Dinner
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Pressure Cooker Chicken and Eggplant Bake is layered with thick slices of mozzarella cheese and smothered in tomato sauce. Serve over your favorite pasta for an easy Italian dinner!
It’s been quite a few minutes since I became a PC lover back in 2015. A solid 3 years of cooking with my favorite appliance and yet I still have so much to explore and create! Everyday, it seems like I stumble across a recipe or an idea pops into my mind and I think, “hmmm, I wonder if I could make that in my pressure cooker?” Most often, the answer is yes, although there are some definite recipes that should never grace the presence of a PC. **Cough** pizza **Cough**.
With this recipe, I set out to create a version of a traditional eggplant parmesan, but then quite honestly was too lazy to do the breading and frying of the eggplant and chicken cutlets, so we landed on a more naked, healthier version! It’s gluten free (without the noodles of course), and doesn’t have any added oil.
I also just stuck with fresh mozzarella rather than going the parmesan route, but if you’re a diehard parmigiano reggiano fan, by all means, add it in!
For me, this recipe is all about getting all the flavors of an authentic Italian dish with half the mess, half the time, and half the ingredients. That’s why I use pre-made pasta sauce, chicken breasts, pre-sliced mozzarella from Costco, and fresh eggplant! It’s necessary to let the eggplant sit before cooking to lose its liquid, but other than waiting on that, the rest of the recipe is a breeze to assemble and cook.
It’s a layered dish and the inner pot of the pressure cooker works perfectly to hold it all in place. You don’t have to dirty any other dishes and have a dinner that feels fancy but is quick and easy and sure to please the whole family!
Pressure Cooker Chicken and Eggplant Bake
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4
Description
Pressure Cooker Chicken and Eggplant Bake is layered with thick slices of mozzarella cheese and smothered in tomato sauce. Serve over your favorite pasta for an easy Italian dinner!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into ½ inch thick slices
- 2 chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise into ½ inch cutlets
- 12 ¼ inch thick fresh mozzarella slices
- 1 jar your favorite pasta sauce (affiliate)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup fresh torn basil
Instructions
- Lay slices of eggplant out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of salt, and then cover with a dishtowel to soak up extra liquid. Let sit for about 45 minutes then blot extra liquid and gently brush to remove salt.
- Pour 1/3 of jarred pasta sauce into bottom of pressure cooker, then add 2 large slices of eggplant, side by side.
- Layer with 2 chicken breast cutlets, then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Place 4 mozzarella slices on top of the chicken, then repeat, starting with the pasta sauce, then eggplant, chicken breasts, s & p, and mozzarella.
- Finish by layering any extra eggplant, the last 1/3 of the pasta sauce, and the remaining 4 slices of mozzarella.
- Pour ½ cup of water into the pot, then lock lid and set to high pressure for 12 minutes.
- When time is up, let pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then release all remaining pressure.
- Place inner pot in oven on broil setting to crisp up cheese on top, or just cut, sprinkle with fresh basil, and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Other Pressure Cooker Chicken Recipes You’ll Love!
Pressure Cooker Chicken and Mushrooms
Pressure Cooker Cashew Chicken with Broccoli
Pressure Cooker Chicken Pot Pie
Pressure Cooker Cuban Chicken and Rice