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March 13, 2019

Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken

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Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken–a creamy sauce and chicken with parmesan cheese, bacon, garlic and spinach. Make pot-in-pot rice at the same time to serve with the chicken and sauce.

Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken--a creamy sauce and chicken with parmesan cheese, bacon, garlic and spinach. Make pot-in-pot rice at the same time to serve with the chicken and sauce.

Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken

This chicken and sauce is seriously delicious. After I finished my plate I couldn’t stop sneaking extra bites straight from the pot. My parents, kids and husband all agreed with me. This is a new family favorite! And it’s a major bonus that you can cook the rice at the same time in the same pot! To see more about how that works you can see my video about pot-in-pot rice here.

A few notes about the ingredients:

Chicken–I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into ½ inch fillets. I like cutting them thin because they cook quicker and then nobody is stuck with a big hunk of meat. If you’re using frozen chicken breasts you can cut them into pieces or shred the meat after it has pressure cooked. I haven’t tried this recipe with chicken thighs but I think it would work fabulously. You’ll need to increase the cooking time by a couple minutes for dark meat.

Half and Half–this is just a dairy product that is half whole milk and half heavy cream. You can use just cream or just whole milk if you’d prefer. I like half and half because you get the flavor and thickness.

Cornstarch–I used cornstarch to thicken my sauce but you can also use flour. Just make sure to cook the raw flour taste out of the sauce before you serve.

Spinach–if you don’t like spinach just leave it out. I used fresh baby spinach and chopped it. You can probably use frozen spinach and it would taste just as good. I would thaw the frozen spinach and wring out excess liquid first before adding it into the pot.

Bacon–I used packaged real bacon pieces from Costco. You can cook your own bacon and use that instead.

Rice–I used uncooked long grain white rice with the pot-in-pot method. If you want to try a different type of rice refer to this article.

Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken--a creamy sauce and chicken with parmesan cheese, bacon, garlic and spinach. Make pot-in-pot rice at the same time to serve with the chicken and sauce.

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes You’ll Love…

Instant Pot Savory Mushroom Chicken

Instant Pot White Chicken Lasagna

Instant Pot Garlic Mushroom Chicken

Instant Pot Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken--a creamy sauce and chicken with parmesan cheese, bacon, garlic and spinach. Make pot-in-pot rice at the same time to serve with the chicken and sauce.

What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?

To make Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly.  It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.

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Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken


★★★★★

4.5 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Karen Petersen
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 6 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
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Description

A creamy sauce and chicken with parmesan cheese, bacon, garlic and spinach. Make pot-in-pot rice at the same time to serve with the chicken and sauce.


Ingredients

Scale

For the chicken and sauce:

  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 cup diced onions
  • 6 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups half and half
  • 4 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese
  • 3 ounces coarsely chopped spinach
  • 1/2 cup real bacon bits

For the rice (optional)

  • 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
  • 2 1/4 cups water

Instructions

  1. Saute onion and garlic. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the displays says HOT add in the butter and swirl it around until it melts. Add in the diced onion and saute for about 4 or 5 minutes, until onion is soft and translucent. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Then pour in the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pot so that nothing is sticking.
  2. Cut the chicken. You can make this recipe with whole chicken breasts but I like to cut them into ½ inch fillets. This makes it easier for one person to eat a piece of chicken. Another option is to cut the chicken into bite size pieces. It’s up to you. I put the different cooking times below. Add the chicken into the pot in an even layer and then sprinkle the salt and pepper over the chicken.
  3. Pot in pot rice. If you’d like to make rice at the same time you can. Just fill an oven-safe pan* that fits inside your Instant Pot with the rice and water. Use a trivet/sling* to place the pan gently on top of the chicken. See a video that demonstrates this.
  4. Pressure Cook. Cover and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to:
    1. 6 minutes for ½ inch fillets
    2. 10 minutes for whole chicken breasts that are fresh
    3. 12-15 minutes for whole chicken breasts that are frozen (see my note below)
    4. 3 minutes for chicken cut into bite size pieces
  5. Make the sauce. When the time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid. Carefully remove the rice and set aside. Warm the half and half (so that it doesn’t curdle) and whisk in the cornstarch until it is smooth. Turn the pot to the saute setting. Remove the chicken and set on a platter. Pour the half and half mixture into the pot. Stir until the sauce thickens. Stir in the parmesan cheese, spinach and bacon.
  6. Serve. Serve the chicken and the sauce over rice.

Notes

I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.

If you’re using frozen chicken breasts: One of the most important parts of cooking from frozen is determining the right cook time. This cook time will vary based on the size and thickness of the breasts. When cooking from frozen, do your best to select chicken breasts that are similar in size and thickness. To determine a cook time by thickness use 6 minutes of cook time per inch at the thickest part of the breast. 

I used uncooked long grain white rice with the pot-in-pot method. If you want to try a different type of rice refer to this article.

To make low carb leave out the cornstarch and use heavy cream instead of half and half. Don’t make the rice. Serve over vegetables or plain.

