Devouring this Instant Pot Green Goddess Chicken Sandwich will make you feel like a Greek Goddess! Creamy, refreshing, herbaceous chicken piled high on a bagel with lots of fresh, crisp veggies. This is my kind of soul food!
Not to brag, but I'm the daughter of someone quite famous: MY MOM.
There's not a baby shower, wedding shower, or Sunday picnic that goes by that someone doesn't request her incredible Chicken Salad.
So I decided it was high time I sprung forth from under her wing and came up with a Chicken Salad that I felt could hold a candle to hers.
Again, not to brag, but I think I nailed it.
I've always been a bit obsessed with Green Goddess dressing on salads. It's like your favorite ranch dressing times a billion.
I thought, what if I take everything I love about a Green Goddess salad and make it handheld and more of a “main course” than a “side salad”.
Cue the angels singing hallelujah my friends because this idea turned out to be one for the books!
WHAT EXACTLY IS GREEN GODDESS DRESSING?
Before we go any further, let's stop for a quick cooking lesson in case anyone is unfamiliar with this term. When you hear the title “Green Goddess”, it typically means a creamy, green sauce or dressing made with mayo or sour cream, something tangy, and lots of fresh herbs.
It's similar to ranch dressing, but brighter and more herb-forward.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE INSTANT POT GREEN GODDESS CHICKEN SANDWICH
- Quick, easy, and perfect for any day of the week! This time of year, we want dinner and we want it now, and we don't want to sweat over it – agreed?
- Tangy, tender, shredded Instant Pot chicken coated in a dreamy, herbaceous Green Goddess Dressing – just try and not eat all of it before it hits the bagel!
- Soft Everything Bagel, dressed with my favorite Hummus, piled high with creamy chicken, and topped with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, and sprouts. Power food!
- The extra saucy chicken soaks into the bagel ensuring each bite is cool, refreshing, and bursting with bright flavor.
- Messy in the most wonderful way. I'm typically a “super clean eater”, but not here. Let the Green Goddess sauce flow like a waterfall over my hands and all over my face with abandon – I don't mind one bit!
- Do you love bacon? Throw that inside your bagel and just try and not stand up and cheer for your dinner.
- If you're part of my “I serve my chips on top of the sandwich, not on the side” club, then you better grab yourself a bag of salted Kettle Potato Chips for this one!
HOW TO MAKE GREEN GODDESS CHICKEN IN THE PRESSURE COOKER
- Cook your tangy, lemony chicken in the Instant Pot
- While it cooks, put ingredients for the Green Goddess Sauce in a food processor or blender
- Puree until smooth
- Shred the chicken
- Mix it with some sauce
- Assemble your sandwich
SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST GREEN GODDESS CHICKEN SANDWICH
- My trick for getting tender chicken is to either use chicken tenders (kind of pricey) or cut a chicken breast into long, chicken tender shaped pieces. This is my favorite way to cook chicken breasts now, it works for me every time! If you like the texture of chicken thighs (I'm on the fence), they are failproof in the Instant Pot.
- I swap the typical mayo used in Green Goddess dressing for yogurt in this recipe with amazing results! However, I always use homemade yogurt which is more mild and less bitter than store-bought greek yogurt. If using store-bought, I suggest mixing in a little sour cream or mayo to get the right flavor.
- Use fresh herbs! I've tried to raid the spice cabinet for this sauce, but dried herbs just never result in the fresh taste or color that I'm going for. I like to use a mix of whatever I have on hand. This means the flavor might vary a bit from one time to the next, but it is always bursting with fresh herb-y flavor and I haven't had a batch I didn't love yet. I suggest sticking with basil, cilantro, mint, tarragon, and/or parsley as your main go-to's and always have something onion-y (like chives or green onions) in the mix as well.
- Can't find a soft, bakery-style Everything Bagel? Instead of settling for a stale, tough bagel, go for whole-grain bread or a croissant.
- Want to cut down on carbs? This is absolutely delightful served in super-chilled lettuce cups!
- Because the Green Goddess sauce contains an avocado, the sauce will turn a little brown in the fridge after the first day or two. To be honest, this doesn't bother me. Just stir it up and devour anyways.
- I like my chicken mixture to be EXTRA sauce-y because I like how it soaks into the bread. If you prefer the chicken less creamy, start with half of the sauce and add more from there, until it's how you like it.
- If you want more salty, crunchy texture (who doesn't?), add some crispy bacon and Kettle Potato Chips. That's going to veer us towards the “not quite so healthy anymore” road, but I think we can all concur that this is exactly the road we like most at dinner time, right?
