If you’re looking for the perfect freezer friendly chicken recipe, here’s the one for you! Rich and flavourful Instant Pot chicken stew is the best recipe when you’re craving something as the weather starts to cool. This recipe was inspired by my time at cooking school in Ireland. My husband is a very ‘meat and potatoes’ kinda guy so I was excited to learn this recipe and make it for him when I got back from cooking school. I adapted the recipe to be Instant Pot friendly.
The Ingredients
Not only does this Instant Pot chicken stew cook in a fraction of a time as it would on the stove, but it’s super economical – I used whole chicken quarters and shredded the meat after it was done cooking. Not only do you get a rich broth at the same time, but you save a few bucks using this cut of chicken as well as a surprising amount of meat off of it. I was always told in cooking school that cooking meat bone-in yields a more flavourful finished dish.
- chicken leg quarters
- salt and pepper
- cooking oil or fat
- bacon
- carrots
- onions
- mushrooms
- broth
- potatoes
- cream
- corn starch
Sear the Chicken
Set your Instant Pot base to sear on the high setting. I managed to fit all 3 chicken leg quarters in the base of my 8qt Instant Pot. Do them one or two at a time though if you find you can’t fit them in. Sear until golden brown on both sides. This could take a little bit of patience. Try and prevent the skin from tearing by leaving the chicken skin side down for longer than you think. Gently pull at it with tongs. If it doesn’t release easily, leave it. Of course if you get the sense it’s burning, try and use a flat spatula to release the chicken’s skin from the bottom of the pot. Set the chicken aside and start cooking the bacon in the left over grease.
Pressure Cook the Stew
Sauté the carrots, onions, and mushrooms briefly along with the bacon. You want them to sweat a little before you pressure cook them. Then, deglaze the pot with chicken broth. Lay the chicken legs and potatoes on top and you’re ready to let the Instant Pot do it’s magic! Pressure cook it until the chicken is cooked through and tender. When it’s done, I like to shred the meat off of the chicken bones but leave it in for a more rustic stew. If you leave it as is, the stew is a a little bit more like a soup consistency. If you want it thicker, swirl in cornstarch and water and simmer until thickened. Eat immediately or freeze for later!
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Stew
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 3 chicken leg quarters
- salt and pepper to season
- 2 tbsp cooking fat
- 4 slices bacon chopped into 1" pieces
- 4 large carrots peeled and cut into 3" chunks
- 2 medium onions peeled and but into 1/8ths
- 225 grams cremini mushrooms halved
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 4 medium white potatoes peeled and quartered
- ½ cup cream
- 3 tbsp corn starch
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute on high heat. Add in cooking fat and wait 30 seconds for it to heat up.
- Meanwhile, season the chicken quarters on all sides with salt and pepper. Sear skin side down until golden brown. Set aside on a plate.
- Set the heat to medium. Add in the bacon pieces and saute until golden brown.
- Add in carrots, onions and mushrooms and saute until they begin to sweat, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock and scrape the bottom to release any stuck on bits.
- Top veggies with quartered potatoes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Lay the seared chicken quarters on top. Do not fold them into the vegetables.
- Pressure cook on high for 15 min. Naturally release for 10 min.
- Carefully remove chicken quarters from the Instant Pot. Optionally remove the meat off the bones.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute on medium heat. Stir in the cream and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce occasionally scraping the bottom to ensure nothing burns. Taste for seasoning adding any extra salt and pepper as desired.
- Stir corn starch with 2 tbsp water and whisk until smooth. Swirl into the stew to thicken.
- Stir in cooked meat and serve.
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Want to try a different type of Instant Pot soup? Give this Instant Pot Minestrone Soup a try, or if you want something a little more traditional, this Rustic Beef and Barley might be a little more your style.
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