• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Savory Tooth

Low Carb Recipes

  • Recipes
    • *Browse All*
    • Main Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Instant Pot
    • Breakfast
  • Low Carb Diet
    • *Browse All*
    • How To Start
    • Shopping List
    • Science Articles
    • Meal Planning
  • Subscribe
  • About
    • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo

Published Apr 10, 2018 By Julia 172 CommentsThis post may contain affiliate links.

A superb Filipino chicken adobo with onions and garlic cooked in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Low carb and keto dinner.

instant pot chicken adobo served on a gray plate with scallions and onions
Chicken adobo is traditional Filipino comfort food made easy with a pressure cooker. The chicken comes out tender and flavorful, and the adobo sauce is simultaneously tangy, sweet, and savory. I don’t get the chance to eat Filipino food often, but this is one of my favorites!

The main ingredients in chicken adobo are chicken thighs (I use boneless and skinless ones), onions, soy sauce, and vinegar. The chicken thighs are seasoned and pan seared, followed by pressure cooking with soy sauce, vinegar, and onions in the Instant Pot. The saute mode is then used to reduce the sauce to an almost sticky consistency.

pressure cooker chicken adobo with sticky adobo sauce and onions
The adobo sauce is the highlight of this dish, so here are a few details regarding the last step when you’re reducing the sauce. The recipe recommends 15 minutes of boiling to be on the conservative side, but you can boil longer for a different result.

If you boil for…

  • 15 minutes then you’ll get a decent amount of remaining sauce to spoon over the chicken but it won’t be very thick. The sauce will, however, taste amazing with the onions and chicken.
  • 20 minutes then you’ll end up with a thick glaze that easily sticks to the chicken. However, since it’s more of a glaze than a sauce, you won’t have much liquid to spoon over the chicken. You’ll also have to be careful that the sauce doesn’t burn on the bottom of your pressure cooker pot.

Personally, I like the consistency of the sauce when boiled about 17 minutes. I recommend 15 minutes for most people because it’s easy to burn the sauce when it starts becoming glaze-like, but it’s up to you!

chicken thighs and onions used in instant pot chicken adobo dinner
A few notes on ingredient substitutions:

  • The onions are a must and cannot be skipped. The sauce would have a very different taste and texture without them.
  • If you follow the Paleo or Whole30 diet, you can substitute soy sauce with coconut aminos.
  • I don’t recommend using chicken breasts. Use chicken thighs, legs, or drumsticks. I use boneless and skinless ones because it’s easier, but you don’t have to.

This recipe’s ingredients were a good amount for my 6 quart Instant Pot, but you can easily double them for an 8 quart pressure cooker.

If you have any leftovers, they store well in the refrigerator and can be reheated the next day in the microwave.

instant pot chicken adobo served with low carb cauliflower rice

Looking for the best keto recipes?

Emails sent twice a week, featuring my most popular low carb recipes.

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo

4.9 from 69 votes
PRINT PIN RATE
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 370

DESCRIPTION

A superb Filipino chicken adobo with onions and garlic cooked in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Low carb and keto.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 - 2.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (do not use regular, which will be too salty)
  • 1/3 cup white vinegar
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • salt and coarse black pepper

For serving:

  • 2 scallions sliced
  • cooked white rice or cauliflower rice

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Select the saute mode on the pressure cooker for medium heat. Generously season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper. When the display reads HOT, add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Add half of the chicken thighs and cook for a few minutes on each side before transferring them to a plate. Repeat for the remaining chicken thighs. Turn off the saute mode.
  • Add soy sauce, vinegar, onion, garlic, and cayenne to the pot. Stir well and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Return all chicken thighs to the pot in a single layer, placing them snugly on top of the onions. Top with bay leaves. Secure and seal the lid. Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure followed by a manual pressure release.
  • Uncover and select the saute mode. Keeping the chicken in the pot, boil for about 15 minutes to thicken the sauce. Remove the bay leaves. Serve the chicken and sauce, optionally with cooked cauliflower rice. Top with sliced scallions.

NUTRITION

This recipe yields 6.5 g net carbs per serving. Nutrition information doesn't include serving ingredients like rice.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving
Calories 370  
Total Fat 21g 33%
   Saturated Fat 1g 5%
   Trans Fat 0g  
Cholesterol 182mg 61%
Sodium 1540mg 64%
Potassium 10mg 0%
Total Carb 7g 2%
   Dietary Fiber 0.5g 2%
   Sugars 3g  
Protein 37g  
Vitamin A 2% · Vitamin C 3% · Calcium 1% · Iron 17%
Liked this recipe?Sign up for email updates!

