Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

Chicken cacciatore is the type of dish you order out. Making it at home may feel like biting off more than you can chew — pun intended. But now, Jamie Monkkonen, who blogs and shares recipes at Vibrantly G-Free, has created a recipe for an Instant Pot version of chicken cacciatore that transforms this fancy-feeling meal into an accessible dish anyone can cook up, and in well under an hour. 

For those who don't know, as Monkkonen explained to Mashed, "The term 'cacciatore' refers to a spicy tomato sauce with herbs and vegetables. A chicken cacciatore is therefore a cacciatore sauce with chicken. Traditionally, a variety of vegetables are cooked into the sauce and they can be changed based on personal preference." In this recipe, Monkkonen uses bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms.

You'll also need a splash of wine for the recipe, and a bit to drink, with Monkkonen saying, "I love making it on a Friday or Sunday evening with a glass of wine. It's perfect for guests or a nice family meal."

For this dish, you will need boneless, skinless chicken thighs, with Monkkonen explaining about why she chose this part of the poultry, "The fat from the chicken thighs adds a rich flavor to the overall dish." But she also notes, "You could also make this dish with chicken breasts." No matter what, she adds, "When making this dish in the Instant Pot, the one thing you want to avoid is cooking chicken with the skin on. In a pressure cooker, the skin turns rubbery and needs to be removed before serving."

In addition, buy or gather from your kitchen the following ingredients to make this Instant Pot chicken cacciatore: flour, salt and pepper, olive oil, red and green bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, yellow onion, dry white wine, garlic, tomato paste, smoked paprika, dried basil, a can of diced tomatoes, which you will drain the liquid out of, and finally, shredded mozzarella cheese. You can serve the dish over pasta, so pick some up if you'd like.

We asked Monkkonen if there is a way to mess up this simple recipe, and she noted again how important it is to "remove the skin and trim the extra fat before cooking the chicken." 

Once you complete that step, the next step to making a meal that will taste like you spent hours over the stove to prepare it — except you seriously didn't — is to get your chicken ready to sauté. So, in a shallow bowl, mix together your flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. This is what you will dredge each chicken thigh in. Just be sure to shake off any excess flour mixture to prevent burning. 

Meanwhile, if you forget to remove the chicken skin, don't panic, with Monkkonen telling Mashed, "You can remove the skin after cooking. Just use a slotted serving spoon to eliminate extra liquid, and scrape the bottom if the 'burn' message on the Instant Pot appears."

Now, set your Instant Pot to "sauté" at the "normal" heat level. Once the pot is warm, pour olive oil to coat the bottom. Then, Monkkonen instructs home cooks to carefully add the chicken thighs, being sure they are arranged in a single layer. You only need to cook the chicken for about a minute and a half on each side at this stage, with the goal of the outside of the chicken turning a lovely shade of golden brown. You will cook the chicken again, so it will not be fully cooked at this point.

Then, remove your chicken from the Instant Pot and set it aside while we turn our attention to cooking the other elements of this rich and satisfying shortcut dish. 

First, dice and slice your veggies. So, the peppers are diced, along with the onion, and you will mince your garlic. If your mushrooms are not pre-sliced, go ahead and slice 'em. You'll keep the Instant Pot's "sauté" setting at the "normal" heat level. Now, add all your veggies except the garlic, simply stirring occasionally for just three to five minutes, or until they begin to soften. "If sticking occurs, add splashes of water in very small amounts to deglaze the pot," advises Monkkonen.

Next up is making your sauce.

To make your chicken cacciatore sauce sing, first, add the dry white wine to the Instant Pot, allowing the alcohol to sizzle out. Monkkonen notes this process will take just a minute or two. But what if you are serving this dish to kiddos? "As long as you allow ample time for the alcohol to sizzle out, the final alcohol content should be near zero and is safe to serve to children," notes Monkkonen. "If you would like to omit the alcohol, save the equivalent amount of liquid when you drain the tomatoes and simply substitute it for the wine."

Next, add the minced garlic, tomato paste, your smoked paprika, dried basil, and the remaining salt and pepper. You will mix the sauce well and allow the elements to cook, stirring constantly, for about one minute or until the garlic is deliciously fragrant and your mouth is watering! 

The final step before you add your chicken back to the mix is to add the canned diced tomatoes — just be sure not to use the crushed version. And definitely drain out the liquid from the diced tomatoes first, with Monkkonen noting if you don't, this is another way you might accidentally mess up this simple meal. Finally, turn off the "sauté" function.

You will mix your sauce a final time before gently nestling the just-cooked chicken thighs back into the Instant Pot. Monkkonen instructs home cooks to go ahead and scoop some of the veggie mixture on top of the chicken. Use a spatula to scrape off any food bits that got stuck to the bottom of the pot, or, as she notes, "The Instant Pot may shut off with the 'burn' message."

Now, set the Instant Pot to "pressure cook" for 15 minutes on "high" pressure, with the recipe's creator telling Mashed, "The role of the pressure cooker is to bring out the rich flavors in the sauce so it has the 'simmered for hours' depth of flavor."

Meanwhile, Monkkonen notes, "While I think this dish tastes best when the 'sauté' function is used to cook the chicken and vegetables, it is also an option to toss all the ingredients in and simply pressure cook." In this case, you will cook the dish for a total of three minutes more.

When the dish is finished cooking, go ahead and release the pressure of the Instant Pot. The final step before enjoying your hearty creation is to shred or break the chicken into bite-size pieces, with Monkkonen recommending using two forks. If you so desire, stir in the shredded mozzarella cheese just before serving the meal. Monkkonen likes to serve her chicken cacciatore nice and hot, over freshly-cooked pasta. 

Cutting carbs? The pasta is optional. As she told Mashed, "Because of its stew-like texture, this chicken cacciatore can absolutely be eaten without pasta. It's also fantastic served with potatoes or rice." No matter how you enjoy your meal, we're betting any leftovers that happen not to be eaten taste even more delicious and full of flavor!