Simple Pressure Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Today’s post is a guest post from Nicole, Heat Oven to 350º. Nicole uses a Fagor 6 quart Multicooker. She lives in Utah with her student husband and 8 month old daughter, Amelia. She loves to eat, so she learned to cook. Between working and taking care of Amelia the things she cooks have gotten much faster and simpler. Using a pressure cooker helps her create the fast, simple, delicious meals her family loves.

————

I got an electric pressure cooker a couple years ago for Christmas and it is one of my favorite kitchen appliances, though I wasn’t sure about it at first. I had never seen one in use before and the first time I heard it hissing I ducked under the counter and sat there for a minute waiting for it to explode. I might have even army crawled my way out of the kitchen until it was done cooking.

It only took one use for me to become hooked on it, though. It’s a great way to save time and done right, pressure cooked food is amazing. Both my sisters, my mom and my sister-in-law now own pressure cookers. Since we love to share good recipes, when I found Barbara’s site here I immediately e-mailed them all to let them know. I’m so excited to be able to share a recipe of my own today.

Making Simple Chicken Cacciatore in an Instant Pot

An Instant Pot is one of the most popular brands of electric pressure cookers. They are easy to use and your Instant Pot can help you create this Simple Chicken Cacciatore!

This recipe has been floating around my family for a few years. Until a few days ago we had just been calling it, “Braised Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes and Peppers.” It was only while stumbling across another recipe that I realized it was really a simplified chicken cacciatore. The beauty of this recipe is how simple and easy it is.

The one thing I didn’t like about it was the long simmering time to braise the chicken and concentrate the sauce. It seemed like a perfect recipe to adapt to the pressure cooker since the braising would be done more quickly and in the pressure cooker you can use less liquid so the sauce is more concentrated automatically.

The end result is a deliciously moist chicken in a wonderful tomato sauce with chunks of tomatoes and green peppers. We serve ours over rice, but you can also serve it over pasta if you prefer.

Continue to Content

Pressure Cooker Simple Chicken Cacciatore

Print

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 large onion minced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth (or white wine, if you prefer)
• 2 green bell peppers cut into 1 inch squares
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

Heat olive oil in pressure cooker over medium-high heat (or using brown setting on an electric pressure cooker.) Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches cook chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes total, adding more oil as necessary. Transfer chicken to plate.

Add onion to the pressure cooker; saute until onion is soft, scrapping up browned bits, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add bay leaf, tomatoes and chicken broth; return chicken to pressure cooker and press into tomatoes until they are mostly covered.

Place lid on pressure cooker and lock in place. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Release pressure using quick release valve and remove lid. Add green peppers and stir into mixture. Lock lid in place again, bring to high pressure and cook for 2 more minutes. Use quick release and remove lid. Remove bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (If a thicker sauce is desired, you can remove the chicken to a plate and simmer sauce until it is the desired thickness. Do this before seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.)

Serve over rice or pasta.

Thanks so much Nicole for guest posting and sharing my excitement about pressure cooking with your family! It looks like a perfect, fast, simple, and delicious meal.

More Pressure Cooking Recipes from Heat Oven to 350º you might like:

Mock Chicken Pot Pie
Breakfast Brown Rice Risotto
Unstuffed Bell Peppers
No Fail Risotto
Mexican-Style Chicken and Rice