Instant Pot Lemon Tarragon Chicken
Welcome spring with this refreshing recipe for Instant Pot Lemon Tarragon Chicken that’s juicy, herby, and cooked to perfection thanks to your pressure cooker.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe: This Instant Pot chicken recipe is fast, simple, and easy to pair with your favorite side dishes.
My tulips have bloomed, my peonies are coming up, and my allergies are out in full force. Spring is here, and I’ve been craving spring flavors.
Recently I’ve been loving tarragon. If you’re new to it, tarragon is a springy herb that adds delicious flavor to every bite. It has a hint of black licorice, but it’s really subtle.
I knew that tarragon would be a delicious way to mix-up my favorite lemon chicken recipe.
How to Make Instant Pot Lemon Tarragon Chicken
This Instant Pot Lemon Tarragon Chicken recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
Start making your tarragon chicken by briefly searing the meat in the pressure cooker. This adds a nice golden-brown color and extra caramelized flavor to the meat.
You can also skip this searing step if you like and cook this as a dump-and-go recipe. In that case, follow the instructions for a reverse sear to brown up the chicken after pressure cooking.
Once the chicken is cooked through, you’ll use a cornstarch slurry to quickly thicken up the lemon sauce so it coats the chicken nicely.
Can I Use Frozen Chicken?
You can make this recipe starting with frozen chicken breasts if you forgot to defrost the meat ahead of time. You can read this guide on how to defrost and cook chicken from frozen in the Instant Pot to get started.
A good rule of thumb is to add one minute to the cook time for each ounce of chicken if you’re using a whole solid breast. You can also add 5-6 minutes of cook time per inch at the thickest part of the meat.
Serving Suggestions
You can top each serving of lemon chicken with more fresh herbs to serve. We like to pair this fresh springy recipe with other simple side dishes to complete the meal, like:
- Lion House Rolls from Barbara Bakes are airy, light, fluffy and the ideal vehicle to soak up the extra lemon-tarragon sauce.
- Rice Pilaf with Saffron and Almonds is a quick and easy Instant Pot rice recipe with fragrant saffron aroma and color.
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes are perfectly soft and ready to be topped with your favorite creamy, cheesy, and crunchy additions.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
We love a quick and easy chicken recipe for dinner, including these other favorites:
- Salsa Chicken with Melted Mozzarella is a saucy Tex-Mex inspired recipe with tons of flavor from one ingredient: jarred salsa.
- Creamy Chipotle Chicken is a creamy comforting recipe with just the right amount of heat.
- Chicken Lazone is downright delicious, with tender paprika chicken cooked in a rich cream sauce.
- Instant Pot Artichoke Chicken is a quick chicken recipe that’s made with items you can keep in your pantry for busy nights.
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta from Tidbits has a delicious crunchy French onion topping.
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Instant Pot Lemon Tarragon Chicken
Instant Pot Lemon Tarragon Chicken is juicy, tender, and full of delicious herby flavor for springtime dinners.
Ingredients
- 6 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves*
- ½ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- Fresh tarragon, to serve
Instructions
- Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Select Sauté to preheat the pressure cooking pot. When hot, add the olive oil and then the chicken breasts. Sear until browned on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Add the garlic. Sauté for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Stir in the chicken broth and scrape all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add lemon juice and fresh tarragon. Return the chicken and any juices to the pot and lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 3 minutes cook time.
- When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Let the pressure release naturally for 4 minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.
- In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Add the slurry to the pot. Select Sauté and simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens.
- Reverse sear, if you like: After pressure-cooking the chicken, while you thicken the sauce, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and sear the chicken until browned and crisp on both sides.
- Serve the chicken with the lemon-tarragon sauce on top garnished with fresh tarragon.
Notes
*In a pinch, you can substitute 1 teaspoon dried tarragon and add it when you add the garlic. However, I really love the flavor from fresh.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 377Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 153mgSodium: 278mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 56g
Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.
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