Instant Pot Peanut Chicken that can also be made on the stove top – a simple, delicious one-pot meal that can be made in 25 minutes! Paleo and GF adaptable, this delicious Balinese-inspired meal can be prepped ahead, or cooked ahead for the busy work week!
Everything is soul and flowering. I open and fill with love, and what is not love evaporates. ~ Rumi
Make this simple Peanut Chicken in an Instant Pot or on the stove top, either way, it’s a delicious weeknight meal that comes together quickly and easily. Chicken breast is simmered in a tasty, Balinese-style, peanut sauce then served over your choice of rice or a hearty bed of baby spinach and sprinkled with the optional but amaaaaaazing Peanut Chili Crunch.
The best part, this can be prepped ahead, stored in a ziplock, then cooked during the busy workweek. Or, cook it ahead on a Sunday and warm it up during the week. Either way, you will love it. Trust me.
How to Make Instant Pot Peanut Chicken!
If going the rice route, make sure to make the chili cucumber salad to go with it…..so fresh and flavorful!
This meal was inspired by our trip to Bali last year where the people are as kind and warm as the beautiful surroundings. The thing that struck me most while being in Bali was how two very different religious groups- Muslim and Hindu, lived so peacefully together, holding a respect and understanding for each other. It was an honor to witness this beautiful interweaving of cultures, a good reminder that this is possible when we live from the heart. Our thoughts create fear and with it, separation, barriers and prejudice. But our hearts want to love and connect.
If serving with rice, up your veggies by adding the Chili Cucumber Salad and wilted spinach.
Or serve the warm peanut chicken directly over a bed of baby spinach, gently wilting it.
Sprinkle with the optional Peanut Chili Crunch, which you will fall head over heals in love with!
It adds the best texture and flavor to Asian style meals…..so tasty!
What I love about this Instant Pot Peanut Chicken Recipe is, it’s basically “dump and go”. A good one for those of you who are short on time, or have little ones running all around you. Just put everything in the pot and give it a stir and pressure cook it for 10 minutes. That’s it. So easy! But not lacking in flavor whatsoever!
And remember, you can always swap out Almond butter for the Peanut Butter!
So delicious, so easy….. an Instant Pot Chicken recipe that can be made on the stovetop too! A fast and easy meal, that can also be made ahead if meal prepping.
For more Instant Pot Recipes, be sure to visit the Instant Pot Category on the recipe page!
And this Instant Pot, Thai Curry Chicken recipe is especially tasty!
PrintInstant Pot Peanut Chicken
Instant Pot Peanut Chicken that can also be made on the Stove Top – a simple, delicious one pot meal that can be made in 30 minutes! Paleo and GF adaptable, this delicious meal can be prepped ahead, or cooked ahead for the busy workweek!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: chicken, main, gluten free, instant pot, paleo
- Method: instant pot, pressure cooker, stove top
- Cuisine: Balinese
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes, sprinkled with pinch of salt
- 3 fat cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped ( or use ginger paste)
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 13 ounce can coconut milk (liquid and solids) DIVIDED, (do not use light- too watery)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (or use GF liquid amino acids)
- 3 tablespoons honey (or coconut sugar or brown sugar)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic paste (or sriracha, or sambal olek)
- —–
- ½ cup peanut butter (or sub almond butter)
- optional additions : 1 tablespoon lemongrass, 4-5 kefir lime leaves
Chili Cucumber Salad
- 3 Turkish cucumbers, cut into ½ inch thick, diagonal half-moons
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
- pinch salt and sugar (optional)
- optional – basil ribbons, scallions, or cilantro
Serve over rice or a bed of spinach (either raw or wilted) or both, with the optional Chili Cucumber Salad Sprinkle with the optional Peanut Chili Crunch, or even just roasted peanuts.
Instructions
Cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes, sprinkle with salt and set aside.
If using an Instant Pot, set it to the sauté function, and sauté the ginger and garlic in a teaspoon of oil for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add lemongrass if using. Stir the can of coconut milk with a fork- then and add 1 cup of the coconut milk, (you’ll add the rest after). Stir in the soy sauce, honey, lime juice, chili paste and the chicken ( optional kafir lime leaves) everything except the peanut butter in the pot, and stir. Drop the peanut butter in spoonfuls over top of the chicken (don’t stir it in).
Set to HIGH Pressure, for 8 minutes. Naturally release. See notes. (If using thigh meat pressure cook for 12 minutes.)
Once chicken is done cooking, taste a spoonful of the sauce. Adjust salt, lime, sweetness and spice level according to your taste. Stir in the remaining coconut milk if you like. Some of you will want it sweeter. I usually add more chili paste and lime. Sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.
(Alternately, if cooking on the stove top, cook the lightly salted chicken cubes in a dutch oven or large skillet in a little oil, until golden. Toss in the garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients, all except peanut butter, stirring to combine. Cover and let simmer very gently on low heat, 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, then stir in the peanut butter. )
If the sauce seems too thin, reduce a bit using the sauté function while constantly stirring, to prevent burning the bottom. See notes.
Serve over a bed of rice or baby spinach – or both and the Chili Cucumber Salad. Top with optional Peanut Chili Crunch
To make the refreshing Chili Cucumber Salad, just place everything in a medium bowl and toss. It only takes a few minutes and you can do this while the Peanut Chicken is cooking.
Notes
Stirring in the peanut butter after the chicken is cooked, or dropping it on the top of the chicken will prevent the sauce from getting too thick at the bottom of the instant pot which can cause a mild scorching. So drop it on top, or add it after you release the pressure.
The sauce will start off a bit watery, but will thicken as it cools.
This will become more and more delicious over the next couple days. When cooking chicken breast in a pressure cooker, the meat seems to “contract”. If you allow the pressure-cooked chicken time to “rest” (keeping in on the “warm” setting for a while) it will expand and absorb some of the sauce -the sauce will thicken and the chicken will relax a bit and become more tender and flavorful. That’s why dishes like this usually taste better the next day. A great one to make ahead!
If making or prepping ahead, I would just cook it ahead and refrigerate, allowing the flavors to meld.
To prep this ahead, and cook it later- blend all sauce ingredients (except peanut butter) in a blender. Pour over the raw chicken (in a ziplock bag) and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then pour it in the Instant Pot. Drop peanut butter on the top of the chicken or stir it in after it is cooked. Follow the rest of the directions above.
Chicken Breast cooking Times:
- 6-ounce chicken breasts- 6 minutes on high pressure for fresh ( 10 minutes on high pressure for frozen)
- 8 ounce chicken breasts -7 minutes on high pressure for fresh (11 minutes on high pressure for frozen)
- 10 ounce chicken breasts- 8 minutes on high pressure for fresh (12 minutes on high pressure for frozen)
Keywords: instant pot chicken recipes, thai peanut chicken, instant pot peanut chicken, instant pot peanut chicken, peanut butter chicken, thai peanut chicken, instant pot chicken recipes
We made this for the first time tonight, using the instant pot, and it was splendid! My husband loves spicy food and I love anything with peanuts in it or that has a peanut sauce, and this did not disappoint. I followed the chicken recipe to a T and we truly enjoyed it. The sauce had a wonderful consistency and wasn’t watery at all. Making the entire meal was a lot of prep, especially since I didn’t have crispy shallots on hand and to make them myself) but so worth it. Originally, I just glanced at the recipe, printed it out and THEN went to make it the next day, not realizing how long it was going to take to make the crispy shallots. They took the most time but despite the time involved in making them for the chili peanut crunch, I’d do it again in a heartbeat! That chili peanut crunch was fantastic. Admittedly, though, it didn’t pack half the punch from the hot peppers that the recipe called for. I only had red pepper flakes on hand so I used a tablespoon rather than 2-4 that was suggested. That was plenty of heat for me. Other than adjusting that ingredient, I stuck to the recipes for the chicken and also the cucumber salad (except I used English cucumbers because that’s what I had on hand). I even liked the cucumber salad but having said that, both of us decided that next time we make this chicken, we will serve a cucumber salad with a sour cream sauce that we like, simply because as tasty as your recipe is, we felt that with the chili peanut crunch and the Thai chicken recipe, adding the spicy cucumber salad was just a bit too much heat all in one sitting, but that’s just us. I’m positive that even if I had simply crushed peanuts and sprinkled them over the chicken, we’d still have enjoyed it immensely, but that crunch recipe is a real winner!
We won’t hesitate to make this again. In fact, I can’t wait until the next time my family gets together because THIS is the recipe I’ll be treating them to. The beauty of it all is that now that I have made everything once, I know I can get it all prepared ahead of time so that actually cooking it will take so much less time. Using the instant pot to cook this chicken in this sauce made the chicken so very tender. Just loved this meal! Thank you so much for sharing it!
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing Marlene- really appreciate you taking the time to write. The crispy shallots can also be purchased at Asian markets, if you have one nearby.
Thank you for the tip!
This recipe was fantastic. Exactly what I was looking for in a peanut chicken dish.
★★★★★
Was excited to make this but mine also came out extremely watery. Upsetting because it wasn’t cheap to make.
Im sorry about that. You can cook it on low and let it condense a bit. Just curious-did you use lite coconut milk? Sauce usually thickens as cools or sits in the instant pot.
I used half the coconut milk as you suggested. ended up not putting in anymore as sauce thickened perfectly as it cooled. I chopped up some peanuts/green onions/cilantro and put those on before serving. thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Mine came out really watery and soupy. Not sauced. But the chicken did taste very good!
★★★★
Hummmm, sorry about that. Did you use light Coconut Milk?
Absolutely delicious. I am a huge fan of peanut sauces and this did not disappoint. Don’t have an instant pot but made it stove top and turned out great. Tried making it once with tempeh, but I liked it better with chicken.
★★★★★
Oh Good! Tempeh is a good idea- I should try that sometime. Thanks appreciate this.
Amazing!!!
★★★★★
Do you think the recipe would turn out with natural peanut butter (the stuff made with just peanuts and salt)?
Yes, that is what I use.
I made this, and the peanut crunch and cuke salad, for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit. Thank you so much! This was really, really delicious. It’s going on the regular rotation for sure. Thank you!
★★★★★
Super tasty! My kids aren’t peanut fans so it’s great that the peanuts aren’t added to the end so I can serve their dishes just before. Tastes great with or without the peanuts.
★★★★★
I made this on the stovetop and it was delicious. I thought the sauce was thin, but after putting in the peanut butter, I turned the heat on low, stirring all the while, as recommended, and it thickened up quickly. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
★★★★★