How to Make Chicken Salad Using the Instant Pot Chicken salad on a plate with lettuce and grapes and another plate of chicken salad in the background.

How to Make Chicken Salad with the Instant Pot for a chicken salad is a great way and an easy recipe to feed your family when time is short. Chicken salad is a delicious recipe that is creamy, filling, and savory.

Why Make Chicken for Chicken Salad in the Instant Pot

When you’re pressed for time and haven’t prepared dinner in advance, opting for an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker serves as a substitute for using a slow cooker and having to prepare the night before. Soon enough, this method of cooking chicken in the Instant Pot for chicken salad will become your favorite way to prepare it for all your favorite recipes.

Chicken salad is an favorite chicken recipe. One you will want to add to your rotation of Instant Pot recipes. Perfect for an easy lunch or dinner.

Chicken salad is an favorite chicken recipe. One you will want to add to your rotation of instant pot recipes. Perfect for an easy lunch or dinner, perfect for any baby or bridal shower, or graduation party, and especially nice for Mother’s Day. The traditional Chicken Salad is super simple When you cook skinless chicken breasts on the Instant Pot it is the easiest way to make your traditional chicken salad recipe.

This is a great way to turn a 1960s best chicken salad recipe into a fancy croissant sandwich. You can also eat it on the side of a veggie-loaded salad. Chicken salad is a delicious way to get a high pack of protein. When I think of chicken salad sandwiches I think of church potlucks, summer picnics and beautiful salads with the colors of the rainbows.

Instant Pot chicken salad on lettuce, grapes and with red flower silver fork pink napkin.

Variations on the Traditional Chicken Salad Recipe

The ideas are endless, just use your favorite flavors and your imagination. If you have little ones at home just a plan simple recipe will work best if they are not too adventurous.

You can bake, grill, or boil your chicken for this recipe.
You can also get a rotisserie chicken from the store.
If you do not have skinless chicken breasts you can substitute chicken thighs.
You can even use canned chicken in a pinch.
If you are out of onion use more onion powder as an alternative.
Adding nuts to your recipe, almonds, pecans, or walnuts.
Adding red, white, or dark red grapes.
Substituting 1/2 of the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt.
Add small chunks of apple or pineapple.
add dill pickle relish, red onion, and bell peppers.
Serving on your favorite sandwich bread, bagels, crackers, lettuce wrap, or as a round scoop on the side of a salad.
For a low carb option, serve on apple slices.

You may also be interested in trying this recipe: Easy Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Quick Family Dinner

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chicken salad cooked in the instant pot on a flowed trim plate on a bed of lettuce a second of plate of salad and a plate in grapes in the background.

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How to Store Leftover Pressure Cooker Chicken Salad

Making a big batch of Instant Pot Chicken is a great way to save time and money with meal prep for easy lunches and dinners. The best way to store leftover Instant Pot chicken salad recipe is to put it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Chicken salad with the cooked chicken does not store in the freezer. I also would not freeze just the cooked shredded chicken. Chicken salad with the cooked chicken does not store in the freezer. I also would not freeze just the cooked shredded chicken. Full Disclosure I have never tired but this recipe is best served fresh or just refrigerated overnight.

Chicken salad on croissant in white counter.

Ingredients Needed:

4 large frozen raw skinless chicken breasts
1 & 1/2 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon McCormick Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon McCormick Onion Powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium onion chopped in small chunks, or 4 sliced green onions
1 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
1 & 1/4 cups of green grapes cut in quarters
1/4 teaspoon McCormick Whole Celery Seed
1 & 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Hellmann’s Light Mayonnaise
Salt and black pepper
croissants or bread, bed of lettuce, or bibb lettuce for lettuce wraps.

Steps for Making Chicken in the Instant Pot

Once the pressure cooking time is done the chicken will be cooked through and be the juiciest Instant Pot chicken breasts sitting on the inner. For a big batch of chicken salad you will want to cook more than one breast of skinless chicken at a time.

chicken breast at the bottom of a pot with a while trivet.

letting the chicken sit for a few minutes to cool will help you be able to shred the chicken with two forks. This can also be shredded using a stand mixer and the dough hook. The chicken can be cooked the day before and keep refrigerated.

shredded chicken with two forks on a black and white cutting board.

When making a cold chicken salad I like to have the chicken made the day before and refrigerated so all I have to do is mix and serve.

parsley chopped celery chopped onion green knife on a white cutting board blue flowed bowl in the back ground.

For a quick lunch, I use our regular bread and for special occasions and guests, I always make sandwiches on fresh croissants.

chicken salad in white bowl, pink spatula and croissant on white counter.

How to Make the Best Easy Chicken Salad in Your Instant Pot

With the inner pot in the Instant pot, place the handled rack in the inner pot so the chicken is not sitting on the bottom of the inner pot.
Add 1 and 1/2 cups of water to the inner pot.
Sprinkle garlic and onion powder on top of the frozen chicken breast and place the chicken breasts on the rack in the inner pot.
While the chicken is cooking, chop the onion, celery parsley and grapes in small bite size pieces. Set aside.
Place the lid on top and secure. Set the Instant Pot for 15 minutes on high pressure and a 10 minutes natural release.
When the natural release time is up release any pressure and remove the chicken to a cutting board.
Cut the chicken into 1/2 small pieces and then shredded with 2 forks to make a lightly shredded chicken.
In a small bowl mix together the celery seed, salt and pepper.
After a couple of minutes, when the chicken is cool, mix together in a large bowl the chicken, onion, celery, parsley, grapes.
Next add the spice mixture
Gently mix in the mayonnaise.
Chill and serve in a croissant or bread or for low carb a bed of lettuce

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