Summary:
Enjoy tender and juicy chicken thighs with onions, carrots, and a glaze-like balsamic sauce that's equally tangy and sweet. This low carb dinner is quick enough for a weeknight meal, yet fancy enough to make for company.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (Note 1)
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 1/4 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup red wine (Note 2)
- 1/4 cup
balsamic vinegar - 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- salt and black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare Chicken: Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Generously season both sides of thighs with salt and pepper.
- Brown Chicken: Select sauté mode on
pressure cooker (Note 3) for medium heat. Add olive oil to coat bottom of pot, then melt butter on top of oil. When display reads HOT, start working in 2-3 batches. Add single layer of chicken thighs to pot. Do not crowd them. Cook for a few minutes per side then transfer to plate. Repeat for remaining thighs. - Sauté Vegetables: Add carrots, onions, and garlic to pot. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off sauté mode. Stir in red wine and balsamic vinegar, loosening any flavorful brown bits stuck to bottom of pot.
- Pressure Cook: Return all chicken thighs to pot in single layer, placing them snugly on top of carrots and onions. Secure and seal lid. Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure, followed by quick pressure release.
NUTRITION
| Makes 3 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving: |
| Calories 430 (49% from fat) | |
| Total Fat 24g | 37% |
| Saturated Fat 1g | 3% |
| Cholesterol 243mg | 81% |
| Sodium 450mg | 19% |
| Net Carb 7g | |
| Total Carb 8g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 4% |
| Sugars 5g | |
| Protein 50g |
PHOTOS
This may be the best recipe I have made ever. My husband told me he would be happy if I made it once a week. I want to lick the plate every time I eat this. One time I didnt cook the sauce enough. Cooking it to the right consistency is key–Even if it takes way longer than the 5 min. I think I did ten today and it was perfect.
Thank you so much for such and easy and delicious recipe. What a precious gift you give to us by providing these for no charge.
Thank you for sharing your cooking tip and for the kind words. Hope you guys continue to enjoy this meal!
Add about 2-3 TSP of honey to the sauce before you start to thicken it, it adds a nice sweet offset to the acidity and tangyness of the wine and balsamic. Serve over tex-mati rice!
This was a real winner. My only modifications were about a half-pound of sliced creminis added with the carrots, and that I deglazed (with about a 1/4 cup of low-sodium chicken stock) after cooking the chicken because the pan had no oil and I thought the fond would start to burn. Next time, I’ll probably add another carrot as well as maybe a half-cup of low-sodium chicken stock before going to pressure. (We all wanted more of that delicious sauce!). Served with buttered noodles with a lot of chopped parsley and barely-cooked broccoli. This will definitely be in my regular Instant Pot rotation. Thanks for the great recipe!
I tried adding a few sliced creminis also, but I could never get the liquid to turn sticky (I boiled for 20 minutes)! Is it possible the mushrooms released too much extra water?
Made this tonight! It was a hit! We loved it, but wish it was a lot more food!! Will definitely make again. The sauce thickened about minute 7. It was perfect.
Me and my partner LOVE this recipe! It’s our go to for easy meals with a good price tag. We’ve taken to adding extra onions and lots more carrots. My go-to wine for it is a Pinot Noir, but I’m interested in trying it with some other reds! This recipe is great!!!!
A suggestion: for thicker sauce, add a couple spoonfuls of cornstarch at the end closer to a stew-like sauce.
Made this dish last night. Very delicious!! Thank you for the recipe. Served with white rice. Meal prep made for the week!! Yum 😋 Thank you.
I made this tonight with great success! I agree with adding mushrooms. I also used Balsamic glaze, which I had on hand. The glaze thickens up nicely. . Yummy!
Lovely and simple recipe. I ended up added two chicken breasts to the four thighs I had on hand; both meats were tender and delicious after following directions to the letter. Tasty sauce!
Absolutely delicious. I will double the amount of veggies next time. The sauce had a great rich flavor and fantastic texture. The chicken was so tender!
I’m making this right now, for at least the 4th time! It’s one of my favorite recipes. I love serving it with garlic roasted broccoli or brussel sprouts and mashed cauliflower with caramelized onions.
Honestly, it’s amazing cold, right out of the fridge the next day. Haha
Thank you for sharing!
Just made this for dinner and it was delicious. I cooked the sauce a bit too long. It didn’t burn, but there wasn’t much of it left. I loved every one of your recipes I’ve tried so far. Since my granddaughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a couple years ago, I’m trying more low carb recipes to pass on to my daughter for dinner ideas. Keep them coming!
How can this recipe be adjusted for cooking in a crock pot? I don’t have an instant pot.
Hi Julia, I don’t have an instant pot, can this be done in a slow cooker or in the oven? It looks amazing.
Sorry, I haven’t tested this recipe for the oven or slow cooker, but it’s on my to-do list!
OK thanks.
This was the very first recipe that I made in my new Instant Pot. The only change that I made was I used a whole red onion, shredded carrots instead of diced (that’s what I had on hand), and I added sliced portobello mushrooms. To keep it low carb, I made riced cauliflower to serve under the dish. Everyone loved it!
Thank you for this recipe! I love cooking restaurant quality meals at home and I am adding this to my rotation. This is one of the most delicious dishes I have ever made. I had to really resist licking the bottom of the pan and my husband requested rice next time so he could get more of the sauce. Chicken and sauce were cooked perfectly. Loved the flavor and tenderness from using thighs instead of breasts. All I did was follow the instructions and it turned out perfectly.
Could you use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs? If so, what would you recommend for timing?
Haven’t cooked yet. But instantly feel ready and not annoyed because you get right to the recipe and ads are minimal! Thank you! Excited to cook! Will share again after!
You’re welcome, Carolyn! I appreciate the feedback. Hope you get a chance to make this!
This a great recipe! I only had chicken breast on hand, it came out fine, but next time I will use thighs. I added 2 small carrots because I love carrots. This had such great flavor and unfortunately there were no leftovers. 😉 It will definitely be a frequent flyer in my kitchen!
Any modifications when doing this from a frozen instapot meal?
I’m not the author but have found that for my other chicken and sauce IP meals cooking thighs from frozen is good if you do 12 minutes with a 5 minute natural release. The only issue I see is that might overcook your veggies a little here.
Thanks for the recipe. Really good and super easy to make. I added just a bit more red wine and balsamic vinegar in my pot though, because it didn’t look like enough in my 8 quart instant pot.
This gets five stars for a really flavorful, yummy meal that was very easy to make. Great weeknight dinner! We paired it with an Israeli couscous blend, and the sauce was delicious on that too.
I have the instapot duo and the direction are vague. How long to sauté etc. I found the low sauté isn’t sauté so I put it on high and that was better. The recipe was delicious anyway.
Julia, you have excellent taste. This is a delicious recipe and so quick and easy to prepare!!! I added stone ground mustard, doubled the red wine, used entire bunch of diced carrots, used entire diced large onion, paprika, cayenne, oregano, vegetable broth, and arrow root to thicken the sauce at the end. I ladled the sauce over a side dish of quinoa. Next time, I plan to add sautéed mushrooms while thickening the sauce at the end.
Hi Julia! I’ve made this before and absolutely loved it! Was planning to make again tonight but realized I never defrosted the thighs 😱. Any way this can be modified to be made from frozen? Thanks in advance!!!
Just made this tonight. I followed the directions to the “t”. It was okay, but not our cup of tea. I wouldn’t make it again, unfortunately. I think I need to stick with the honey-balsamic chicken recipes. Just wanted to try something different. Glad it worked out for the other reviewers. 🙂