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Instant Pot Mississippi Chicken uses chicken thighs or breasts and has the same flavors as the beef version, only with chicken! Pressure cooker Mississippi Chicken is full of flavor and easy to make! A delicious and easy dinner recipe.
Originally published on 1/16/2018
Mississippi Chicken in the Instant Pot
Many of you know about the very popular Mississippi Pot Roast, but you might also like this chicken version!
This “Dump-and-Start” Instant Pot chicken is very popular and so easy to make! I love the flavors and texture of the shredded chicken.
What’s Great About this Recipe
- You can make it in under an hour, so that makes this a good weeknight dinner.
- Another thing is that you can feed a group of hungry people just by adding a bit of extra chicken. I have packed my instant Pot pretty full of meat and still had it turn out perfect!
- Mississippi Chicken can be made mild or spicy.
- The shredded chicken can be served over rice, in a tortilla, with potatoes, or however you like.
Is This Recipe Salty?
• This recipe can be a bit salty. I suggest finding low sodium au jus and/or ranch dressing mix, if you can.
• I have a recipe for Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix that is lower in sodium than the commercial brand. You can even completely omit the salt in this mix if you want.
• Be sure to use unsalted butter. You can also add a little more water and a few small potatoes to help thin out the salt.
Are Pepperoncinis Spicy?
- Pepperoncinis are the surprise flavor in this Instant Pot chicken recipe. They add a tang and a savory flavor that just makes this recipe.
- They are more tangy than spicy if you get the original, mild version. There are spicy versions, so be sure to read the jar when shopping for them at the grocery store.
- If you don’t want to eat them, cook them whole in the recipe and just pick them out.
How to Make Mississippi Chicken in the Instant Pot
1) Add the chicken, water or broth, pepperoncinis and juice, seasoning packets, and butter to the pot (don’t stir).
2) Put on the lid and set the time. Easy!
Why not cook some rice with it?
Get a tall trivet and set it down in the pot so it touches the bottom.
I rinse some long grain white rice and toss it in one of my ekovana stainless pans with some water and cook it right along with the Instant Pot Mississippi Chicken! You could add potatoes if you want, instead of the rice. Then I use a Topolo pan gripper and set the pan on the tall trivet. Put the lid on, set the time, and go play while dinner cooks!
Watch Me Make Instant Pot Mississippi Chicken
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Sandy’s Instant Pot Beef Stew
Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup
Instant Pot Mississippi Chicken
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs Chicken Thighs or Breasts* (Boneless/skinless. Fresh or frozen. Cut breasts in half, if possible)
- ½ cup Water (or low sodium chicken broth)
- ½ (16 oz) jar Pepperoncinis (with juice) Leave whole or slice as desired
- 1 (1 oz) packet Au Jus or Brown Gravy Mix** (I like Au Jus best)
- 1 (1 oz) packet Ranch Dressing/Seasoning Mix** (low sodium, if possible)
- ½ stick Unsalted Butter (4 Tbsp) or more to taste
With Rice (you will need a tall trivet and a 6" or 7" pan)
- 1 ½ cups White Long Grain Rice (rinsed well)
- 1 ½ cups Water
Instructions
- Put chicken in the bottom of the inner pot of the pressure cooker. (If using chicken breasts, cut them in half, if possible).
- Add all of the other ingredients (don't stir) and close the lid and lock it in place. Turn the steam release knob to the sealing position.
- Press the Pressure Cook/Manual Button (or use dial) and use the +/- button to select 8 minutes (if using frozen breasts that you can't cut in half, set time to 15 minutes).
- When the cook time is finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes (5 minute Natural Release). Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to Quick Release the remaining steam/pressure.
To Cook Rice with the Chicken
- After adding all ingredients, set the tall trivet in the pot and make sure it touches the bottom of the pot.
- Put the rinsed rice and water in the pan and set it on the trivet (A Topolo pan gripper helps with this). Close lid and proceed with cooking directions (takes the same time to cook as the chicken.
- When the cooking cycle finishes, let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes (5 minute natural release). Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to Quick Release the remaining steam/pressure.
Finish it Up
- When the pin in the lid drops down, open it and use a pan gripper or silicone mitts to remove the pan of rice (if making rice)
- Use tongs to remove the chicken and shred it.
- If you want to thicken the cooking liquid, turn on the Sauté function and stir in 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with some of the hot liquid. Pour into the pot and stir until thickened.
- Mix the chicken back into the cooking liquid.
- Serve over rice, or potatoes, on tortillas, etc.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love this dish! Won’t be sharing with my husband this go around as he is out of town. Does this recipe freeze well?
