3-Ingredient Italian Chicken is an easy but flavorful and saucy chicken recipe that can be made in the Instant Pot or Crockpot.

3-Ingredient Italian Chicken
When you just don’t have the energy to make dinner this is the recipe for you! I was feeling tired and lethargic and just couldn’t muster the energy to make dinner. This dinner was so fast (about 3 minutes of initial prep time) to make. And guess what? It tastes really yummy. The chicken is tender and the seasonings are perfect. No need for anything extra! It only has 3 main ingredients too. Plus you can use frozen chicken. It’s not much to look at but I think you’ll really like this chicken.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts–or a combination of the two. You can use frozen or fresh chicken.
- Dry zesty Italian dressing mix–you can also use ranch dressing mix.
- Cornstarch–to thicken the sauce
Instant Pot Steps
Add chicken broth and chicken into Instant Pot. Sprinkle the chicken with the Italian dressing mix.


Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes for fresh chicken or 15 minutes for frozen chicken. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.

Shred the chicken or use a fork to break it up.

Thicken the sauce by making a cornstarch slurry. Stir together 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch and 3 Tbsp of water. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Stir the slurry into the pot to thicken the sauce. Once thickened turn off the Instant Pot.

Serve chicken and sauce over rice or mashed potatoes.

Notes
- Serve the chicken and sauce over the top of rice or mashed potatoes. I made brown rice. Serve some salad or vegetables on the side.
- This recipe is gluten-free, just make sure to check your dressing mix and your broth.
- This recipe is dairy free.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with Italian dressing mix are Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Instant Pot Italian Chicken Casserole.
Can I make the rice at the same time?
Pot-in-pot rice is a method of cooking rice in a separate container placed inside the Instant Pot. This method allows you to cook rice and the chicken at the same time. Here’s how you can cook rice at the same time as the chicken.
Ingredients:
- 2 cup of white rice
- 3 cups of water
Instructions:
- Add the rice to a heatproof container that fits inside the Instant Pot (I often use this stainless steel pan*). Add in the rice and water.
- Add the chicken ingredients into the Instant Pot.
- Place the heatproof container with the rice on top of the chicken, using a tall trivet* to keep it elevated.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and set the valve to sealing. Cook as stated in the recipe card.
- Carefully remove the heatproof container with the rice from the Instant Pot. It will be perfectly cooked!
Note: You can use long grain white rice, converted rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice. Brown rice uses a longer cooking time (22 minutes) and won’t work for (pot-in-pot) this particular recipe.
More 3-ingredient Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot 3-Ingredient Rump Roast
An easy beginner recipe for the Instant Pot. Beef pot roast is cooked until tender in the electric pressure cooker. If desired you can also make carrots and potatoes with the roast.
Instant Pot 3-Ingredient Casserole
A ravioli bake with only 3 main ingredients! The fastest and easiest dinner ever. It’s perfect for busy nights.
Instant Pot 3-Ingredient Root Beer BBQ Pulled Pork
The easiest and fastest way to make pulled pork! It’s slightly sweet and ultra tender.
Instant Pot 3-Ingredient Strawberry Jam
A delicious sweet and tart jam that is so fast and easy to make in your Instant Pot or slow cooker. It tastes amazing on toast, biscuits, crepes, pancakes, waffles, french toast and more. It has a little less sugar than typical jam but you won’t miss the sugar at all!
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.


3-Ingredient Italian Chicken
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
3-Ingredient Italian Chicken is an easy but flavorful and saucy chicken recipe that can be made in the Instant Pot or Crockpot.
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (or a combination)
- 1 envelope of dry zesty Italian dressing mix
- Cornstarch
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Add chicken broth and chicken into Instant Pot. Sprinkle the chicken with the Italian dressing mix.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes for fresh chicken or 15 minutes for frozen chicken. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Shred the chicken or use a fork to break it up.
- Thicken the sauce by making a cornstarch slurry. Stir together 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch and 3 Tbsp of water. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Stir the slurry into the pot to thicken the sauce. Once thickened turn off the Instant Pot.
- Serve chicken and sauce over rice or mashed potatoes.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add chicken broth and chicken into slow cooker. Sprinkle the chicken with the Italian dressing mix.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Shred the chicken or use a fork to break it up.
- Thicken the sauce by making a cornstarch slurry. Stir together 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch and 3 Tbsp of water. Turn slow cooker to high setting. Stir the slurry into the slow cooker to thicken the sauce.
- Once thickened serve chicken and sauce over rice or mashed potatoes.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Karen, would this still be a 15 min cook time for frozen tenderloins? Thanks.
I would do a 3 or 4 minute pressure cook time for tenderloins with a 5-10 minute natural pressure release.
Why soi much water for the rice when you do both at the same time. Normal proportion is 1 to 1?
I usually do 1 cup rice to 1.5 cup water ratio. You can do 1:1 if you’d like 🙂
THANK YOU FOR THE BREAD RECIPES DELICIOUS 😋 🌻❤️
★★★★★
you’re welcome!