Instant Pot Peanut Chicken

This Instant Pot Peanut Chicken is a delicious and flavorful dish that everyone will love, and it’s ready in minutes! The dish uses only a handful of ingredients and comes together easily. It’s an all-in-one Asian meal that can be served over rice or noodles. This recipe is an absolute must-try! If you love Thai cuisine, you will love this peanut chicken. Best of all, it’s incredibly easy to make and doesn’t take much time at all.

Instant Pot Peanut Chicken

Shredded chicken in a delicious peanut sauce.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Thai

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Time to pressure: 10 minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 417kcal

Equipment

• Instant Pot/Electric Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds chicken breast
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 13- ounce can full-fat coconut milk stirred
• 3 tablespoons lite soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter

Instructions

• Stir the can of coconut milk to combine the fat and the liquid.
• Add 1 cup of the coconut milk to a medium bowl.
• Add the garlic, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, chili garlic paste, and stir together.
• Pour the sauce into the inner pot.
• Add the chicken, and press it down into the sauce.
• Adjust the Instant Pot to Manual High Pressure and adjust the time to 8 minutes.
• When the cooking time has finished, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes.
• Open the lid, and stir in the peanut butter.
• Adjust the seasoning to taste.
• Stir in additional coconut milk if needed.
• Shred the chicken and serve with sauce.

Notes

• Sugar: Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to taste. 
• Chili garlic sauce: If you’d like spicier sauce, use Sriracha in place of the chili garlic sauce. 
• Chicken: If you’re using thighs, cook for 10 minutes. 
• Nutrition values are estimates. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 417kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 794mg | Potassium: 723mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 3mg

Instant Pot Peanut Chicken

When you want a flavorful chicken dish that is easy to throw together, try this Instant Pot Peanut Chicken recipe! The peanut sauce goes perfectly with tender, cooked chicken. Serve it with steamed brown or white rice. This chicken recipe is made gluten-free.

When life gets busy, it’s nice to have an easy chicken dinner recipe that you know the family will love. This Instant Pot Peanut Chicken is reminiscent of a Thai chicken satay since the peanut sauce is both a little savory and a little sweet.

Even kiddos love this chicken recipe that is nourishing and versatile. Serve the chicken with your choice of brown or white rice, and throw in a side of steamed broccoli to make this a whole meal.

Key Ingredients

Chicken breasts or chicken thighs go into this dish. Choose boneless and skinless options.

Onions and garlic add flavor, along with tomato paste and coconut aminos.

Peanut butter helps add a fantastic taste. If you’ve never had a chicken dish with peanut butter, then prepare to have your mind blown!

Recipe Steps

The steps to make this easy chicken dinner are really very easy, especially since you can make it all in the Instant Pot.

Let me show you how to make it!

Step One

In the base of a 6-quart pressure cooker, add the onion, garlic, coconut milk, tomato paste, peanut butter, coconut aminos, fish sauce, and maple syrup. Stir to combine.

Step Two

Add the chicken pieces and stir. Lock on the lid and set the time to 8 minutes at high pressure.

Step Three

When the cooking time is complete, let the pressure come down naturally for about 10 minutes. Then, use the quick-release to get rid of any remaining pressure. 

Carefully remove the lid and stir the chicken.

Step Five

Serve the chicken hot with your choice of steamed white or brown rice. Squeeze some fresh lime on top for added brightness of flavor. 

I hope your family loves this easy chicken recipe as much as mine does!

Recipe Tips & Substitutions

• Store any leftovers in a tightly-sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Or, place any leftovers in a tightly-sealed container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. 
• If you don’t have fish sauce, you can just leave it out.
• If you aren’t gluten-free, you can use reduced-sodium soy sauce instead of coconut aminos. 
• Please note that the nutrition label is just an estimate and does not include any rice served with the chicken.

Thai Peanut Chicken Instant Pot

Thai Peanut Chicken Instant Pot recipe get’s done under 30 mins & tastes amazing when served with steamed Jasmine rice. This Instant Pot Thai Peanut chicken curry is made with homemade spice mix, smooth peanut butter and is loaded with rich Thai flavors.

Instant Pot Thai Peanut Chicken

If you love Thai cuisine do check out this better than takeout Instant Pot Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) , Instant Pot Thai Green curry shrimp & Instant Pot Pad Thai.

Today’s Instant pot Thai Peanut chicken curry recipe is loaded with a gently spiced, aromatic, rich & silky smooth peanut butter sauce. The secret ingredient for this spicy thai peanut chicken curry is our homemade spice mix & a handful of toasted peanuts.

Ingredients

Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.

• Chicken: Skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs. We used chicken breasts.
• Onion: Yellow onion is a must. Do not use red onion.
• Ginger: Finely grated ginger works wonderfully well in the recipe.
• Garlic: Use minced garlic.
• Veggies: Zucchini and red bell pepper. The veggies are optional you can skip them if you want to.
• Peanut Butter:
• Homemade spice mix: Ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, paprika, cayenne, ground black pepper & salt.
• Brown sugar: You can use palm sugar or coconut sugar as well. The quantity would remain the same.
• Tomato ketchup: Add a subtle tang and great depth of flavor to the recipe.
• Liquid: Better than bouillon chicken base mixed with warm water or store bought chicken stock or normal water.
• Dry roasted peanuts: Skins removed. We dry roasted the peanuts on the stove top using a skillet. You can also dry roast the peanuts in the instant pot before beginning the recipe. Use the SAUTE function and keep it on HIGH heat setting. The peanuts are used as garnish and adds a lot of crunch to the dish.
• Cooking fat: Use any neutral oil, like – canola, light or extra light olive oil, sunflower oil, avocado oil, vegetable oil.