That=nk you! Yes, it freezes well!
I made this exactly as written. I am not sure if it was just because we stick to a VERY low sodium diet because of my husband’s heart attack, or because the mixes were high sodium (not that high, but certainly enough to make note of), but this was really salty. Next time I may rinse the peppers to remove any brine and substitute another gravy mix for the au jus mix (I am thinking this was the culprit) At any rate, had it not been so salty, it would have been good. It was certainly easy to make.
Hi Margaret, yes, this is the biggest complaint about the “Mississippi” recipes. I posted this recipe quite a while ago, and have just updated it to give some options for a less salty result. I suggest finding low sodium au jus and/or ranch dressing mix, if you can. I have a recipe for Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix that is lower in sodium than the commercial brand. You can even completely omit the salt in this mix if you want. Using unsalted butter, and water instead of broth. Rinsing the pepperoncinis may help, but you still want some of their tangy flavor! Thank you for your review!
Quick and flavorful chicken! It’s only my fiancé and I so I used a little over 1 lb of chicken with the same measurements and still turned out great. I had frozen chicken and it was still juicy and fully cooked through. My grocery store was out of au jus seasoning packets (after the holidays) I used liquid gravy and just as good!
Thank you, Alyssa, so glad you liked it!
I don’t have a tall trivet. Do you think I could make a foil bowl to cook the rice in and place it right on top of the meat?
Yes, as long as it stays put!
LOVE this recipe!! I made it for dinner tonight and OH. MY. GOODNESS. It was easily one of the best tasting things to come out of my kitchen! The tang from those peppers with the flavors from the spice packets… oh my. I used frozen breasts and cooked it for 15 min, turned out perfect! Thank you so much for sharing such an easy, quick, and DELICIOUS recipe!
That’s awesome, Daphne! I’m so glad you liked this recipe! It’s so fast, too, isn’t it? Thanks for your review!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was way too spicy for our taste. Do the peperoncinis come in mild, or could mild green chili’s work as well? Otherwise, it was simple to make. Also, I used bone in chicken thighs and just cooked them a couple minutes longer and removed the bones while shredding the chicken.
Yes, the original pepperoncinis are barely spicy. I learned that there are spicy versions, and it says on the jar. So that is how you will know for next time.
Is this very spicy? My husband is a wuss when it comes to “packing the heat” in food.
No, it’s not very spicy, as long as the pepperoncinis you buy are not the spicy ones.
I made this a few weeks ago, and it was yummy. (I used light butter, just to save a few calories.) I took it to work and stuffed it in pita pockets with some shredded mozzarella. I ended up having to share with a couple of cow-orkers. ::grin::
So, I have a question. I’ve found recipes for Mississippi Chicken and Mississippi Beef. What about pork? (I’d ask about lamb (my favorite meat), but it’s too expensive to experiment with.) Any ideas on what cut, cooking time, etc?
Hi, a pork shoulder would be really good. Trim off as much of the fat as you can first. I would cut it in large chunks (or just buy country style ribs, same meat). Cook for 40 minutes or so if the meat is cut in chunks. Then, when it’s done cooking, skim off the fat from the liquid before eating. Use a spoon or a turkey baster. I hope that helps! Thank you for your review!
Didn’t see weight watchers smart points.
Hi Peggy, if you are on WW, you can use their calculator. I am not on WW.
Thank you for this. I finally made something that worked. Very good. Without this tutorial I don’t think I would have even tried.
Hi Bonnie, thank you for letting me know that this worked for you! Pressure cooking is such a different animal, isn’t it? I hope it gets easier from here!
How tall is a “tall trivet” ? and showing the I-P 3-qt mini on your webpage … is a faux-pas. I sincerely doubt this recipe can fit in the 3-qt. Other versions of this recipe state it should be made in 6 or 8 qt I P. Also, would you provide more definitive detail regarding the 6″ or 7″ pan in which to simultaneously cook the rice. Is that dimension the diameter or height ? … Suggestion for source of pan would be helpful.
Thank you …
Hi, I can see how you might think I made a faux pas, but alas, I did not (whew!). It happens sometimes when you least expect it! To be fair, the headline says “Resources to make this recipe AND MORE.” So…
The good news is that yes, you can easily make this in a 3 qt. The recipe states 2-3 lbs, so use 2 lbs. A tall trivet is a trivet that is taller than the one that came with the IP. 2.5″ legs is pretty typical. In the world of electric pressure cooking, when you say a 7″ or a 6″ pan, you are always referring to the diameter. The height is usually between 2 and 3 inches. You can find the pans on Amazon. Hope that helps! Thank you for taking the time to comment/question.