Instant Pot Peanut Butter Chicken {20 minutes}
This Easy Instant Pot Peanut Butter Chicken recipe is the perfect weeknight quick dinner idea for busy moms like you and me. With only a handful of pantry staple ingredients, this recipe can be made in under 20 minutes and your whole family would love it.
I absolutely love this Instant Pot Peanut Butter Chicken recipe because it made me explore a style that I have always wanted to dive more into.
This One Pot Chicken recipe only requires a handful of accessible ingredients that are mostly non-perishable and you probably already have them sitting in your pantry right now!
Peanut Butter and Chicken is not usually something I’d pair together, but once you’ve tried this you’ll never go back.
The Peanut Butter makes this dish SO creamy and the combination of the Nutty and Tangy flavor will make this your family’s new favorite healthy dinner recipe.
How to Make One Pot Peanut Butter Chicken
First Step:
Cut the chicken into cubes. In a big Ziploc bag or medium bowl, marinate the chicken with coconut amino, salt and arrowroot flour (if using any). Make sure the chicken is completely coated.
Second Step:
Using “saute” mode, heat up 1 – 2 tbsp oil in an instant pot. Add onion and garlic, saute until fragrant.
Third Step:
Add Chicken cubes (add more oil if needed). Flip a couple times until the chicken is slightly browned on the outside. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Use all of the top cream part of the coconut milk (roughly 1/2 cup) along with 1/2 cup of the liquid on the bottom.
Cover set the valve to “sealing” and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
Once done, release. Serve with rice, your favorite vegetables and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
My Favorite Ways to Serve
The acidity of the tomatoes balances the fat from the peanut butter and coconut milk and there’s only one word to describe it.
Heaven.
In order to make a complete, satisfying and healthy dinner for the whole family, you can pair it with jasmine rice, and vegetables.
I love incorporating rice into this dish because it soaks up all of the amazing Peanut Butter sauce.
I can’t wait for you guys to try this! I know you’re going to love it just as much as I do!
What Makes This Recipe Unique
1. Coconut aminos
Coconut Aminos is an amazing source of amino acids and has a low glycemic index.
In simpler words, it’s a great alternative to soy sauce and keeps the sodium content low in the recipe! Coconut aminos bring all the flavor while staying off of soy.
2. Coconut milk
Coconut Milk is another one of my go-to that makes a great alternative to regular milk which makes this recipe dairy-free.
It also packs in some extra creaminess to this dish.
3. Peanut Butter
I love all types of nut butter. The use of peanut butter in this chicken recipe not only gives it the perfect flavor profile but also provides the most creamy texture.
What if I Don’t Have an Instant Pot
No worries! I have Crockpot and Stovetop methods for you! Both are super easy and will make the chicken just as tender and SO yummy!
Crockpot:
Use the same preparation method. Then cook on High for 2 – 3 hours in a crockpot or until chicken is tender and cooked through
Stovetop:
Use the same preparation method. Bring to boil in a big pot on stovetop. Then simmer for 30 – 40 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through.
Is Peanut Butter Chicken Good for Meal Prep?
Absolutely! It saves well and is easy to reheat.
Here is how –
Once the leftover peanut butter chicken has cooled completely, you can store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 – 4 days.
And yes you can freeze it!
To reheat, let the frozen peanut butter chicken thaw under warm water for a few minutes. Then scoop it all into a pot to reheat over the stovetop.
Additionally, you can reheat in the microwave. Make sure you cover the container or bowl with a paper towel to avoid any spilling.
Note:
The refrigerated peanut butter chicken will be very thick (pictured). But once it’s heated, it will get creamy again. You can always get a few tablespoons of stock if the texture is too thick.
