Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore
This Instant Pot chicken cacciatore recipe is my twist on a classic Italian dish for the ultimate weeknight dinner. Tender, juicy chicken braised in a mouthwatering gravy and served over pasta or rice…does it get any better than that?
Servings 7 servings
Calories 243kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 7 chicken thighs (skin and bone in)
- 1 medium onion (chopped in chunks)
- 1 medium red bell pepper (chopped in chunks)
- 1 medium green bell pepper (chopped in chunks)
- 10 ounces mushrooms (sliced)
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup dry sherry (omit this if you want this to be Whole30 compliant)
- 2 teaspoons oregano (dried)
- 2 teaspoons basil (dried)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 teaspoons garlic paste (or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed)
Instructions
- Heat a sauté pan on medium. Once that heats up, add 1 tablespoon oil and after that heats up, add chicken skin side down. (You may have to do this in two batches). Sauté for 3 minutes, flip and cook for an additional minute. Remove chicken and set aside.2 tablespoons olive oil, 7 chicken thighs
- Plug the instant pot in and press the sauté button. After it has heated up, add one tablespoon of oil and add the onion and red and green peppers. Sauté for 3 minutes.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium onion, 1 medium red bell pepper, 1 medium green bell pepper
- Add mushroom, salt, and pepper and sauté for 1 minute.10 ounces mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Add chicken, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, sherry (if not doing Whole30), oregano, basil, bay leaf, and garlic paste.28 ounces crushed tomatoes, 1 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup dry sherry, 2 teaspoons oregano, 2 teaspoons basil, 1 bay leaf, 3 teaspoons garlic paste
- Seal the IP, make sure the venting knob is set to seal, and push the pressure cook button; make sure it is set to high pressure, the mode is on normal and set the timer to 13 minutes.
- Once the pressure cooker beeps that it is done, either let the IP release pressure naturally or put on an oven mitt and carefully release the pressure, by tapping the knob to the vent position for a quick release.
- Transfer the chicken and gravy over to a serving dish or serve out of instant pot container.
- Ladle some chicken cacciatore over some pasta or rice along with some vegetable.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Helpful tips
- This recipe works well with bone-in chicken thighs, boneless skinless thighs, or even chicken breasts. Each cut brings a slightly different texture and flavor, but all are delicious.
- If using boneless, skinless chicken, there’s no need to brown it, and the pressure cooking time should be reduced to 10 minutes.
- I used organic, free-range chicken thighs with skin and bone for this version, but feel free to adjust based on your preference.
- Dry sherry adds a lot of depth to the flavor, so I recommend trying it with the recipe at least once, but you can omit it if you prefer.
- For large thighs, I browned them in a skillet outside the Instant Pot to help keep the skin intact, but you can also sauté them directly in the pot if you don’t mind the skin tearing a little.
- If browning in the Instant Pot, use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the insert.
- I usually skip sautéing the vegetables in the Instant Pot, but with large chicken pieces I like to do it to reduce their volume and avoid overfilling the pot.
- Thighs are my preference for tenderness and flavor, but chicken breasts work just as well if that’s what you like.
- For a low-carb option, serve this dish over zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 710mg | Potassium: 872mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 876IU | Vitamin C: 51mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 3mg