Name: Instant Pot Chicken Stew
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 4-6 chicken thigs; 1 medium onion; 3 tbsp flour (all-purpose); 4-5 cloves garlic; 1 tsp tomato paste; 2 tbsp thyme (dried); 1 glass white wine (dry); 6 small potatoes; 2 medium carrots; 4 tbsp olive oil; 5 cups chicken broth; 1 cup frozen peas; 2 bay leaves; 1 handful parsley (fresh, chopped); 1 tsp salt (or to taste); 1 tsp pepper (or to taste)

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Instant Pot Chicken Stew is simple and good, in other words, it is simply good. It is a rustic dish with bold and authentic tastes and flavors. Cooked in an instant pot, the meat is utterly tender and intensely flavored by the spices like thyme and vegetables like carrots and potatoes.

Creamy and hearty, the stew is adored by children and ideal for consumption on cold, late autumn days. The transition from the sunny summer to melancholic fall has inspired me to cook on the most appreciated and demanded stews in my home – the chicken stew. Cooked under pressure in an instant pot, it becomes a time-saving dish ready in about one hour. Moreover, the chicken stew is a delicious and nourishing dish, also an excellent remedy for the flu or cold.

This chicken stew is worth being part of your collection of recipes you repeat on and on for many reasons. It is infused in chicken broth, enriched with fresh vegetables and wine, and thickened with flour. The perfect grandma-like chicken stew.

Ingredients for instant pot chicken stew

Gather the ingredients and get to work. Here is what you need to cook a delicious and creamy chicken stew:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 onion, finely hopped
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
4-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp dried thyme
1 glass (½ cup) dry white wine
6 potatoes, unpeeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen peas
handful fresh minced parsley
Salt and pepper

How to cook the chicken stew in the instant pot?

Although cooking the chicken stew involves several cooking steps, don’t let that stop you from trying it. I promise that each and every effort will be justified and worthy after you sip the first spoon of the chicken stew. Here is what you need to do to succeed.

Clean the chicken thighs and use a paper towel to pat dry. Season the meat on both sides with salt and ground black pepper. Now turn on the instant pot, select the “sauté” program and roll the control knob to 8 minutes. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the pot and wait for it to preheat. When you hear the beep, brown the chicken thighs on both sides for 4 minutes each. Then removed from the pan, reprogram the pot to 8 minutes and repeat the procedure until you brown all the chicken thighs.

Set the pot to the sauté regime again for another 10 minutes and add the last tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. Cook the chopped onion for about 6 minutes then stir in the flour, minced garlic, tomato paste, and thyme. Wait for one minute then pour the broth and the white dry wine. Mix gently to blend everything smoothly. Also, make sure to scrap everything from the bottom of the pot. Better use a silicon spatula. The browned bits will add extra flavor to the chicken stew.

At this point add in the potatoes and the carrots. Use a cutting board to cut the chicken half-cooked chicken thighs into large chunks. Stir in the meat, 2 more cups of chicken broth, a few bay leaves, and the frozen peas. Seal the pot and set the “under pressure” program for 20 minutes and wait for the magic to happen. The chicken stew is almost ready!

Do I have to release the steam of the instant pot?

Yes, absolutely. Remember that the chicken stew was cooked under pressure. That means that the steam was not released during cooking as it would happen normally. That is how the “under pressure” cooking works: the condensed hot steam cooks the inside of the pot times faster.

After the instant pot beeps, letting you know that the program is over, open the steam “switch”. Make sure to take away your fingers out of the way because it will be hot and furious :) Wait until it is all released then unseal/open the instant pot lid.