Instant Pot Chicken Stew

Soups and stews are my favorite meals during the cold winter months. And so often, stews are made with beef.

But this time I wanted to make stew with chicken, for a lighter approach. And of course, using the Instant Pot, for the speed and convenience with all the taste.

This Instant Pot Chicken Stew has all the favorites: potato, carrot, celery and onion. The broth is filled with flavor, making every bite a delight!

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Why I love this recipe

Any time I can marry a bunch of delicious flavors in a stew, it makes me happy. A variety of vegetables delivers vitamin-packed nutrition. Using chicken for the protein helps keep it lighter than a beef stew.

And best of all, using the Instant Pot makes everything perfectly tender and delicious in a fraction of the time a stew would normally take.

Win-win!

Ingredients

How to make Instant Pot Chicken Stew

Be sure to have all your ingredients chopped and diced before starting, since the steps go pretty quickly for this stew.

First, dredge the chicken in flour (season with a little salt and pepper) and then sauté in the Instant Pot for a couple minutes each side. This will lightly brown the chicken but it will not be cooked all the way through.

Remove the chicken, then start to sauté the onions and celery. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

You can use this sauté time to cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Add the garlic to the Instant Pot and sauté briefly, then add the diced potato, carrot, and diced tomatoes with juice.

Stir the contents and deglaze the pot by scraping up all the browned-on bits from the bottom. Plenty of flavor there!

Now add the chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, the cut-up chicken, and all the spices: rosemary, thyme, marjoram, salt, and bay leaves.

Cover and seal the Instant Pot. Set the cycle to cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. (I use the meat/stew cycle and adjust the time)

When the cooking cycle is done, allow the Instant Pot to natural release pressure for 5 minutes, then do a quick release of the remaining pressure.

Make a slurry of cornstarch and water. Remove the Instant Pot lid and turn the cook function to sauté.

Add the peas and the cornstarch slurry to the pot and stir. As the mixture starts to boil, it will thicken. If you want an even thicker stew, you can repeat with a little more cornstarch slurry or simply mash some of the potatoes

Expert Tips

Think of this recipe as a starting point. Most soups and stews can be easily adjusted according to what you have or prefer.

I use chicken thighs for any dish like this, but boneless skinless breasts would work as well.

Feel free to reduce or leave out the potato and/or carrot if that is your preference. I would not skip the onion, celery, and garlic as that helps to flavor the broth.

Speaking of broth, chicken broth is typical but I have also used homemade turkey bone broth with wonderful results.

I've also used both regular and fire-roasted diced tomatoes to make this stew. I love it either way. 😀

I also made it once without peas as I didn't have any on hand. It's still good, but I did miss that extra pop of color and flavor the peas seem to give the stew.

Feel free to make it your own!

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Instant Pot Chicken Stew

Use your Instant Pot to make this delicious and satisfying chicken and vegetable stew!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Pressure/depressurize30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Calories: 446kcal

Author: Sula

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds chicken boneless skinless thighs
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil divided
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 onion large yellow, cut into chunks
• 2 celery ribs chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 pound potato peeled and diced (about 1 large russet)
• 2 medium carrots peeled and cut in ½ inch slices
• 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary leaves removed and chopped (about 1 ½ teaspoon) *
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ⅓ cup water

Instructions

• Turn on the sauté function in the Instant pot. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon oil.
  2 tablespoons cooking oil
• Mix flour with a little salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, then place in the hot Instant Pot. Cook 2-3 minutes each side, then remove to a bowl.
  ¼ cup flour, salt and black pepper, 1 ½ pounds chicken
• Add the second tablespoon of oil to the Instant Pot and add the onion and celery. Allow to sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  1 onion, 2 celery ribs
• While the onion and celery is cooking, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
• When the onion looks slightly translucent, add garlic to the Instant Pot and stir briefly. Then add the potato, carrot and diced tomatoes with juice. Deglaze the pot briefly by stirring and scraping to work up all the browned bits of flavor on the bottom.
  2 garlic cloves, 1 pound potato, 2 medium carrots, 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
• Add chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, the chicken pieces, and all the spices: rosemary, thyme, marjoram, salt, and bay leaves.
  2 cups chicken broth, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon dried marjoram, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 bay leaves
• Cover, close and seal the Instant Pot. Set the cycle for meat/stew, 15 minutes at high pressure.
• When the cook cycle is done, allow the Instant Pot to natural release pressure for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest.
• Open the Instant Pot and set the function to sauté.
• Mix the cornstarch with water to make a slurry. Add the frozen peas and the cornstarch slurry to the stew.
  3 tablespoons cornstarch, ⅓ cup water, ½ cup frozen peas
• When the mixture starts to boil, it will thicken from the cornstarch. If you want it thicker, you can repeat the cornstarch step or mash a few of the potatoes.

Notes

Sub ½ teaspoon dried rosemary if you don't have fresh.

Nutrition

Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 1837mg | Potassium: 1055mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 5496IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.