This recipe is gluten free. Just make sure to check your broth label.

  • Category: Chicken
  • Method: Instant Pot

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Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken--a creamy sauce and chicken with parmesan cheese, bacon, garlic and spinach. Make pot-in-pot rice at the same time to serve with the chicken and sauce.

Pin this recipe for later!

*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.

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51 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Chicken, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Low Carb

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Megan A. Powers says

    September 10, 2020 at 3:36 pm

    This tasted really weird it almost tasted Smokey and one question how much salt would I add to make it perfect sorry just curious 🧐

    ★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 11, 2020 at 4:42 pm

      I bet the smokiness was from the bacon.

      Reply
  2. Claudia Holcomb says

    September 10, 2020 at 11:25 am

    If I use a lid for my rice pot should I reduce the amount of water?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 10, 2020 at 1:36 pm

      I would use the same amount of water, or very close to the same amount. You could probably reduce by 1 Tbsp.

      Reply
  3. Amber says

    June 5, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    Could I use regular whole milk instead of half and half? It’s the only ingredient that I don’t have and I would like to avoid a shopping trip for just one item. 😁

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 8, 2020 at 4:35 pm

      For sure! I do that all the time 😊

      Reply
  4. Michelle Mitchell says

    January 23, 2020 at 10:04 am

    Does the rice cook at the shorter time frame? I want to try it but I really really really dislike crunchy rice

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 23, 2020 at 12:06 pm

      Hi Michelle, if you use long grain white rice or jasmine rice they should be done with the shorter cooking time!

      Reply
  5. Katie Zimmers says

    January 7, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    I am attempting to try this out this week. I have a large family and will need to at least double this. Do we stick to the same cook times no matter the amount we are making? I noticed you mentioned same time for cutting the recipe in half. Thanks in advance

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 7, 2020 at 4:30 pm

      Keep the same time for doubling the recipe. Here is an article that will explain more about how to successfully double recipes: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/

      Reply
  6. Erica says

    January 4, 2020 at 1:28 pm

    Looks great. Can I use fresh bacon, or does it need to be pre-cooked or bacon bits?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 6, 2020 at 7:39 pm

      You can use fresh bacon. Just cook it and crumble it beforehand.

      Reply
  7. Lauren says

    December 29, 2019 at 2:36 pm

    Going to try this recipe! Can I cook the rice with the chicken altogether? How does that change the time/recipe? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 31, 2019 at 12:06 pm

      Hi Lauren, you can do the pot in pot method with the rice. Lower a pan with the rice and water on top of the chicken using a sling or trivet. Then cook according to the directions of the recipe above. It worked perfect for me!

      Reply
  8. Mary says

    November 11, 2019 at 12:15 am

    I have the Duo80 and in the manual it says 2 cups of liquid, minimum. Do you think I can get away with 1 cup as per the recipe or should I use 2 cups of broth?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 11, 2019 at 6:50 pm

      Is it an 8 quart? The 8 quart needs about 1 1/2 cups to come to pressure. If it’s a 6 quart you’ll be fine with 1 cup.

      Reply
  9. Rhonda says

    October 3, 2019 at 10:02 pm

    We absolutely hate Parmesan cheese! Should I just leave it out or substitute another cheese?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 5, 2019 at 9:07 pm

      I’d sub with another cheese.

      Reply
  10. Martha K Seagle says

    September 3, 2019 at 5:21 pm

    WINNER! Love this recipe. I am an Instant Pot newbie and I made this recipe with no problems at all. Will add some mushrooms and possibly some sundried tomatoes next time I make it. THANK YOU for an easy recipe that is delicious!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 4, 2019 at 2:02 pm

      GREAT!!!

      Reply
  11. Aimee says

    September 1, 2019 at 7:38 pm

    His was a big hit. My kids love spinach fettuccine, so I sold this as a version of that dish:) I made according to the directions and ended up having to cook extra chicken breasts after the fact. Two pounds of frozen chicken breaths wasn’t enough- there was easily 2 cups of sauce left over. I made three more chicken breaths on the side and used the extra sauce. I’d recommend three pounds of chicken. The 12 minute cooking time was perfect (I use the Tyson frozen breasts sold at Costco). I might use more spinach next time too…used 4 oz of frozen, thawed and pressed to remove water.

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 3, 2019 at 1:15 pm

      Thanks for sharing your experience!

      Reply
  12. ericalynne says

    August 26, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    Can I do this using precooked shredded chicken?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 26, 2019 at 2:56 pm

      Sure. I would only use a 4 minute pressure cook time with a 5 minute npr.

      Reply
  13. Donna Lenners says

    June 8, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    I’ve made this and I’m going to make it again tonight… It was really good and simple to make…

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 10, 2019 at 8:06 pm

      So glad to hear this Donna!