HOW TO STORE AND FREEZE GREEN GODDESS CHICKEN
- Store: To keep leftovers from browning, scoop leftovers in a container with an airtight lid, and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the chicken, followed by the lid. This will keep it looking good for 3 days.
- Freeze: If you would like to freeze leftovers, do not toss all of the chicken in the Green Goddess Sauce. The sauce will become grainy if frozen. Freeze the shredded chicken as is, then add the sauce to thawed chicken right before you eat it.
MAKE AHEAD TIPS FOR GREEN GODDESS CHICKEN
Green Goddess Sauce can be prepared the day before. Chicken can also be cooked, shredded, and chilled up to 3 days in advance. When ready to serve, simply stir the chicken and sauce together and assemble the sandwiches.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH A GREEN GODDESS CHICKEN SANDWICH
- Chopped watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew.
- Kettle Potato Chips – I like the simple salted flavor, but any flavor will do.
- An ice-cold Peach Lemonade.
- Instant Pot Lemon Kale.
VARIATIONS OF THE GREEN GODDESS CHICKEN SANDWICH
- Spicy Green Goddess Sauce: Add some red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or jalapeno to the sauce.
- Green Goddess Chicken Wrap: Serve it in a spinach tortilla wrap.
- Green Goddess Lettuce Wrap: Serve in super-chilled lettuce cups
Summer, Spring, Winter, Fall, I crave fresh, cool flavors like this one. Do your mind, body, and soul a big giant favor by feeding it something wholesome, feel-good, and flavorful. I only hope my Green Goddess Chicken Sandwich can one day hold a candle to my mama's fame.
Enjoy!
MORE INSTANT POT CHICKEN RECIPES
- Instant Pot Chipotle Shredded Chicken
- Instant Pot Healthy Crack Chicken
- Instant Pot Caribbean Jerk Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie
TOOLS/INGREDIENTS USED TO MAKE INSTANT POT GREEN GODDESS CHICKEN SANDWICH
Instant Pot Green Goddess Chicken Sandwich
Creamy, herbaceous chicken served on a bagel with lots of fresh vegetables.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 medium-size boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each sliced lengthwise into 3 strips (so they look similar to a chicken tender)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or white vinegar)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the Green Goddess Sauce
- 1 large avocado
- ¾ cup greek yogurt or sour cream
- ½ cup herbs (like basil, chives, cilantro, and/or parsley)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 garlic cloves
- Salt and pepper
For Assembling the Sandwich
- Whole Wheat or Everything Bagels
- Spinach
- Raw sprouts
- Thinly sliced tomato
- Thinly sliced cucumber
- Optional: hummus and/or bacon
Instructions
- Place sliced chicken breasts in the pressure cooker pot in a single layer on the bottom.
- Add lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 6 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare Green Goddess Sauce by pureeing all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender.
- When pressure cooking is complete, turn off the pressure cooker and use a natural release. May also manually release pressure after 10 minutes, if in a hurry.
- Remove chicken to a large bowl and shred.
- Stir the Greek Goddess Sauce into the chicken. Note: If you want the chicken less “sauce-y”, you may want to start by adding only half of the sauce. Taste and add extra lemon juice, salt, or pepper as needed.
- At this point, the chicken will be on the lukewarm, cool side. If you prefer the chicken be served cold, let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two.
- To serve, spread the top half of a bagel with hummus (optional, but delicious).
- Top bottom half of the bagel with a large scoop of chicken. Layer with sprouts, tomato slices, cucumber slices, and spinach leaves. Add bacon if using. Add the top bagel and serve!
Notes
- As the pot heats up, there will be more liquid from the chicken which will be plenty to create the pressure needed.
- The bagel can be swapped for a croissant or whole grain bread.
- Leftovers turn a little brown because of the avocado in the sauce, but just give it a stir and you won’t even notice. Use within 4 days. Do not freeze.
- Tastes great cold, right out of the fridge.
- For extra crunch, I’m obsessed with adding a handful of kettle potato chips to the sandwich.
Keywords: green goddess, chicken sandwich, Instant Pot chicken
Fantastic recipe, Marci! I made this for my family and it was a huge hit!
I’m so happy to hear that Lyn! I love this one. It’s so good with fresh veggies stacked high.
I normally don’t comment on recipes but I just had to take a moment and tell you how phenomenal the green goddess dressing / spread is in this recipe. I used all sour cream, and a 1\2 and 1\2 combo of basil & parsley for the herbs. It is seriously tasty; I’m mixing it with some previously poached chicken breast for a simple chicken salad dinner tonight. Thanks so much for this keeper!
★★★★★
Darlene, your comment made my day! I love this recipe so much so it’s wonderful to hear someone else talk about it 🙂
I had it for 3 nights straight and loved it every time. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!