Instant Pot Mom’s Buttery Chicken

Instant Pot Mom’s Buttery Chicken–tender pieces of chicken with a creamy, buttery sauce. The chicken and gravy tastes great served with mashed potatoes, egg noodles or rice.

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Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Mom’s Buttery Chicken

I found a recipe called mom’s butter baked chicken that looked like pure comfort food. I decided I needed to try making it in the Instant Pot. It’s one of those recipes that has some basics like chicken, cream of chicken soup, evaporated milk and other pantry staples. This is something my mom would have totally made when I was growing up. The chicken turned out perfectly tender and the sauce was nice and thick (thanks to the chicken being dredged in flour). This chicken tastes great served over mashed potatoes!

Ingredients Needed/Substitution Ideas:

• 6–8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs–make sure to trim off excess fat. You can also use 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs. Another choice is to use chicken tenders.
• 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk–you can also use half and half or heavy cream
• 1/2 cup flour–for dredging the chicken in, you’ll likely have leftover flour
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt–for seasoning the chicken, you can also use sea salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper–for seasoning the chicken, you can also use white pepper or for a major kick cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning–for seasoning the chicken. Did you know you can make homemade poultry seasoning?
• 1/2 tsp paprika–you can also use smoked paprika for a smoky kick
• 1 tsp garlic powder–for seasoning the chicken
• 1 tsp onion powder–for seasoning the chicken
• 1/4 cup melted butter–you can also use olive oil
• 1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup–you can also use homemade cream of chicken soup or another type of condensed soup like cream of mushroom or cream of celery
• 1/4 cup water–for loosening the sauce
• Bacon crumbles–for extra flavor. I like to buy the real bacon crumbles in the grocery store (usually next to salad dressings and croutons)

How to make Mom’s Buttery Chicken in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

Instant Pot Instructions: 

1. Pour 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk into a shallow bowl or a pie tin (save the rest of the milk for step 3). 
2. In a separate shallow bowl add the flour, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder. Stir well. 
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the remaining evaporated milk, the cream of chicken soup and the water. Whisk until smooth.
4. Take the pieces of chicken and dip in the evaporated milk and then dredge in the flour mixture. Then place them in a pot-in-pot dish (I used a 7 inch by 3 inch Fat Daddios pan*). Once all chicken is in the pan drizzle the chicken pieces with the melted butter. Then pour the cream of chicken mixture over the top. 
5. Cover the pot-in-pot dish with foil (this will help the chicken to cook properly and the milk to not curdle). Pour 1 ½ cups of water into the Instant Pot (to bring the pot to pressure). Place the pot-in-pot dish on top of a trivet/sling and lower into the bottom of the Instant Pot. 
6. Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 22 minutes (for fresh chicken) or 30 minutes (for frozen chicken). When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the pan and the foil. 
7. Serve chicken and gravy with rice, potatoes or noodles. Sprinkle bacon crumbles over the top.  

Slow Cooker Instructions:

1. Pour 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk into a shallow bowl or a pie tin (save the rest of the milk for step 3). 
2. In a separate shallow bowl add the flour, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder. Stir well. 
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the remaining evaporated milk, the cream of chicken soup and the water. Whisk until smooth.
4. Take the pieces of chicken and dip in the evaporated milk and then dredge in the flour mixture. Then place them in the slow cooker. Once all chicken is in the pan drizzle the chicken pieces with the melted butter. Then pour the cream of chicken mixture over the top. 
5. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours (remember each slow cooker cooks differently so your time may be longer or shorter). Serve and enjoy! Sprinkle bacon crumbles over the top.  

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Recipe Notes and Tips

• Why the pot-in-pot method? Because this recipe uses flour and a thick sauce it would burn and wouldn’t come to pressure if cooked directly in the bottom of the Instant Pot liner.
• Why the longer cooking time? Because the food is in a pot-in-pot dish it needs a longer cooking time (usually I only cook chicken for 12 minutes, this recipe calls for a 22 minute cooking time). This is for 2 reasons. The pot comes to pressure quicker so you don’t have that build up time and the food is not directly on the heating element so it takes longer to cook through.
• What should I serve with the chicken? Serve the chicken with a side of mashed potatoes, noodles or rice. I served mine with hasselback potatoes (recipe coming soon) and a side of steamed veggies.
• How to store the leftovers? Store in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 3 months.

Equipment Needed:

• Instant Pot: I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1* but you can also make this with no changes in your 8 quart Instant Pot.
• Pot-in-Pot Dish: I used a 7 inch by 3 inch Fat Daddios Cake Pan*. Another good choice is to use a 3 quart liner* inside a 6 or 8 quart liner for pot-in-pot cooking.
• Trivet with handles or a sling: I used an OXO sling/trivet* for lowering the dish and retrieving it easily.
• Whisk: My favorite is a little whisk* that is perfect for this job and many others like beating eggs.
• Shallow Dish: I love using shallow Corelle pasta bowls* for most everything at my house.

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes…

Instant Pot Garlic Chicken

Instant Pot Italian Chicken Casserole

Instant Pot Rustic Garlic Chicken

Instant Pot Panera Bread Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Instant Pot Man Pleasing Chicken

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.

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