      Reply
  14. Paulette says

    May 17, 2019 at 11:22 am

    I made this for my cousin who was visiting from the East coast and she continues to rave about how good it was just like the rest of my family. She doesn’t have an Instant Pot but she does have a slow cooker. Do you have a slow cooker version I can send her?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 20, 2019 at 11:41 am

      How fun! I haven’t tried it in the slow cooker but I bet you could make it in the slow cooker.
      2 Tbsp butter
      1 cup diced onions
      6 large garlic cloves, minced
      1 cup chicken broth
      2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
      1 tsp salt
      ½ tsp pepper
      Add to slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
      1 ½ cups half and half
      4 Tbsp cornstarch
      1 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese
      3 ounces coarsely chopped spinach
      ½ cup real bacon bits
      Warm the half and half (so that it doesn’t curdle) and whisk in the cornstarch until it is smooth. Turn the pot to HIGH. Remove the chicken and set on a platter. Pour the half and half mixture into the pot. Stir until the sauce thickens. Stir in the parmesan cheese, spinach and bacon. Serve chicken with sauce and rice.

      Reply
  15. Darla Lee Horne says

    March 19, 2019 at 4:41 pm

    How about if I use bone in chicken thighs? Would it come out ok?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 22, 2019 at 1:02 pm

      yes, I would cook for 15 minutes.

      Reply
  16. Jean says

    March 17, 2019 at 6:14 am

    If only cooking for two do I cut the recipe in half but keep the cook time? Can I also cut the rice recipe in half or is it better to cook the entire rice recipe and keep leftover rice for another day?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 18, 2019 at 11:09 am

      Yes cut the ingredients in half and keep the time the same. You can halve the rice too.

      Reply
  17. Gail says

    March 15, 2019 at 8:11 pm

    Can you use chicken tenders? If so how many minutes to cook?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 18, 2019 at 11:10 am

      yes, 5 minutes

      Reply
  18. Barbara Miller says

    March 14, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    This sounds really good but my husband doesn’t care for plain rice so I am going to try it over egg noodles! Thanks for the recipe

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 15, 2019 at 9:26 am

      Egg noodles are a great idea!

      Reply
  19. PamG says

    March 14, 2019 at 3:43 pm

    I think I’m going to be lazy and use whole frozen breasts but splitmy cooking time…using the 15 minutes timing I’ll do a quick release at about 6-8 minutes and break the chunks apart then reseal and cook the remaining 9-10 minutes. Would you use a trivet to keep them off the bottom and avoid scorching?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 15, 2019 at 9:29 am

      yeah, that might be a good idea.

      Reply
      • Martin says

        July 16, 2019 at 3:40 am

        Me being thick but what do you call half and Half is it milk and water ?

        Reply
        • Karen says

          July 16, 2019 at 10:40 am

          It’s half heavy cream and half whole milk 🙂

          Reply
  20. Brenda Bates says

    March 14, 2019 at 7:54 am

    Quick question – if I do the bite size for 3 minutes, is that enough time for the PIP rice to cook?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 14, 2019 at 11:13 am

      It may not be done. For such a short cooking time I would suggest adding boiling water to your rice pan instead of water straight out of the tap.

      Reply
  21. AlohaCat says

    March 13, 2019 at 6:16 pm

    Aloha Karen

    Please show us a picture of how the chicken fillets look after you slice them 1/2″ thick. Do you slice them straight across the grain of the breast or do you slice them on the bias?

    Mahalo!!

    AlohaCat

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 14, 2019 at 11:19 am

      Okay next time I make it I will show you a picture. I sliced across the grain.

      Reply
  22. Beverly Dolfini says

    March 13, 2019 at 6:11 pm

    First let me say I love your recipes! I follow you on FB as well as YouTube. And of course I do get your emails. So thank you so much for all you do for us! I am so happy to see you are doing more PIP recipes. In fact it might be a good idea for you to consider a cookbook with only PIP recipes in it. This would be great for young parents working and people that like to RV. I don’t think there is one out there yet. I am 63 years old and still learning with my IP’s. Wish I had these when my kids were little and I was working.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 14, 2019 at 11:20 am

      Hi Beverly, thanks for your note. That is a good idea for a pot in pot cookbook!

      Reply
  23. catherine says

    March 13, 2019 at 5:00 pm

    I followed these directions with 2 frozen chicken breasts and they were raw inside! yikes! Maybe add more time- I guess I’ll just run this through again as an experiment. First time this has happened! also ps LOVE all your recipes, seems like maybe just more time here.

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      March 14, 2019 at 3:06 am

      You did 12 minutes like it said for frozen breasts? That’s usually enough time for frozen.

      Reply
    • Karen says

      March 14, 2019 at 11:22 am

      Hi Catherine, I’m guessing this happened because you had a thicker chicken breast. I’ll update the instructions with a more complete cooking chart for different sizes of chicken.

      Reply
      • catherine says

        March 14, 2019 at 12:59 pm

        Thank you! Yes they were a little thicker and in a block together which I think the getting stuck together part just kept them from cooking. Another 12 and it was perfect!

        Reply
        • Karen says

          March 14, 2019 at 1:19 pm

          oh okay. yes that makes sense then.

          Reply

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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