Keep your house cool in the summertime by making this delicious and super simple keto- and Whole30-friendly Instant Pot Summer Italian chicken stew! It’s a quick blast of summer, with tender chicken, juicy cherry tomatoes, fragrant fresh herbs, and buttery, briny green olives.
Instant Pot Keeps Your House Cool!
One of my favorite cooking appliances to use in the summer is my handy dandy Instant Pot. At the end of a hot summer day, I’m sweaty and tired, and in no mood to cook.
Thankfully, I’ve got this wonder appliance! With this indispensable electric pressure cooker, I can throw in a bunch of seasonal ingredients and presto change-o!: a flavor-packed dinner is ready in no time at all, and my kitchen stays cool. Plus, you can take advantage of summer produce and make this fantastic Italian chicken stew in a flash!
Want more Instant Pot recipes? I’ve got ’em all right here!
Can you use other Chicken Parts?
As always, I highly recommend that you use chicken thighs instead of boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they won’t dry out as easily. Plus, chicken thighs simply taste better (see Exhibit A: Cracklin’ Chicken).
But yes, you can definitely use other chicken parts and my recipe below has cooking times for boneless chicken breasts, drumsticks, bone-in thighs, etc.
Do you need to add extra liquid?
Nope! Everyone always asks me why I don’t add at least a cup of liquid to this Instant Pot recipe and it’s because it’s not necessary—the mushrooms, onions, cherry tomatoes, and chicken release enough liquid for the contents to reach high pressure. Adding extra liquid will only dilute the flavors more. Trust me!
What can you serve with it?
This summer stew tastes great ladled over Cauliflower Rice, Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash, or Garlic Cauliflower Mashed “Potatoes.” I also love to serve it with a big green salad, Roasted Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic or Whole Roasted Cauliflower. You can totally toss it with gluten-free pasta or even regular pasta—your secret is safe with me!
Can you make this in a slow cooker or on the stove?
Yep! If you are cooking this Italian chicken stew in the slow cooker, sauté the veggies in a skillet before transferring it to the slow cooker. Then, add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 2 to 4 hours.
Making it on the stove? Cook everything in a large sauce pan or deep skillet and simmer covered for about 30 minutes or until the chicken thighs reach 165°F and are tender. (Chicken breasts will cook quicker, so start checking them at the 20 min mark.)
Time to make Instant Pot Summer Italian Chicken!
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ghee, avocado oil, or olive oil
- 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
- ½ pound cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup pitted green olives (I love Castelvetrano olives)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
Equipment
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
- My favorite Instant Pot models are listed here.
Method
Grab your chicken thighs and sprinkle ¾ teaspoons kosher salt all over them. You can do this part up to two days in advance, and keep the chicken covered in the fridge.
Press the “Sauté” button on the Instant Pot or heat a stovetop pressure cooker over medium heat. Add your fat of choice.
When the fat is shimmering, add the onions, carrots, and mushrooms, and a ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
Sauté the vegetables until the softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Add the salted chicken, cherry tomatoes and green olives to the pot.
Give it all a good stir.
Turn off the sauté function, and lock the lid on the pressure cooker.
I position my Instant Pot under my stovetop exhaust vent before I program the pressure cooking so that when the chicken’s done and I immediately release the pressure, the vent will suck up all the steam. Your kitchen cabinets will thank you. (Stick a cutting board underneath your cooker if your stovetop grates aren’t even—and remember not to turn on your stove!)
If you’re using an Instant Pot, press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button and set the cooking time at 10 minutes for boneless thighs. Other chicken cuts? Program 7 minutes under high pressure for boneless chicken breasts (if your chicken boobs are bigger than 8 ounces each, you can cut them in half or increase the cooking time to 9 minutes) and 15 minutes under high pressure for bone-in thighs and drumsticks.
(For those of you using a stovetop pressure cooker, crank the heat to high to bring the contents to high pressure. Once high pressure is reached, reduce the heat to low, or just enough to maintain high pressure. Set a timer for 6 minutes for breasts and 9 minutes for thighs.)
When the chicken is finished cooking, turn on the stovetop exhaust fan before turning the pressure cooker valve to release the steam.
Remove the lid right away to prevent overcooking. Add the freshly cracked black pepper and adjust the seasoning with additional salt as needed.
If you want a thicker gravy, remove the chicken and blend up the vegetables and cooking liquid with an immersion blender. Personally, I don’t have time for this step. BECAUSE I’M HOT AND TIRED, REMEMBER?
Stir in the fresh herbs, and serve immediately.
Wondering what to serve with this? This stew tastes great ladled over cauliflower rice or garlic cauliflower mashed “potatoes.”
Or just eat it as-is if you don’t want to dirty any other pots or pans.
Toss any leftovers (covered, of course) in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Want more Instant Pot recipes? I’ve got ’em all right here!
[Originally posted on August 7, 2016. Updated with new details and photos on August 10, 2020.]
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Instant Pot Summer Italian Chicken (Keto, Paleo, Whole30, Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ghee avocado oil, or olive oil
- 1 small onion coarsely chopped
- 2 medium carrots coarsely chopped
- ½ pound cremini mushrooms stemmed and quartered
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup pitted green olives (I love Castelvetrano olives)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Grab your chicken thighs and sprinkle ¾ teaspoons kosher salt all over them. You can do this part up to two days in advance, and keep the chicken covered in the fridge.
- Press the "Sauté" button on the Instant Pot or heat a stovetop pressure cooker over medium heat. Add your fat of choice.
- When the fat is shimmering, add the onions, carrots, and mushrooms, and a ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Sauté the vegetables until the softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the salted chicken, cherry tomatoes and green olives to the pot. Give it all a good stir.
- Turn off the sauté function, and lock the lid on the pressure cooker.
