Dinner is served! And lunch for tomorrow! This easy peasy Instant Pot Asian Chicken Salad might just make your weekly meal plan!

Last night was a rough one. All my Tampa fun has caught up with me. I had to miss my mahjong girls night even after a nap, which unfortunately was not as restorative as I had hoped. Truth between us? I’ve been giving myself a lot more wiggle room than I normally do. 

I’ve been socializing like I get paid for it (that sure would be nice), I’ve been eating outside of the boundaries where I feel best, and I’ve not been getting the kind of sleep I need to. Basically, I have been living like I’m a 20 year old frat boy and it’s all adding up. 

And since I’m apparently a level 5 expert at offending people, I’d like to add that there are some perfectly wonderful 20 year old frat boys who I’m sure are making their parents proud. I’ll leave that there. 

Ok, back to my aches and pains and brain fog. I need to get my shit together. I mean it’s been a fun run and I’ve been feeling great here in the Tampa, but things need to change. Time to get back to where I need to be. 

Remember that scene in Hitch where he tells Albert how to stay “right here” in his dance moves? That’s me. I was trying to pull too many tricks and in the end, it’s just not my best self trying to do all that. So here we go, back in my lane, less swerving, more feeling good again. 

I decided to do a little reset these next two weeks. And without creating (falling back into) disordered eating, I do need to reel it in. So I’m focusing on proteins, good fats, veggies, ZERO REFINED SUGAR (even if it’s just short term), and lower carb. I’m not one for keto, I’ll get into why another time, but I do think I’ve gotten a little overindulgent on carbs without nutritional benefits. And as you know, that’s a real slippery slope. 

I made a delicious soup last night with sausage, ground beef, broth, broccoli, onion, and sweet potato, with a little sour cream added. It felt good to focus on pumping in nutrients. And today’s recipe has so much good stuff it’s crazy. So I hope if you’ve been steering a little off course too, you’ll jump on this train and ride it back to wellness with me. And if you’re looking for more Instant Pot Recipes, just head HERE or HERE for my books. Or HERE for all my IP blog recipes. 

Instant Pot Asian Chicken Salad

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Jennifer Robins

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/3 cup coconut aminos
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup almond slivers
• 2/3 cup chopped matchstick carrots
• 1–2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
• 1.25 pounds chicken breast
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise or more if desired

Instructions

1. Combine everything but the cilantro, carrots, almond slivers, sesame seeds, and mayo in the stainless steel basin of your Instant Pot
2. Press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and cook on high for 13 minutes
3. Quick release the pressure valve and remove the chicken once you are able to safely remove the lid
4. Slice the cooked chicken into small pieces, set aside
5. Now take the liquid contents of your Instant Pot and transfer them to a cup
6. Use an immersion blender to blend until the oil is no longer separated
7. Chill this liquid and use as a dressing for your salad
8. Now, in a bowl, combine the chicken, cilantro, carrots, almond slivers, mayonnaise, and black sesame seeds
9. Chill chicken salad until ready to serve then eat alone with dressing or serve atop a bed of romaine and shredded cabbage