Get the recipe:Instant Pot Peanut Butter Chicken {20 minutes}
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast or thighs
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch, optional *
- Salt to taste
Sauce
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk, cream and liquid divided – 13.5 oz
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz
- 1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter
- 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 – 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- Additional Salt to taste *
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into cubes. In a big Ziploc bag or medium bowl, marinate the chicken with coconut amino, salt * and arrowroot flour (if using any) for at least 20 minutes. Make sure the chicken is completely coated.
- Using "saute" mode, heat up 1 – 2 tbsp oil in an instant pot. Add onion and garlic, saute until fragrant.
- Add Chicken cubes (add more oil if needed). Flip a couple of times until the chicken is slightly browned on the outside. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Use all of the top cream part of the coconut milk (roughly 1/2 cup) along with 1/2 cup of the liquid on the bottom.
- Make sure the chicken is evenly coated.
- Cover set the valve to “sealing” and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Once done, release. Serve with rice, your favorite vegetables and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Notes
- *Coconut amino itself is salty, so take that into consideration when you salt the chicken.
- ** If you don’t have arrowroot flour, you can omit it. I love using arrowroot flour to help lock the juice in and make the chicken extra moist.
- For Crockpot and Stovetop Instruction, check out the "What if I don’t have an Instant Pot" section in this post.
- You can use 1 to 1 1/2 can of chickpea instead of chicken to make this recipe vegan-friendly.
The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.
This looks delicious and am excited to try this. What kind of vegetables do you recommend to add?
Hi Ashley!
We recommend using tomatoes, bell pepper, carrots, onion, or celery!
Hope this helps, we can’t wait to hear how you love it!
Constance
FYI for Burn Notice – Another site has a similar recipe they advise you can so I’m the instant Pot as a slow cooker alternative and they recommend more liquid than you would use in the slow cooker
“Yes! You can make this recipe in the Instant Pot. You will need to increase the chicken broth to 3/4 cup, or use the more liquid part of coconut milk. Note that the nut butter has a tendency to create the burn signal so be sure to add in more liquid than you would use in the slow cooker. I recommend following my recipe for Instant Pot Cashew Butter Chicken to get the right liquid ratio.”
When replacing chicken with chickpeas, do you marinate the chickpeas as you would the chicken or add the marinade ingredients to the dish when cooking?
Hi Meghan-
Yes you would marinade as if you were making chicken!
Let us know how you enjoy it 🙂
-Constance
I’m a 30 year old single dude who has been having fun making meals for the week in the instant pot. This recipe is so tasty. I even added sliced red pepper for a little extra filler, as I am low carb and don’t do rice with this dish. Instant pot is so easy, because you can increase the portion size easily without any changes to cook time. My dish came out a bit more like a stew, with extra coconut sauce to serve with the meat. I added some habanero hot sauce too, which is always a good combo with this kind of flavor profile. Thanks for helping me find something I really enjoyed!
Like many other reviewers I got the dreaded burn notice. In all my years of cooking with my instant pot multiple times a week this was the first time I received this error message. I’d skip the arrowroot all together. Also, I found this dish to be a bit bland even though I added freshly grated ginger. It was a bit one note—peanut butter only.
Attempting to make this meal tonight. Followed directions exactly and my instant pot keeps saying “food burn,” so I’m afraid we’ll never eat 😱
Anyone else had this issue and/or how can it be prevented?
Hi Holly! While I haven’t specifically experienced this, it seems like it is a common error code that occurs on instapot. I would recommend that after you sauté your veggies and chicken– make sure to add a little bit of liquid to the mixture, and stir to make sure nothing is truly stuck to the bottom–and THEN add remaining ingredients. If you take a look at this article it shares some more info regarding this error. https://www.allrecipes.com/article/instant-pot-burn/
All the best,
Constance
I don’t have crushed tomatoes! 🙁 good substitute?
Hi Lauren, Do you have 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 can tomato puree, or 2 tbsp tomato paste + 1 cup of water? You could also add 2-3 fresh tomatoes to this recipe instead of canned tomatoes. All of these options would work for this recipe, just a slightly different result. Good luck!
