This Instant Pot Chicken Stew Recipe is a hearty and delicious one-pot-wonder that is perfect for cold winter nights or any time you want a bowl of comfort and nourishment. This chicken stew recipe is simple and quick, making it a great recipe to keep in your back pocket. And like most Instant Pot recipes, you can make this without an Instant Pot too, it’ll just take a bit longer.

This is a classic chicken stew recipe with no big twists or turns, although you can absolutely customize it with extras like red pepper flakes, fresh herbs, or a squeeze of lemon (my personal fave). This Chicken Stew is not thickened with any kind of extra starch, making it more of a brothy experience—but not as brothy as what I’d call a soup. That said, you can add starch if you want it thicker. I’ll include instructions on how to do that in the recipe notes.

How to thicken this Instant Pot Chicken Stew

I prefer this chicken stew to be brothy, so I tend to leave it as is. But if you prefer a thicker stew, There are a couple of ways to achieve that.

Method 1: Thickening with flour.

To thicken a stew with flour, dip the protein (in our case chicken thighs) into all-purpose flour to coat it on all sides before adding it to the pot. The light coating of flour will eventually mingle with the other ingredients in the stew and slightly thicken the broth. The benefit of this method is that the flour gets lightly toasted from the direct contact with the pan, which prevents the finished stew from having any raw flour flavour. Alternately, you can make a slurry with flour and cold water and add this after the stew is finished cooking. If you go this route, you will have to bring the stew to a boil at the end by using the sauté feature, and boil the stew for a minute or two or until the broth thickens.

Method 2: Thickening with corn starch

The corn starch method is great because it’s very easy to control the thickness of your stew. For this method, make a slurry by mixing a teaspoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon or two of cold water. At the end of the cooking process, turn the pot back to sauté and stir in the slurry. While stirring, let the stew come back to the boil and the broth should thicken slightly. Remember: You can always add more thickener, but you can’t take it away. So thicken carefully!

Bonus: No need to cut raw chicken!

One of my favourite perks of this particular chicken stew recipe is that the chicken thighs go in whole, so you don’t need to cut any raw chicken. It’s a small thing, but it saves time and cleanup which is never a bad thing in my books!

Ingredients you’ll need

The ingredient list for this Instant Pot Chicken Stew recipe is short and sweet. Here’s your shopping list:

Boneless skinless chicken thighs
Onions
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
White wine
Chicken stock or broth (I usually use Better than Bouillon unless I have homemade stock on hand)
Bay leaf
Fresh or dried rosemary
Optional: Flour or corn starch to thicken

How to make Instant Pot Chicken Stew

The process for making this stew is as simple as it gets.

Turn on the Instant Pot and set it to the Sauté function. Add the butter and let it heat up.
Add the whole chicken thighs in a single layer, season them with salt, and allow them to brown on both sides for as long as you have patience for. *Note if you want a slightly thickened stew, you can dredge the chicken thighs in flour before sautéing them, OR add a corn starch slurry at the end.
Remove the chicken thighs and set them aside. Add the onion and garlic to the Instant Pot and sauté until softened, stirring occasionally.
Deglaze the pot with the white wine, and add the chicken back in.
Add the chicken broth, carrots, celery, potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Close the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
When the cooking time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.
Break the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces with a fork and a wooden spoon. I usually do this right in the pot, but you can also remove the chicken and cut them up on a cutting board if you prefer.
Finish with a few cracks of pepper, and enjoy!

*Note: If at this stage you decide you want a thicker stew (whether or not you dredged your chicken thighs in flour), you can add about 1 tsp of corn starch mixed with 1 Tbsp cold water to the stew. Mix well and turn the Instant Pot back to sauté mode for a minute or two or until the stew thickens.

Tips for making this Instant Pot Chicken Stew recipe the best it can be

Brown the chicken first

To add extra flavour to your Instant Pot chicken stew, it’s best to brown the chicken first. This will give the chicken a rich, caramelized flavour that will enhance the overall taste of the stew.

For the juiciest chicken, use thighs

Dark meat has more fat than white meat, so it is very hard to dry out. By using it in your stew, it’ll guarantee that your chicken is juicy and tender.

Taste for seasoning

Seasoning is key when it comes to making delicious Instant Pot chicken stew, but depending on what kind of stock or broth you are using, the salt level will vary. Be sure to taste your stew at the end before adding more salt. If you are using especially salty stock (like some stock cubes) you may want to forego the 1 tsp of salt sprinkled onto the chicken at the beginning.

Freezing, storing, and reheating tips

Chicken stew is a perfect make-ahead dinner. You can store your leftover chicken stew in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If you want to store it for longer, you can freeze it. To freeze chicken stew, let it cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container or freezer bag. Label the container with the date and freeze it for up to 3 months.

To reheat, thaw the stew in the refrigerator overnight, then heat it up on the stove or in the microwave until it’s hot all the way through.

Enjoy your delicious and hearty Instant Pot chicken stew!

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