Description
instant pot chicken cacciatore will be your new favorite weeknight dinner! with tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, & wine, this chicken cacciatore recipe offers all of the rich, traditional flavor of authentic italian “hunter-style” braised chicken, but is made so, so easy by using the instant pot!
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large shallots, diced (about ½ cup)
- 1 small green bell pepper, diced (about ½ cup)
- ½ cup portobello mushrooms, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon herbes de Provence
- ½ cup white wine (or stock)
- 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (with their juices)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 6-ounce can Kalamata olives, halved
- crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt & ground black pepper
- 8 ounces pasta of choice, cooked to al dente according to package directions (see Recipe Notes)
- for serving, as desired: chopped fresh basil, chopped flat-leaf parsley, grated parmesan
Instructions
- Brown the chicken: Preheat your Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker on its saute mode. While the Instant Pot preheats, wash the chicken thighs, patting them very dry with paper towels. Once the Instant Pot is hot, add the oil, generously season the chicken thighs with Kosher salt and ground black pepper, and add the chicken thighs to the Instant Pot, arranging them in a single layer. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes on each side, or until browned, then transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Cook the aromatics: Add the shallots, bell pepper, and mushrooms to the Instant Pot and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the garlic and herbes de Provence and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
- Deglaze the Instant Pot: Pour the wine or stock into the pot, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Continue to simmer until the wine is reduced by half. Set the chicken thighs on top of the contents of the pot, then pour in the tomatoes (with their juices) and the tomato paste.
- Pressure cook: Secure the lid on the Instant Pot. Make the sure valve on the top of the Instant Pot is set to its sealed position! Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release, about 10 minutes. Carefully open the vent on the top of the pot, then remove the lid.
- Cook the pasta: Meanwhile, as the chicken cacciatore pressure cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- To serve, stir in the Kalamata olives and crushed red pepper flakes, as desired. Serve the chicken cacciatore over pasta. I found it easiest to remove the chicken from the pot, and add my pasta in the pot to toss it in the cacciatore sauce. Finish with fresh herbs and a sprinkle of parm, as desired.Enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe is reprinted with permission from The Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook for Two: 125 Easy, Perfectly-Portioned Recipes for the Electric Pressure Cooker & Multicooker by Erica Acevedo.
- Instant Pot: I own & love this 6-quart Instant Pot, but they also recently came out with a 3-quart version that’s the perfect size for anyone who regularly cooks for two (plus, it’s cheaper!).
- Need to serve 4? No problem! Just double the recipe.
- Meal prep! I especially love this Instant Pot chicken cacciatore recipe because it’s so low maintenance – the Instant Pot does all the work for you! If you want to do a little meal prep in advance, I always suggest chopping up the veggies you need whenever you have some extra time in the kitchen. Store them in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. At dinnertime, you can get right to cooking – so easy!
- Make it Paleo! For a Paleo version, you can omit the wine and serve over your favorite Paleo-approved carb (see below).
- Serving: I love serving Instant Pot chicken cacciatore over a long pasta, like the XX shown here. Erica also offers some great suggestions in her book. You can also serve the Instant Pot chicken cacciatore over some polenta (this is super traditional, especially in Northern regions of Italy!) or cooked spaghetti squash.