Instant Pot Chicken Stew

Name: Instant Pot Chicken Stew
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
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)

By: Olivia Updated: 6/22/23

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This Instant Pot chicken stew recipe makes a rich, hearty chicken dinner. Make this healthy and delicious meal for dinner tonight in only 25 minutes!

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.

overhead view of two bowls of Instant Pot chicken stew

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Thanks to your electric pressure cooker, making comfort foods like this one take minutes instead of hours, like how this Instant Pot Sweet Potato Kale Beef Soup only takes 30 minutes.

Despite the short cooking time, this chicken stew is full of flavor and the meat is incredibly tender.

Plus, this dinner is wholesome and healthy! With boneless skinless chicken breast, potatoes, and healthy veggies, it provides plenty of protein, vitamins, nutrients, and healthy fats. There really isn’t anything better than a big bowl of stew! Want to try another stew? Try my Cabbage and Sausage 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. For this recipe, please don’t use bone-in chicken.
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 hand 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 use also 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 flavor tomato sauce will taste great in your chicken stew. NOTE: To keep the recipe Whole30 compliant, be sure to use sugar-free tomato sauce.
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.
Low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos – The coconut aminos is what you will need to use to keep the recipe gluten free.
Minced garlic
Seasonings – Kosher or sea salt, black pepper, onion powder, and some Italian seasoning. You can also use fresh herbs such as bay leaf, rosemary and thyme.

bowls of ingredients to make a chicken stew recipe

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Stew

Set your Instant Pot to “saute” 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.

step by step photos show how to make chicken stew in an electric pressure cooker

Place the carrots and potatoes in 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!

chicken vegetable stew cooking in a pressure cooker

Recipe 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.
While the potatoes do not have to be peeled, I recommend peeling the carrots.
If you are in a rush, you can turn this into a dump and go recipe. Simple add everything into the Instant Pot and skip sauting. It won’t be as flavourful compared to sauteing the different ingredients but it’ll still be tasty!
To make this stew even thicker, you can mash up some of the potatoes and stir to combine.
Add some heat to this chicken stew by adding some jalapeno peppers or red pepper flakes to it.
If you double the recipe, keep in mind that the timing doesn’t have to change. The IP will simply take longer to come up to pressure, increasing the cooking time automatically.

Storing Leftovers

Refrigerate any leftovers in a covered container and enjoy them within 5 days.

You can reheat the chicken stew in a pot on the stovetop, in a microwave, or even using the saute function on your Instant Pot.

Note

Instant Pot chicken stew is best when it’s fresh. I don’t recommend freezing it, simply because the vegetables are likely to become too mushy when you thaw and reheat them.

If you’d like to freeze this beforehand, you can freeze all the ingredients in a freezer-safe bag, minus the potatoes. When ready to enjoy, thaw in the fridge then add everything to an Instant Pot as a dump and go meal.

looking down on bowl of hearty chicken stew

Other vegetables that can go into chicken stew

If you want to add more veggies to this easy Instant Pot chicken stew, you can try:

Mushrooms
Celery
Peas
Corn
Green beans
Parsnips
Turnips
Sweet potatoes
Spinach
Kale
Rutabaga
Cabbage

This stew is great if you have extra vegetables leftover in the fridge at the end of the week. Simply add them to the chicken stew!

More Instant Pot Recipes to Try:

Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe (Whole30 & Paleo): Instant Pot beef stew will provide you with winter comfort food in a fraction of the time. Made with protein-rich beef and lots of veggies, it will be satisfying on cool nights.
Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe: This Instant Pot Short Ribs recipe lets you enjoy the tender flavorful ribs without the hours of cooking time usually required. This set-it-and-forget it recipe makes it easy to cook the perfect meat.
Instant Pot Keto Chili Recipe: Keto chili has all the great flavors of traditional chili without the extra carbs. Enjoy this healthy recipe that gives you everything you crave on cold evenings.
Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup: Make a hearty vegetable beef soup in no time with this Instant Pot soup recipe. Goodbye to all-day simmering, this is a quick and easy dinner for any busy weeknight. This delicious soup is also Whole30, paleo, and gluten-free.

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Ingredients to make Instant Pot chicken stew

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Stew

Recipe Tips

Storing Leftovers

Note

Other vegetables that can go into chicken stew

More Instant Pot Recipes to Try:

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Tips

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