This Instant Pot chicken stew recipe makes a rich, hearty chicken dinner. Make this wholesome and delicious meal for dinner tonight in only 25 minutes!
Thanks to your electric pressure cooker, making comfort foods like this one takes minutes instead of hours.
Despite the short cooking time, this chicken stew is full of flavor, and the meat is incredibly tender.
Plus, this dinner is wholesome and made with boneless, skinless chicken breast, potatoes, and lots of veggies.
There really isn’t anything better than a big bowl of stew! Want to try another stew? Try my Cabbage and Sausage Stew, my Slow Cooker Chicken Stew and Healthier Slow Cooker Beef Stew.
Ingredients to Make Instant Pot Chicken Stew
Boneless skinless chicken breast – White meat chicken is leaner than dark, so that is what I use. If you prefer dark meat, feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Baby potatoes – You want to use waxy potatoes with thin skin rather than starchy potatoes like russets. As a result, they are less likely to fall apart and become mushy during cooking. Using baby potatoes will cut down on your prep time. However, if all you have are large potatoes, they will be fine. Just cut them into smaller pieces to ensure that they cook completely.
Carrots – You can either slice large carrots into 2-inch pieces or use baby carrots.
Onion – I use white onion, but you could also use yellow or red onion. Be sure to chop it finely, but not so small that it disintegrates under pressure.
Tomato sauce – Any plain or Italian-flavored tomato sauce will taste great in your chicken stew.
Chicken stock or broth – If you need to monitor your intake of salt, use low-sodium stock.
Olive oil – I use extra virgin olive oil. If you need a substitute, any neutral flavor of unsaturated fat will work just fine.
- Set your Instant Pot to “sauté” and allow it to get hot before adding the oil.
- When the oil is shimmering, add your onion and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so the onions don’t burn. Next, add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the onions become translucent.
- Add the chicken breast and everything else except for the potatoes and carrots. Then, give everything a quick stir.
- Place the carrots and potatoes last so they are less likely to sink to the bottom. This will prevent them from becoming too soggy.
- Turn off the saute mode, place the lid on the Instant Pot, and manually set it to cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. It will take a few minutes to come to pressure first, but not too long because the pot is already hot.
- When the cook time is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes. Finish with a quick release, and your Instant Pot chicken stew will be ready to serve!
Olivia’s Tips
Instead of cutting the chicken into cubes, you can add the entire chicken breast into the Instant Pot, and then once cooked, remove it and shred it. Then, add the shredded chicken back into the stew.
Everything is cut into 2 inch/bite-sized chunks so they can cook evenly in the pressure cooker together. If you cut them into larger chunks or smaller chunks, you’ll have to adjust the cooking time. If you have larger baby potatoes, you might have to cut them smaller so they’ll cook through.
Add some heat to this chicken stew by adding some jalapeno peppers or red pepper flakes to it.
Looking for more Instant Pot Chicken recipes? Some of my favorites are Instant Pot Mediterranean Chicken Recipe, Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe and Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup.
Instant Pot Chicken Stew
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ cup white onion chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup tomato sauce sugar-free for Whole30
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 2 cups baby potatoes cut in half
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or chives optional
Instructions
- Preheat your Instant Pot using the SAUTE function on the display panel. Add olive oil, onion and garlic. Stir every couple minutes until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken breast and cook for about 5 minutes. Add dried Italian seasoning, onion powder, fine sea salt, ground black pepper, coconut aminos, low sodium chicken broth and tomato sauce.
- Give everything a stir and then add carrot and potatoes. It’s better to leave the veggies on top of the chicken liquid, so they don’t get soggy.
- Place the lid on the pot and make sure the pressure valve is in the sealing position. On the display panel, press the cancel/off button. Then select the MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK button and use the +/- buttons until the display says 6 minutes.
- When time is up, naturally release for 5 minutes before switching the pressure valve to the venting position. Open the lid and serve. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
- To store: Store leftover chicken stew in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
- To reheat: You can reheat the stew in the Instant Pot, microwave, or stovetop.
- To freeze: The cooked vegetables will become mushy so I don’t recommend freezing them. However, you can freeze everything before then thawing it before cooking for an easy prepped meal for another day.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
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This was pretty delicious for how quickly and easily it came together! I used chicken thighs instead of breasts, and nearly doubled the garlic. If I were to make this again, though, I would definitely use less soy sauce: my stew broth ended up VERY salty. I liked this a lot, will definitely make it again.
Happy you like this recipe. Yes you can always adjust the amount for soy sauce according to your taste.
This turned out great and was so easy! I made it low-FODMAP by substituting scallions (green part only) and garlic scape powder for the onion and garlic. I also doubled the recipe and increased pressure cook time to 7 mins. The only thing was I did feel the potato:chicken ratio was too high so next time I would increase chicken by 50% and decrease potato by 25%. In any case, this was a winner and I would do it again!
Happy to hear that!
My family gobbled this up. I agree it could use a sodium adjustment. I think I’ll leave out the salt, or half it to 3/4 tsp on the next go round. But, even a little saltier than I prefer, this disappeared in a flash and was easy. Definitely going into the regular rotation.
Happy you like dit Ye you can always salt to taste.
I am new to using the instapot, I doubled the chicken, used a cube and a cup of water, also used a can of crushed tomatoes, I had a cup so far and I’m looking forward to enjoying the ballence for lunch the rest of the work week.
Awesome!! this recipe is delicious as leftover too 😉
I made this delicious recipe today. I added red/ bell pepper and black beans then doubled the recipe 😋. Will make again.
It goes really well with black beans 😉
Hi! Is it possible to make this recipe in a slow cooker or in a conventional pot?
Yes just cook on the stove for 30 to 40 minutes.
What size instant pot did you use? I’m relatively new to IP cooking so not sure if this will work in my mini.
Thanks.
This is the one that I use and love it.
So light & SO flavorful. We LOVE it and don’t feel guilty about having seconds! Thank you! xoxo
You’re very welcome! Happy you liked it 😉
YES!
Amazing !!!! My family loved it… thank you !!!
Maravilhoso ! Minha família amou… obrigada
Juice feliz que tenha gostado!
Simply amazing and reminded me of the stew we had in Venice…perfect for winter lunch or dinner. Will shortly tag you in Instagram
Amazing recipe…made it today at lunch time….this reminds me of the stew I had it in Venice….Will surely make it again. Have tagged you in Instagram.
Awesome!! Happy you liked it!
Amazing recipe…made it today at lunch time….this reminds me of the stew I had it in Venice….Will surely make it again. Have tagged you in Instagram. I had it with left over pulao rice but I am sure this will go well with bread or cous cous…. yummylicious ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️☺️☺️☺️
Delicious dinner, but with one tweak: Even I, someone who habitually and purposely undercooks food, would say that six minutes isn’t enough. 10 or 11 is better, because the Instant Pot won’t build up pressure, even on high, as quickly as we might want it to.
My pressure cooker doesn’t start its timer until its reached desired pressure.
Hi, do you have this recipe for Dutch oven or crockpot? I don’t have an instant pot.
To make this in a Dutch oven, sauté the veggies, then brown the chicken. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Enjoy!
Fast and tasty chicken stew. Highly enjoyable.
SO glad you liked it. We love this recipe too 😉