Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore recipe. Tender braised chicken thighs with a tomato-based sauce, rich and hearty Italian hunter style. I pressure cook it to get it on the table in about an hour.
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It's time for my annual ode to pressure-cooked chicken thighs. This time, I'm showcasing them in Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore.
Chicken thighs are great for pressure cooking, and much more forgiving than chicken breasts. It's almost impossible to overcook a chicken thigh; chicken breast has a narrow "done" window, and then it turns dry and stringy. The best chicken breasts are done with an internal temperature of exactly 160°F…and good luck getting that right in a sealed pressure cooker. Chicken thighs are good at 170°F, 180°F…whatever it takes. I'll see you on the dark side…of the chicken!
Chicken cacciatore, Italian hunter-style chicken simmered with onions, tomatoes, and garlic, is a great place to start pressure cooking chicken thighs. There's also a lot of pot liquid with this recipe; serve it over pasta, with rice, or with mashed potatoes. (And some bread to soak up the juices is also a good idea.) Want to join us on the dark side…of the chicken? Try chicken cacciatore.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Chicken thighs: As I said above, chicken thighs are the right cut for this recipe. You can substitute drumsticks pretty well, but chicken breasts will tend to dry out under pressure.
- Bone-in or boneless chicken: This recipe is traditionally cooked with bone-in, skin-on chicken. If you want to use boneless chicken, make sure to get boneless chicken thighs, and cut the pressure cooking time back to 10 minutes.
- No alcohol: Don't want to use wine? Use more chicken stock (or water).
- Mushrooms: Portobello mushrooms are Italian, so I use baby bella mushrooms in this recipe. That said, I don't notice much difference with regular white mushrooms, so they are a great substitute. (Or skip the mushrooms if you are anti-fungus in your food).
Using Frozen Chicken
Yes, you can use frozen chicken thighs; increase the pressure cooking time by 5 minutes (25 minutes at high pressure). The only other change is to sprinkle them with the salt and pepper after the browning step, not before; the salt and pepper will just bounce off frozen thighs.
How to Thicken the Sauce
Pressure cooking leads to thin sauces - there is no evaporation, so the liquid does not simmer off. I'm fine with that - there is a lot of delicious liquid in the pot. But if you want a thicker, stew-like cacciatore, you have a couple of options:
- Simmer with the lid off after pressure cooking: After the natural pressure release, remove the lid. Set your Instant Pot to sauté mode-high until the liquid in the pot comes to a boil, then reduce the heat to sauté mode-low and let the pot simmer for 15 minutes to thicken the liquid. (With a stovetop PC, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low).
- Cook pasta in the pot: Use a small pasta shape to absorb the liquid. After the natural pressure release, unlock the pot and stir in 1 cup of ditalini (or another small pasta shape). Simmer the pasta for 8 minutes (or for the cooking time on the package).
Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 chicken thighs 1x
Description
Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore. Italian hunter-style chicken thighs, braised in the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
- 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 8 ounces thin-sliced baby portobello mushrooms (or white button mushrooms)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium bell peppers, diced (I use a red and a green pepper for the color)
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (or dried oregano)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup dry white wine (pinot grigio)
- 1 cup chicken broth (preferably homemade, or water)
- 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil (for garnish)
Instructions
- Brown the skin on the chicken thighs: Heat the olive oil in the pressure cooker pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. (I use sauté mode adjusted to high in my Instant Pot pressure cooker.) Sprinkle the chicken thighs with the salt and pepper. Sear the skin side of the thighs in 2 batches: put 4 thighs in the pot, skin side down, and sear until the skin is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Move the browned chicken thighs to a bowl, then sear the second batch of thighs, about 5 more minutes. and move them to the bowl as well. The thighs will render a lot of fat – pour out all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pot before moving on to the next step.
- Sauté the aromatics: Add the mushrooms to the pot and cook, without moving, until lightly browned about 5 minutes. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic to the pot, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning and ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 more minutes, stirring and scraping the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen the browned chicken bits from the bottom.
- Simmer the wine, then put everything in the pot: Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 1 minute to boil off some of the alcohol, then scrape the bottom of the pot one last time. Pour in the chicken broth, then stir in the chicken thighs and any juices in the bowl. Scatter the diced tomatoes over the top of everything.
- Pressure cook for 20 minutes with a natural pressure release: Lock the pressure cooker lid. Pressure cook on high pressure for 20 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC, or for 16 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode with an Instant Pot). Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 minutes more. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes).
- Serve: Put a chicken thigh (or two) on each plate and topping with a ladle (or two) of the pot liquid. Sprinkle some minced fresh basil over the top, serve, and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
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Related Posts
Want some other Instant Pot chicken thigh recipes? Try my Pressure Cooker Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic, Pressure Cooker Chicken Legs with Herb Rub. For more Italian in the Instant Pot, try Pressure Cooker Penne with Sausage and Peppers. Or, for a fun new twist on Cajun-Italian, try Instant Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta.
Looking for something else? Here is my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes Index
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Contrary memaw Mary says
I made this tonight. But i used boneless skinless thighs cause that's what I had. I didn't brown them since there was no skin. I sliced them into thirds before adding them to the pot. I also had some fresh zucchini and yellow squash that needed to be used up, so i chunked it up and added it in after sauteeing the mushrooms, onions and peppers. We love our veggies.
I opted for minute Rice cooked in chicken broth to have with it. This is a tasty and filling supper. Will definitely make this again.
Mike Vrobel says
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Mike Vrobel says
I’m glad you liked it!