Tips & Tricks

1. Best flavor secret: The homemade spice mix takes this Thai peanut chicken instant pot recipe to the tops. Reserve half of the spice mix to coat & sear the chicken, this will lock the juices & preserve the moisture in the chicken. Use the other half to make the peanut butter sauce. Best flavors guaranteed!
2. No BURN ever: Deglaze the pot very well with the help of a spatula to loosen any stuck food particles. This will help prevent the burn error. Also, after adding the smooth peanut butter & the liquid mix it very well until the peanut butter fully dissolves into the liquid. There should not be any lumps.
3. Spicy Thai peanut chicken curry: Increase the amount of cayenne & add a few diced Thai red chili peppers for a spicy curry. Today’s recipe is mildly spicy!
4. Sweet Thai peanut butter chicken: Increase the amount of brown sugar, skip the cayenne. You can also sub the brown sugar with 2 tbsp honey.
5. Best Chicken: We used boneless skinless diced chicken breasts. You can use boneless skinless diced chicken thighs as well.

How to make Thai Peanut Chicken?

Step #1 Sear Chicken & saute aromatics

• Marinate chicken: Use half of the homemade spice mix and coat the diced chicken pieces very well. Marinate the chicken for 30 mins for best flavors. If in a hurry skip marinating, just coat and sear the chicken.
• Sear Chicken: Add oil in the instant pot and sear the chicken pieces until lightly golden around the edges. Use the SAUTE function & HIGH heat setting. Set aside the seared chicken.
• Saute aromatics: Add the onion, saute for 1 min, than add the ginger & garlic and saute until the onion begins to turn limp.

Step #2 Saute spice mix & deglaze pot

• Saute homemade spice mix: Reduce the heat to LOW settings and add the homemade spice mix. Saute for 1 min.
• Deglaze pot: Add the chicken stock and deglaze the pot very well scraping the sides & the bottom of the pot with the help of your spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and prevent the burn error. This step is very important!

Step #3 Prep the peanut butter sauce

• Prep the peanut butter sauce: Add the smooth peanut butter, ketchup, brown sugar and stir very well to form a smooth, lump free peanut butter sauce. You need to mix the peanut butter really well until it completely dissolves! This will prevent the burn.

Step #4 Add chicken & veggies

• Add chicken & veggies: Cancel the SAUTE function. Add the seared chicken, diced zucchini & red bell pepper and give everything a good mix. If you do not prefer the veggies than you may omit them. Check out details in the NOTES below at the bottom of the post.

Step #5 Pressure cook and serve

• Pressure cook: Secure the lid of the instant pot and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for just 2 mins followed by quick pressure release. Give everything a quick stir.
• Add roasted peanuts: Add the roasted peanuts, mix well. Save some peanuts and use them to garnish the Instant Pot Thai Peanut chicken curry.
• Serve: Serve the spicy Thai peanut butter chicken with steamed white Jasmine rice and enjoy!

What goes with Thai peanut chicken?

Thai Peanut Chicken goes very well with:

• Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
• Cauliflower rice: If you are on a low carb diet. This is not how they serve back in Thailand.

Storing Tips

Fridge: You can store the Thai Peanut butter chicken for upto 5 days in the fridge. Use air tight containers. Check out the reheating directions shared below.

Freezer: The Instant Pot Thai peanut chicken will last for upto 3 months in the refrigerator when stored in heavy duty portion control freezer safe bags or containers.

How to reheat?

Fridge: You can reheat the Thai peanut butter chicken curry in the microwave oven until warm or hot. The curry sauce thickens when kept in the fridge, stir in 2 tbsp water per serving and than reheat.

Freezer: Thaw the spicy Thai peanut chicken overnight in the fridge and than follow the reheating directions mentioned above.

INSTANT POT THAI PEANUT CHICKEN

When you are looking for a quick and delicious meal, Thai Peanut Chicken is the perfect dinner to serve up! Using just a few pantry staples, this creamy chicken dish is a must make dish. It’s also gluten and dairy-free.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Yield 4
Cuisine Thai

Cook Time 8 minutes
Recipe Type: Instant Pot
Difficulty: Easy

Total Time 13 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For Peanut Chicken:

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1” fresh ginger, minced
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 ½  lbs Farmer Focus boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into 1-1/2” pieces
• 2 teaspoon garlic chili paste
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (or almond butter)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

For serving:

• Rice Noodles or Zoodles
• Cilantro
• Chopped Peanuts
• Thai chilis

DIRECTIONS

1. Add oil to the insert of a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot. Press the saute function, and heat the oil. Once hot, add the garlic, ginger and green onions and cook while stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook until the outside is no longer pink, about 3 minutes.
2. Shut off the saute function.
3. Add in the chili paste, coconut milk, coconut aminos, honey and fresh lime juice and stir to combine.
4. Place the peanut butter on top of the chicken and do not stir.
5. Cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Once finished, move the steam release valve to quickly release the steam pressure. When the floating valve drops, remove the lid.
6. Stir the peanut butter into the chicken. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
7. Serve over rice or rice noodles with cilantro, chopped peanuts and sliced thai chilis.

Recipe FAQs

What kind of Instant Pot do you recommend?

I love the 6-quart Duo since it’s so easy to use.

Can I make this recipe vegan?

Yes, I would omit the chicken and fish sauce and use one pound of cubed extra-firm tofu instead.

Is there an alternative to peanut butter?

You can use almond butter or sunflower seed butter instead.