Emmelie
The whole family loves this meal! Even my picky kiddos!
This was delicious! I too got the burn notice but thankfully the chicken was fully cooked so just turned it off. My whole family loved this recipe (9 and 11 year old too). Will definitely be making it again! Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Sabrina,
Yay! I am so glad that your family like them 🙂
Shuang
How much chickpeas would you put in with the chicken?
Hi Nicole,
I do 1 can drained and rinsed. Hope this helps!
Shuang
Thanks
Like many others, I got the dreaded burn notice. Scraped the bottom, tried again, burned again. Finished on sauté. Will just do on stovetop next time. Added extra red pepper flakes and chopped peanuts with the cilantro. Loved it!
Can you sub lite coconut milk vs. full fat?
Hi Meaghan,
You can but it wouldn’t be as creamy (thickness may vary).
Shuang
How long should you marinate the chicken?
Hi Haley,
For 20 minutes or so.
Shuang
I was so excited to make this recipe. I decided not to use arrow root because of the burn notice. I followed the recipe, used chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. I was surprised when I received the dreaded burn message on my instant pot. There was a thick layer on the bottom burned. It still smelled awesome, I transferred to a pot to make sure the chicken was cooked.
Do you think the peanut butter settled to the bottom? I was careful to make sure the ingredients were combined well. I used peanut butter that was just peanuts, no oil, salt or sugar added to it.
Hi Pam,
It could be the arrowroot flour coating. One way to avoid it is to scrape/deglaze the bottom with a wooden spatula before you close the cap. Hope it turns out for you. Let me know how I can help 🙂
Shuang
Hi Pam,
So sorry to hear that! Yes the peanut butter does a little bit. But for me it usually result in the chicken sticking to the bottom a little bit but if you stir/scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon, they should come off quickly. Hope this helps.
Shuang
Yes I think it’s the peanut butter. I chose to make this in my crock pot and put everything except the chicken/arrowroot mixture to add later and there was a thick layer around the entire crock pot. I think peanut butter just doesn’t cook well without more frequent stirring. Still an excellent recipe though and worth a try.
I made this recipe last night and my whole family loved it! I’m hoping to make it for my sister and her family but she is allergic to coconut. Do you have any good replacement ideas for the coconut milk? Thanks!
Hi Amara,
So glad your family loved it. Would you be able to use regular milk? Full fat milk would be my choice of substitution for coconut milk. 🙂
Shuang
HI Amara,
That makes me so happy to hear that! If your family could consume dairy you can use heavy cream instead. Hope this helps!
Shuang
HI there! Are there chickpeas in the recipe? I see it in the picture but I don’t see it in the ingredients listed. Looking forward to making this! Thank you!
Hi Lucy,
You can use chickpeas (only) for a vegan option for this recipe. Or You can use just chicken or both. Hope this answers your question! Hope you love it 🙂
Shuang
Made this for my birthday dinner for a Low FODMAP option. Skipped the onion and added garlic/onion free red chili paste. So so so Good! Usually I feel like there is something missing in the flavor of low FODMAP, but not this recipe. Two of us finished it off- I was full and still went back for seconds!
How much is in a serving? How many ounces?
Hi Sarah,
This recipe makes 6 – 8 servings with 1.5 lb chicken. I am not sure what it would be total in ounces.
Shuang
The flavor is amazing! I did however have worlds of trouble with the arrowroot. It burned a thick layer on the bottom when I was trying to brown. Had to remove everything and add water and deglaze. When I added everything back in, my pot wouldn’t pressurize because it made the burnt coating on the base again. Next time I’ll omit the arrowroot and I might even add a squeeze of hot sauce! Great recipe!
Hi there,
Oh no i am sorry it burnt. for me it usually has a thin layer on the bottom but wouldn’t burn. Maybe you can add extra oil when you brown it, or use less arrowroot flour. Hope it helps 🙂
Shuang