

Salt and Pepper – Simple seasonings let the chicken flavor really shine.

Oregano – a bit of dried oregano goes in many of my chicken recipes. I love the flavor.

Water – You’ll need 1 cup of water for a 6 quart instant pot, and 1 ½ cups for an 8 quart pot.

The recipe card below includes a thorough list of ingredients and their measurements.

Instant Pot Chicken Tenders (keto friendly, no breading)