- If you’re using an Instant Pot, press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button and set the cooking time at 10 minutes for boneless thighs. Other chicken cuts? Program 7 minutes under high pressure for boneless chicken breasts (if your chicken boobs are bigger than 8 ounces each, you can cut them in half or increase the cooking time to 9 minutes) and 15 minutes under high pressure for bone-in thighs and drumsticks.(For those of you using a stovetop pressure cooker, crank the heat to high to bring the contents to high pressure. Once high pressure is reached, reduce the heat to low, or just enough to maintain high pressure. Set a timer for 6 minutes for breasts and 9 minutes for thighs.)
- When the chicken is finished cooking, release the pressure manually.
- Remove the lid right away to prevent overcooking. Add the freshly cracked black pepper and adjust the seasoning with additional salt as needed.
- If you want a thicker gravy, remove the chicken and blend up the vegetables and cooking liquid with an immersion blender.
- Stir in the fresh herbs, and serve immediately.
- Toss any leftovers (covered, of course) in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Video
Notes
- I position my Instant Pot under my stovetop exhaust vent before I program the pressure cooking so that when the chicken’s done and I immediately release the pressure, the vent will suck up all the steam. Your kitchen cabinets will thank you. (Stick a cutting board underneath your cooker if your stovetop grates aren’t even—and remember not to turn on your stove!)
- When the chicken is finished cooking, turn on the stovetop exhaust fan before turning the pressure cooker valve to release the steam.
Sharon says
I made this last night with a few substations with what I had, and it was delicious. Served it over cauliflower rice.
Teri says
Wonderful! If you are a whole30 or keto, you will love this recipe. Super easy & quick. Only ad lib for me was to use more green olives (never too many for me!) and at the end used some dried Italian herb spice, along with the fresh parsley & basil. There was plenty of liquid at the end. Oh, and I could find cremini mushrooms, so i used white mushrooms. When I make this again, i think some capers would be a good add—just a personal preference.
Carolyn says
This is on regular rotation in our house! I always add more veggies than the recipe calls for with great results!!
Lynne Miles says
I made this because the Hubs loves green olives in things. It was good. We ate it all. Liked all the fresh ingredients. Flavor combo just wasn’t a top favorite like many of her recipes.
debra merle says
This is the best chicken recipe EVER!! We make it all the time – absolutely delicious!!
Heather says
I made this tonight (my first ever time using my Instant Pot’s pressure cooker functionality) and it was SO GOOD. I used chicken breasts because that’s what I had in the freezer, and they definitely didn’t dry out. Yum.
Helen says
Served this to my family last night and they all loved it! I didn’t have fresh herbs so added 1tbspn dried parsley and basil instead. It was delicious with the briney olives. This dish will be added into the meal rotation.
I want to forward the recipe to my mom who doesn’t have an instant pot… how long to cook on stovetop or in the oven? Thanks!
Michelle Tam says
Stovetop and slow cooker instructions are in the post!
Jane Atkinson d'hemecourt says
I just made this tonight. I usually dismiss people who change things but….. I had no basil so I doubled the parsley. The flavor profile of this dish is amazing! I served it with a big salad and pasta! DEEEEEELICIOUS!
Michelle Tam says
Yahoo!
Megan says
Made this over the weekend and loved it! When I make it again, I think I will increase the veggies to have more broth and shred the chicken after it cooks to make more a one-bowl meal. I omitted the olives because my husband can’t eat them and there was still plenty of liquid from all the other veggies.
Ian says
This recipe is delicious. I have made it 3 times now. The only change I have made to it was to cook a lb of mild Italian sausage separately, drain it, and then add when you put in the chicken. It adds a whole other dimension. Fresh basil from the garden makes it work!
Jade says
One of my favorite IP recipes! It’s especially good when the cherry tomatoes are in season. We chop up a couple of slices of bacon and add it in the pot with everything, adds even more flavor and umami.
Gretchen Smith says
Made this tonight. High-five! So good! I didn’t have fresh herbs so I can only imagine how much tastier it would be if I had. This is totally going into the recipe box. Thank you!
Barb says
I made this dish last night. I was worried because there was not any liquid in the dish. However, the cherry tomatoes totally took care of that. It was perfect and delicious! I served it over rice noodles.
Adorisa says
I came across this recipe on 8/15/2017 and printed it. I put it in my file folder of recipes I want to try and … well… three years later I’m cleaning out the folder and decided to finally make this recipe. I regret not trying it sooner. It was delicious and SO flavorful. Used tomatoes, parsley and basil from my garden. I made as written and wouldn’t change a thing. I googled the recipe just to leave a review. Wow! Thank you for the tasty recipe.
Maddy Avena says
Finally made this! Made ½ recipe because it’s just me and had to cook longer. Less liquid why? Anyway, like another commenter said, can’t have too many green olives so I doubled from the recipe which quadrupled for the ½ recipe. (These were canned green olives. Jarred olives, much more piquant in flavor, I’d only use what was in the recipe.) I did use my immersion blender to make the veggies into gravy.
Only sub: Used my own dried basil from last summer and so cooked it with the dish. Added fresh parsley at the end.
Delish!!!
JENNIE FIELDS says
We love this recipe and all my guest do too. My husband doesn’t like the texture of mushrooms so I finely mince them in the food processor and put them in when Michelle suggests. The result is spectacular. The fine flecks of mushrooms thicken the sauce, make it cling to chicken and seem to add extra umami – more than with sliced or whole mushrooms – (I’ve made it that way too, so I know.) This is a standby favorite at our house!
Abby says
I think I’m the last person in America who doesn’t own a pressure cooker. Any suggestions on how I can convert this for the stovetop? Thanks in advance!
Michelle Tam says
There are stovetop and slow cooker instructions in the post!