Instant Pot Italian Chicken Stew

A fantastic recipe for hearty Italian Chicken Stew made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Low carb, keto, paleo, and gluten free.

What’s In This Stew

This stew has tender and shredded chicken accompanied by vegetables like onions, celery, carrots, and tomatoes. Fresh basil, bay leaves, and dried oregano provide additional flavor, and the kalamata olives lend a pleasant tartness.

This recipe is pretty forgiving in terms of vegetables. You can easily substitute the onions, celery, and carrots with any leftover ingredients you might already have. Or if you have a favorite ingredient that you love to add to your Italian dishes, you can toss that in at the end.

I use boneless and skinless chicken thighs. You can substitute with another cut of meat, as long as you also adjust the pressure cooking time. You want the meat to be very tender and nearly falling apart, so that it can be easily shredded.

Equipment

I use a 6 quart Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. The stew only takes about 1 liter of volume, which is a little over 4 cups. Each serving is 1 cup.

If you’re looking to make more than 4 servings, you can easily double or triple the recipe. In fact, a 6 quart Instant Pot has a 5 liter maximum capacity. If you do so, you don’t need to alter the pressure cooking time.

Adjusting The Taste

To avoid an overly salty stew, pay attention to these ingredients:

• Diced Tomatoes: Make sure that these are unsalted. It should say on the can’s label if it’s unsalted vs seasoned.
• Chicken Broth: Make sure it’s low or reduced sodium.

If you can’t find unsalted diced tomatoes and/or low sodium chicken broth, don’t add salt until the very end. After the stew has finished simmering in the last step, do a taste test. Add salt and pepper until the stew is seasoned to your preference.

5 from 2 votes

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Instant Pot Italian Chicken Stew

A fantastic recipe for hearty Italian Chicken Stew made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Low carb, keto, paleo, and gluten free.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Natural Release 10 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 230 kcal

Ingredients

• 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 14 ounce can unsalted diced tomatoes
• 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves chopped
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives pitted and chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Select the saute mode on the pressure cooker for medium heat. Add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot.
2. When the display reads HOT, add onion, celery, and carrot. Cook for about 5 minutes to soften them, stirring occasionally.
3. Add diced tomatoes including liquid in the can, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaves, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir to dissolve the tomato paste. Turn off the saute mode.
4. Add chicken thighs and submerge them in the liquid. Secure and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes, followed by a 10 minute natural release. Manually release remaining pressure.
5. Uncover and use tongs to transfer the chicken to a plate. Discard the bay leaves, if desired. Turn on the saute mode for low heat.
6. As the liquid simmers, use 2 forks to shred the chicken and return them to the pot. Add kalamata olives.

7. Continue simmering until the liquid reduces to a stew consistency, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the saute mode, and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve while hot.

Nutrition Notes

This recipe yields 7.5 g net carbs per serving (1 cup of stew or 1/4 of entire recipe).

Nutrition Facts Per Serving

Calories 230
Total Fat 15g	23%
Saturated Fat 1g	5%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 70mg	23%
Sodium 390mg	16%
Potassium 80mg	2%
Total Carb 10.5g	3%
Dietary Fiber 3g	12%
Sugars 5.5g
Protein 16g

Vitamin A 71% · Vitamin C 32% · Calcium 4% · Iron 11%

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