Instant Pot Chicken Rosa Maria–chicken, ham and mushrooms in a lemon sauce with cheese. A flavorful chicken dish that is anything but bland!

Instant Pot Chicken Rosa Maria
Today’s recipe is a flavorful chicken recipe that I think you’re really going to love! The addicting lemon-y sauce alone is worth licking up off your plate. This recipe is a spin off of the flavors in Carrabba’s restaurant pollo rosa maria.
The sauce needs something to soak it up so make sure to serve it alongside some rice, mashed potatoes or even stirring in some cooked angel hair pasta after the pressure cooking time is up.
Make sure to use fresh lemon juice! It makes the sauce soooo good. I love to squeeze lemons and then freeze the juice in ice cube trays so I can have it at the ready for recipes like this one.
I used frozen chicken tenderloins. I buy the big bag at Costco. Another really good option is to use boneless chicken thighs. I would cut each thigh into 4 or 6 pieces (depending on the size) before pressure cooking. Chicken breasts won’t be as tender and moist as tenderloins or thighs, but you can use them if you’d like. Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Butter–or olive oil
- Onion–or shallots
- Mushrooms–I used white button mushrooms
- Prosciutto–or ham
- Garlic cloves–fresh or jarred
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Chicken tenderloins–frozen is fine. You can also use boneless chicken thighs cut into chunks.
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- Dried basil
- Lemon juice–fresh is best
- Cornstarch
- Italian-style blend shredded cheese
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the butter and swirl it around to melt.

Add in the onions and mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes.

Add in the prosciutto and garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
Add in the chicken, salt, pepper and basil.

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.

In a small bowl stir together the lemon juice and cornstarch until smooth. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Stir the slurry into the pot until sauce has thickened.

Turn off the pot and stir in the cheese.
Serve the chicken and sauce over rice, mashed potatoes or spaghetti.

Notes/Tips
- This chicken and sauce is super flavorful and you’ll want to serve it with something that can soak up the sauce. I served mine with rice but you can also serve over pasta or mashed potatoes. We also served asparagus alongside the chicken which seemed to go perfectly. If you want to go even further then serve it with some garlic bread.
- 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 mushrooms are Instant Pot Amish Beef Noodles and Instant Pot Cajun Sausage, Potatoes And Green Beans.
- Recipe adapted from Modern Honey.

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipe Ideas…
Instant Pot Ranch Chicken
An easy dump and go 5 ingredient chicken recipe with ranch seasoning mix and sour cream.
Instant Pot 3-Ingredient Chicken Dinner
Chicken and vegetables in a light balsamic sauce. Prep it in 5 minutes and cook it in your pressure cooker in 2 minutes! A fast, easy and healthy dinner!
Instant Pot Hurry Chicken
A quick chicken recipe that takes only about 5 minutes of prep! Serve chicken and sauce over rice and a side of vegetables. Perfect for a busy weeknight.
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.


Instant Pot Chicken Rosa Maria
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Chicken, ham and mushrooms in a lemon sauce with cheese. A flavorful chicken dish that is anything but bland!
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 8 ounces sliced or chopped mushrooms
- 3 ounces prosciutto or ham, cut into bite size pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenderloins
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup Italian style blend shredded cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the butter and swirl it around to melt. Add in the onions and mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes. Add in the prosciutto and garlic and saute for 1 minute.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
- Add in the chicken, salt, pepper and basil.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- In a small bowl stir together the lemon juice and cornstarch until smooth. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Stir the slurry into the pot until sauce has thickened.
- Turn off the pot and stir in the cheese.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over rice, mashed potatoes or spaghetti.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot

*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.
So good!! I think this one is my new favorite! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
★★★★★
Thanks Dawn!
So delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks Gloria!
Yum!! I served this over riced cauliflower (frozen, cooked pot-in-pot with the chicken), which took on the delicious taste of the sauce!
I used fresh chicken thighs. Turned out perfectly. No change to cooking time.
★★★★★
the chicken thighs sound great! Thanks for the 5 stars!
Made this last night, pretty good. The lemon juice adds a tang that lightens up the sauce. I eat dairy free & my chicken was frozen solid. Dinner still on the table in less than an hour!
Subs: dairy-free butter and cheese, frozen basil (triple the amount vs dry), a block of frozen boneless skinless thighs so pressure cooked for 8 min & let natural release for 8 min, then chopped chicken into pieces as slurry mixed in, and lastly arrowroot powder (instead of cornstarch to thicken, used less arrowroot to the slurry, then used saute until thickened); served with tater tots.
good dairy free tips! Thanks!
Is there a slow-cooker version of this recipe?
I don’t have a slow cooker version but you could try it. You’ll have to do step 1 on the stove and then transfer to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 2-3 hours.
Is it the same cooking time if I use the fresh cut up boneless thighs vs frozen tenderloins?
yes that’s right!
does it make a difference in coking time if you cut the meat into smaller pieces
Yes it does. What kind of cut are you using?