MORE DELICIOUS CHICKEN DINNERS MADE IN THE INSTANT POT:


Instant Pot whole chicken
Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
Instant pot chicken tikka masala

Instant Pot chicken with creamy mushroom gravy

Instant Pot Creamy Chicken With Sun-Dried Tomatoes And Spinach

Filed Under: 5-10g Net Carbs Per Serving, Low Carb & Keto Asian Takeout, Low Carb & Keto Chicken Recipes, Low Carb & Keto Instant Pot Recipes, Low Carb & Keto Main Dishes Tagged With: 31-60min, bay leaves, chicken thighs, garlic, instant pot, more10ingredients, onion, soy sauce, vinegar

About Julia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia is a low carb recipe developer and the founder of Savory Tooth. Her recipes attract over 1 million readers every month and have been featured in The Huffington Post, Parade, Yahoo, NBC Today, Country Living, and Reader's Digest. Learn more.

Previous Post: « Crab Stuffed Mushrooms With Cream Cheese
Next Post: Keto Pizza Recipe (Low Carb Fathead Crust) »
4000

Sign up for my newsletter
4000

  Notifications  
Email me when there are
Angie P

Made this recipe for dinner, my husband and three boys devoured it. It was a little salty for my taste. Will eliminate the salt on the chicken before sautéing next time. Other than, delicious and I will definitely make this dish again. Thank you!

Newsletter
Subscribe and get the latest low carb recipes by email?
Reply
5 days ago
Nicola

This looks like a really nice dish! Do you have recommendations on sides to go with it? Preferably vegetables?

Reply
1 month ago
Julia

Thanks! I think creamed spinach would go well with it. Here’s the recipe: https://www.savorytooth.com/creamed-spinach/

Reply
1 month ago
Jennifer H.

I realized while making this that it’s very similar to a dish my mom makes with pork instead of chicken. She also adds shiitake mushrooms and hard boiled eggs to it so I added hard boiled eggs to this recipe while it was on the last boil step. they were a very good addition and went well with the overall flavor of the dish. Any Tawainese folks or those in the know on Taiwanese cuisine may recognize the eggs as tasting similar to tea eggs but without the star anaise flavor. Anyway, I agree with other comments that it was… Read more »

Reply
1 month ago
Julia

Your addition of hard boiled eggs sounds delicious. I haven’t had tea eggs in a long time, but they’re one of my favorite street snacks (my parents are from Taiwan).

Reply
1 month ago
Sharon Hallberg

I made this exactly as written. The flavors were very good, but even with low sodium soy sauce it was way too salty for my husband and me. Also, it took about a half hour longer than estimated by author. Admittedly, this could be partially due to this being my very first Instant Pot attempt, but with all the preheating necessary before the actual cooking times can be achieved I think some time needs to be added to prep and cook times.

Reply
2 months ago
Kristi

I had made this for the first time, intending to freeze most of it for weekday meals, but after the first taste taste, I couldn’t stop eating it! I ate two of the chicken thighs while standing over the sink, and my husband (who detests onions) grabbed a fork and joined me. The next time I will make it, I won’t salt the chicken as I would prefer just a little less salty, and perhaps add a little water to cut the salt down further- I ended up with not as much sauce as I thought I would have, I… Read more »

Reply
2 months ago
Bianca Norris

Great recipe! My picky husband cleaned his plate! Thanks 🙂

Reply
3 months ago
Tonya

So delicious!!!! I followed the recipe as written with 2 exceptions. I didn’t have low sodium soy sauce and I used rice wine vinegar. I followed Julia‘s recommendation in a previous comment and used 1/4 cup soy sauce mixed with 1/4 cup water. This still didn’t cut the saltiness. So, while thickening in the last stage, I added about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and the juice of a quarter of a lime. This helped tremendously! In the future, I won’t salt the chicken at all in the beginning and add it at the table, if needed.

Reply
3 months ago
« Previous 1 … 4 5 6

Primary Sidebar

Photo of JuliaHi, I'm Julia! I create easy recipes for tasty low carb meals. I also share resources for starting a keto diet.

Follow Me

Emails sent twice a week, featuring my best keto recipes.

Success!

You've successfully joined our subscriber list.

Popular This Month
Keto Cornbread
Keto Cornbread
Keto Butter Cookies
Keto Butter Cookies
Zucchini Lasagna
Zucchini Lasagna

Footer

Site Usage

Use of this website constitutes acceptance of its terms and conditions and privacy policy.

About

savory tooth is a food blog featuring delicious recipes for low carb meals. These recipes are easy-to-make and perfect for a keto lifestyle.

Recent Posts

  • Almond Butter Cookies Dec 8, 2019
  • Spinach Tomato Breakfast Casserole Dec 3, 2019
  • Mini Cheese Balls Nov 19, 2019

Copyright © 2015–2019 · Savory Tooth

MENU
  • Recipes
    • *Browse All*
    • Main Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Instant Pot
    • Breakfast
  • Low Carb Diet
    • *Browse All*
    • How To Start
    • Shopping List
    • Science Articles
    • Meal Planning
  • Subscribe
  • About
    • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact