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 workweek!
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.
Here’s a quick video to get the idea.
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 stove top 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
- 1 x 13.5 ounce can coconut milk (liquid and solids)
- 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 the coconut milk, soy sauce, honey, lime juice, chili paste and the chicken, 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 9 minutes. Naturally release. See notes. (If using thigh meat pressure cook for 12 minutes.)
(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, 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. )
Once chicken is done cooking, taste a spoonful of the sauce. Adjust salt, lime, sweetness and spice level according to your taste. Some of you will want it sweeter. I usually add more chili paste and lime. 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.
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.
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
Yaaaaaam! These bowls are making my mouth water. I absolutely love ethnic food and all-things peanut…Definitely psyched to try this!
Thanks Julia! Appreciate this! xoxo
I don’t see the recipe for the Chili Peanut Crunch?
Sorry about that…I forgot to include the link, here it is! Peanut Chili Crunch
Hi Sylvia,
I love Asian dishes with peanuts. I’m not sure I understand what the Chili Peanut Crunch topping is. Did I miss it in the recipe?
Hey Terry, sorry about that…I forgot to include the link, here it is! Peanut Chili Crunch
I loved this dinner! I don’t have an insta pot, so did it on the stove top in one pan. We skipped the rice, (which I probably wouldn’t do next time.. there was too much delicious sauce that needed to get soaked up into something.) and just did a mashed cucumber salad over spinach. Using the rice wine vinegar, chili garlic paste, salt and sugar as the dressing.
I also made the Peanut Chili Crunch Topping. So easy and simple! Can’t wait to make it again and play with some of your other spice suggestions.
Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful recipes! It has changed our life!
★★★★★
Isn’t it great when we travel and return inspired, even a year later? Amazing. This recipe looks so good!
Totally! Thanks Ashley-appreciate this!
This is why you’re my favorite! Simple, delicious, healthy, and inexpensive. Soooo yummy! I did the stovetop version, but since I needed to do tofu for myself, I cooked chicken and tofu in the oven and made the sauce by itself on the stove. The cucumber salad was awesome. Did farro instead of rice, plus spinach. The peanut crunch was perfect. Everyone raved. Loved it. Thank you!
Susanna, I loooooooove that you prepared it this way!!! Smart and efficient – and creative way of adapting. This is how I want everyone to cook….. in a way that fits their households needs! I will add your notes to the recipe- brilliant and thanks for sharing!!!
★★★★★
Nice recipe. 🙂
I used the ingredients of the sauce (expect the garlic-chili-paste) and marinated the chicken 12 hours before and added onions and sesame to the spinach.
Made it even more intense and enjoyable.
★★★★
I love recipes like this, packed full of flavor and ready in only 30 mins. I’m cooking this tonight! Thanks for sharing 🙂
★★★★★
Yummm!!! I am eating this as I type -honestly, it’s mind blowingly good! This is definitely getting added to our weeknight rotation, was super easy and came together really fast. I don’t have an instant pot but that didn’t matter at all!
★★★★★
Im so glad you like it Julia- yes surprisingly good for how simple it is! And leftovers are even better!
So fast, so easy, so delicious! Loved it with spinach. This is going to be my new go-to when I’m craving Thai or Indian takeout. And the peanut ‘crack’ topping is a must – thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks Sarah! Glad you liked it!
Can you sub coconut milk with light coconut milk, to reduce the fat & calories if that’s something I’m watching out for? Do you think it will drastically impact the texture? Love your recipes so much!
Hi Sylvia,
This recipe is delicious and was a big hit with my family, I only used two tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter and one piece of palm sugar. I took your advice and added kefir lime leaves and lemongrass. I sing your praises to all my friends and family and have passed on your website details – you are so clever and all your recipes which I use are amazing.
Thanks so much, Annette x
★★★★★
This doesn’t adequately explain what function to use to actually cook the meal. It say start with sautée but the sautee setting doesn’t have a high setting. Confusing. Otherwise a good recipe.
Im so sorry, I see the confusion and made it more clear. Thanks for pointing it out!
I made this tonight in the IP, and my husband devoured it! Since I don’t like chicken, I’ll be trying this with tofu soon. The cucumber salad adds a nice balance to the meal. Will make again!
★★★★★
I just made this but it’s kind of bland. Not sure why.
I’m so sorry Deb, and that seems strange? did you leave anything out? Salt?
I followed the instructions exactly and it burned. I’d recommend adding the peanut butter afterwards instead of spooning on top.
★★★
I have made this delicious dish numerous times for family and friends. The crunch is easy to make and tasty. I’m all for quick simple and tasty. This ticks all those boxes
★★★★★
Made this for dinner tonight and we absolutely LOVED it! Instead of the peanut crunch topping I chopped up some Thai chili lime cashews from Trader Joe’s because that’s what we had on hand. I will definitely make this again!
★★★★★
Such a great idea for the topping!
Wow! This was really really good. I made it exactly as the recipient stated and it came out perfect! The only thing I wish I had done was double the recipe. My husband loved it too!! Thank you for the great recipe!!
★★★★★
Fantastic! I made it without the salad and just served over rice. It was delicious and so easy. Thank you!
★★★★★
I love the sound of this recipe and can’t wait to make it. I saw where one person did tofu stove top but I’m wondering if I could do tofu in the instant pot – do you know?
Maria, I haven’t tried tofu in an instant pot yet- so honestly not sure what would happen. It’s on my list though…sorry I wish I could be more helpful.
Made this tonight and it is SO good! I put this with zucchini noodles and cauliflower rice and it was amazing for a cold and rainy night!
★★★★★
Love it! Sounds perfect!
Delicious and fool-proof. Putting this on heavy-rotation!
★★★★★
Thanks Sadie! Glad you liked it!
I’ve made this twice now– once with peanut butter and once with cashew butter. The second time I also used coconut cream instead of coconut milk (from Trader Joe’s) and the sauce was the perfect texture right away. My husband really loves this recipe which is a win in my book!
★★★★
Awesome, thanks Katy!
I couldn’t believe this recipe came together so quickly! I used whole frozen chicken thighs for mine so I cooked it for 20 minutes in my instant pot. Came out absolute fabulous! I can’t wait to make this again.
★★★★★
Awesome Diana, thanks for sharing!
If I could give this dish 10,000,000 stars I would! It is SO GOOD. I love that your meals are organized by season. It makes it so easy to plan out my week based on the veggies I buy (I usually go shopping at the farmers market on Saturday and then do batch cooking for the week ahead on Sunday). For anyone debating about making this, if you love chicken satay with thai peanut sauce, you’ll love this recipe. I doubled it and we ate it for dinner all week and were actually sad when it was gone! I made a double batch of the Asian Coleslaw and a big pot of rice and it was like eating at an amazing restaurant all week. Your website is my go-to place for recipe inspiration. I love how you layer flavors and that your recipes tend to revolve around plants, as we like to shoot for 2/3 of our plates being veggies. I also adore all the quotes you include in your posts. Your whole website is so inspiring and the feeling of who you are as a person really comes through on the page. It’s a centering stop and a reminder of all that is good in the world. Thank you for sharing your love of cooking with all of us.
★★★★★
Laurie! Thanks so much for this beautiful comment. It made me a little teary. Truly appreciate it. xoxoxo
Extremely calorie dense, mediocre flavor. Beware, this is not a ‘healthy alternative’. This is a high fat high calorie meal, even when served on spinach.
★★
Doug, appreciate your input. Yes it’s calorie dense. People define “healthy” in different ways. This is more of a “Keto” recipe….so definitely not for everyone.
I’ve made this few times and I am currently making this and I plan on straining it to make the peanut chicken. This Recipe is very good and Thanks for your help!
★★★★★
This is the first of Sylvia’s recipes that I’ve made and I am SO GRATEFUL I found you! This was a wonderful dish – my family loved it, it was easy, and I felt like a gourmet. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
My 16 year old son isn’t too keen on trying new things. But he not only ate it but he went back for SECONDS! That’s why this recipe is getting 5 stars
★★★★★
I’m making it now. My instapot has a poultry setting but that cooks on medium. Do I use the poultry setting for 9 minutes or try a different setting for high? Or just cook longer?
Hi Ryan! I don’t have that setting on my instant pot. I bet the chicken setting would work great, just not sure about the time. Are you cooking thighs or breasts? My guess, if cooking thighs, is to increase just by a few minutes. Was there a cooking guide that came with the pot? It may have a general guideline for cooking times. Please let me know what you end up doing…..curious!
This chicken is just delicious. Really happy I found this recipe.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this Betty! Appreciate your comment!
This is a very simple version of a wonderful Thai chicken that could take hours but is ready in minutes. I love the side salad.
★★★★★
First time making it tonight and I’m obsessed! My boyfriend loved it as well! Thanks for sharing
★★★★★
Great to hear!!!!
My husband made this in the instant pot according to the recipe and it was such a delicious meal plus left-overs. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks Lois! Glad you enjoyed!
Amazing! Added also galangal. And while making realized that with other south Asian recepies I never have added sugar or honey, that really makes the difference!
★★★★★
Really simple to make, the whole family loved it and as the author has said it did get better a few days later
★★★★★
Second time I’ve made this recipe and the lemongrass is life here lol. Makes the difference between basic and complex peanut chicken. Love it in the instant pot and on the stovetop and serve it over tri-color cabbage along with that lovely cucumber salad.
★★★★★
This was very delicious! We spooned it over spinach and sprinkled cilantro over it. Yum! Thanks – this recipe is a keeper!
★★★★★
I am absolutely obsessed with this recipe! My partner and I keep it on regular rotation in our house. I love how healthful, comforting, and luxurious this sauce is! It’s been really perfect for weeknights. Thank you for such a yummy recipe!
★★★★★
So happy you are enjoying it!
This is my third time making this in my instant pot and I love it! I haven’t made the chili cucumber salad, but I’ve been serving this on a bed of brown basmati rice with thinly sliced cucumbers and spinach. It is so good! I just wrote it in my personal recipe book because I have a feeling this will stay a favourite of ours for a long time!
★★★★★
I forgot to mention in my original comment. I always thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry at the end and it turns out beautifully.
Perfect! Thanks!
Glad it made it into your personal book 🙂 Thanks for the sweet comment!
I have made this a number of times now and get rave reviews every time. I tried it with cubed chicken thighs the last couple of times and it was even better. My personal taste is for it to be a tad less sweet so I halve the sweetener and since we are doing keto I use keto maple syrup which has worked well. I have made it with and without the wilted spinach and I love what the spinach adds. We do cauliflower rice and I make regular rice for whoever prefers it. This was the first dish I made in my instant pot and it was such a success I quickly got over my apprehension at using my new appliance. I have nevevr made the cucumber salad cuz I am just too lazy 🙂 also as a lazy person I just use chopped regular peanuts but that really adds a lot to the finished dish. thanks you so much for such an awesome recipe.
★★★★★
Thank you Debra- appreciate you sharing!!!
Wow!! I made this for dinner tonight, and we loved it! I made these small changes and it was perfect for us. I made this is my cast iron pan. I only used 2 tbsp of honey, and in the future (because I will be making this again!) I probably would still use a little less. I put all the sauce together, including the peanut butter and mixed it using an immersion blender. I didn’t use all the sauce. I will freeze it and use it later for a quick dinner on another night. But really, this was super easy and fast to make. This receipe is a huge hit for us!
★★★★★
Awesome to hear and thanks for sharing your adaptions!
I am planning to make this sometime this week and have a small question. The recipe says to use lime juice but the video shows lemon juice. Is this an either/or situation?
Yes, but I prefer lime.
Amazingly simple and delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks for the recipe! My batch turned out more saucey than I think it was supposed to, but it worked out well because I had some rice ramen noodles I wanted to use up. The noodles soaked up all of the delicious sauce, which was perfect because I didn’t want to waste any of it! The cucumbers were also a nice accompaniment to add freshness to the dish.
★★★★★
Yes the recipe does end up being saucy, but in the end, I left it that way, because well, it’s so tasty and more to use over rice and noodles, etc.
I just wanted you to know that we adored this meal, Sylvia. I will make it again and again. I am just learning how to put my instant pot to use and am so glad I found this recipe! I literally wanted to drink the sauce too, lol. So happy I have enough leftovers for myself tomorrow. We enjoyed this tonight with edamame 🙂 Will make the cucumber salad next time when I can find the Persian cucumbers. LOVELY!!
★★★★★
Thanks Laura! So glad you liked it!