Easy instant pot chicken stew made with just a few ingredients and ready in no time. Comforting, healthy, and delicious, a really good stew perfect for this time of the year.
This hearty instant pot chicken stew recipe is a family favorite. Tender chicken pieces, potatoes, and fresh veggies simmered in a delicious broth and ready in no time. An easy chicken stew made with basic ingredients, budget-friendly, and sure to please even the pickiest members of the family.
And if you are looking for another instant pot meal, check out the Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs.
Table of contents
Recipe ingredients
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into large chunks.
- You can make the recipe with boneless skinless thighs instead.
- Potatoes: Waxy potatoes are what you need; starchy potatoes would fall apart too much during the cooking process.
- Other vegetables: 2 large carrots cut into chunks, 2-3 small celery stalks, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves, and one cup of thawed peas.
- Liquids: Dry white wine and chicken stock or broth. Vegetable broth can be used instead, but chicken stock or broth has more flavor.
- Spices: Dried thyme, marjoram, and rosemary, bay leaves, fine sea salt (or Kosher salt), and ground black pepper. You can replace the dry herbs with Italian seasoning.
- Cornstarch to thicken the gravy.
Step-by-step instructions
Prepare the ingredients:
- Cut the meat into large chunks. Peel and cut the potatoes, mince the garlic cloves, and set them aside together.
- Dice the onion, chop the celery stalks, and cut the carrots into large chunks. Set them aside in another bowl.
Cook the chicken stew:
- Heat the instant pot using the saute mode. Heat the olive oil shortly, then add onion, carrots, celery, ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Saute for 4 minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent the onions from getting too brown (1).
- Add the breast pieces, potatoes, garlic, and herbs and stir well
- Pour in ¼ cup white wine and 2 cups chicken broth and give everything a good stir (3).
- Seal the lid and set the pot to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes (it will take the pot about 6-7 minutes to come to pressure) (4).
- Allow 10 minutes of natural release, then switch to venting to release the remaining pressure. Remove the lid.
- Whisk the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl. Whisk the slurry into the pot. Add the thawed peas and stir (5).
- Saute for 3-4 minutes or until thickened lightly. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired and serve (6).
Expert Tips
- Make sure you use waxy potatoes; starchy potatoes will fall apart too much, making the pressure cooker chicken stew mushy.
- If you are stressed about the time, you can dump all the ingredients in the instant pot and cook the dish without sauteing anything first. However, the saute part brings a lot of flavors, so I don’t recommend skipping this step.
Recipe FAQ
Saute diced onion, carrots, and celery with salt and pepper in a large pot for 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer on low heat, covered, for about 20-30 minutes (the exact cooking time depends on the size of the potatoes and chicken) until the meat is cooked through and the potatoes are tender.
Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and let the gravy thicken for 3-4 minutes without a lid. Adjust the taste and sprinkle with fresh herbs before serving.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat before serving.
The chicken and potato stew is not suitable for freezing; frozen and defrosted cooked potatoes are really not nice.
How to serve?
- The instant pot chicken stew with potatoes can be served immediately, or it can be reheated.
- We often have it with crusty bread and roasted, boiled, or pickled vegetables (our Zucchini Pickles are delicious). Try the Flaxseed Bread or the Easy Yogurt Soda Bread.
- You can also make a simple salad on the side.
More chicken stews
Easy Instant Pot Chicken Stew
Equipment
- Instant pot
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots large
- 2 celery stalks small
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 lb chicken breast 900 g, Note 1
- 1 lb potatoes waxy, 450 g
- ¼ cup dry white wine Note 2
- 2 cups chicken stock Note 3
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- ½ teaspoon rosemary
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup water
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- a few sprigs of fresh parsley optional
Instructions
Prepare the ingredients:
- Cut the chicken into large chunks. Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks, finely chop the garlic cloves, and set them aside together.
- Dice the onion, chop the celery stalks, and cut the carrots into large chunks. Set them aside in another bowl.
Cook:
- Saute vegetables: Heat the instant pot using the saute function. Heat the oil shortly, then add onion, carrots, celery, ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Saute for 4 minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent the onions from getting too brown.
- Add the chicken breast, potatoes, garlic, white wine, and chicken stock. Add herbs and bay leaves and stir.
- Cook: Seal the lid and set the pot to cook on high for 8 minutes (it will take the pot about 6-7 minutes to come to pressure).
- Allow for 10 minutes of natural release, then switch to venting. Remove the lid.
- Thicken stew: Whisk the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl. Whisk the slurry into the chicken stew. Add the thawed peas and stir. Saute the chicken stew for 3-4 minutes or until thickened lightly.
- Sprinkle with parsley if desired and serve.
Notes
- You can make the recipe with boneless skinless chicken thighs instead.
- The wine is a nice touch, but it’s optional; you can leave it out.
- Vegetable broth can be used instead, but chicken stock or broth has more flavor.