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Home » Dinner Recipes » Pressure Cooker Chicken Stew

Pressure Cooker Chicken Stew

Published: Nov 25, 2019 · Modified: Mar 10, 2020 by Louisa Clements · This post may contain affiliate links

This post may contain affiliate links

Pressure cooker chicken stew is the perfect comfort food with bacon, potatoes, carrots and peas for flavour. This traditional chicken stew comes together instantly in a pressure cooker. This post is sponsored by Hamilton Beach.

Bowl of pressure cooker chicken stew.
Jump to Recipe
50 minutes minutes 24 Comments

Is there anything better than a stew in the winter? Well how about a stew that doesn’t take hours on the stove or in the slow cooker? Enter the pressure cooker. 

It took me a while to get on the pressure cooker train, but I am on board! A melt in your mouth chicken stew with potatoes, carrots and peas that comes together in under an hour is a true, weeknight winter treat. What more do you need? 

The truth is, I found the pressure cooker to be a little scary, I didn’t love the idea of turning a valve to then have a ton of hot steam pouring out. That’s why I am in love with the Hamilton Beach Multi-function Pressure Cooker—it has a unique steam release button, that keeps your hands safely away from the valve when releasing pressure. 

The multi-function pressure cooker is obviously used as a pressure cooker, but it can also be used as a slow cooker and has 11 preset cooking programs.

Hamilton Beach multicooker.

They key to making a good stew, of any kind, is to brown the meat first. Don’t skip this step! It adds a ton of flavour and I actually find this really easy in the pressure cooker, because you can use the “brown/sauté function” to brown the meat right in the same pot. 

When I started working on this recipe, I found that there weren’t as many pressure cooker chicken recipes as I thought there would be. Chicken breast can easily overcook in the pressure cooker, but in a stew, it ends up falling apart and it’s perfect. 

Pressure cooker chicken stew in the Hamilton Beach multicooker.

When making stew in the pressure cooker, always thicken at the end. 

The key to making a stew in the pressure cooker is to add the thickeners at the end, after it’s done cooking. Thickeners can make it difficult for the liquid to boil and generate the steam required for pressure cooking.

How to thicken a stew with a slurry?

Create a slurry by dissolving equal parts cornstarch and lukewarm water in a small bowl, then add it back to the stew, heating gently and stirring carefully so that you don’t end up with any lumps. 

Ladle full of pressure cooker chicken stew.
Bowl of pressure cooker chicken stew.

Pressure Cooker Chicken Stew

Author: Louisa Clements
4.22 from 90 votes
Pressure cooker chicken stew is the perfect comfort food with bacon, potatoes, carrots and peas for flavour.
Pin Print
Prep: 20 minutes minutes
Cook: 30 minutes minutes
Total: 50 minutes minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 slices bacon, cut into 1”4 slices
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 4 chicken breasts, cut into 1” chunks
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • ¾ cup white wine
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 4 yellow or white potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths
  • 2 carrots, cut into 1” chunks
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoon lukewarm water

Instructions

  • Set pressure cooker to “brown/saute”, add olive oil and bacon. Cook until bacon is cooked and lightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.
  • Season chicken with ½ teaspoon salt, sear chicken in batches, for 2 minutes per side, until lightly browned, a total of 4 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside, continue with the remaining chicken. You will likely have three batches to brown.
  • Add onions, garlic and remaining salt. Cook for 3 minutes until lightly browned and golden. Stir in tomato paste, stir and caramelize tomato paste for about a minute until it is a deep red. Add white wine and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, return chicken and bacon to pot, add potatoes, carrots, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves.
  • Press cancel, and cover and seal with the lid. Ensure valve is closed and set to sealing position. Select high pressure and cook for 12 minutes.
  • Once pressure cooker has reached pressure and cooked for 12 minutes, allow to natural release for five minutes, before carefully releasing all of the pressure.
  • Open the lid, and select “brown/saute”. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch with water, add slurry to stew. Stirring carefully, heat stew to thicken.
Did you try this recipe?Leave a comment + rating and let me know what you think!
Filed Under: chicken, Dinner Recipes, easy, gluten free, stew
Nutrition Facts
Pressure Cooker Chicken Stew
Amount Per Serving
Calories 397 Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Fat 13g20%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 106mg35%
Sodium 1142mg50%
Potassium 1407mg40%
Carbohydrates 26g9%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 39g78%
Vitamin A 3483IU70%
Vitamin C 30mg36%
Calcium 76mg8%
Iron 6mg33%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information is an estimate and is provided for informational purposes only. If you have any specific dietary concerns, please consult with your healthcare practitioner.
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4.22 from 90 votes (83 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Katie

    April 08, 2025 at 6:24 pm

    I always enjoy your recipes.This sounds delicious. Has anyone tried it in a slow cooker? If so what timing did you use? Thank you
    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      May 02, 2025 at 4:29 pm

      Hi Katie! You could cook this on low for 6-8 hours in a slow cooker. I also have a slow cooker chicken stew recipe you could try: https://www.livinglou.com/chicken-stew-fresita-sparkling-wine/ happy cooking!
      Reply
  2. Kim

    April 02, 2025 at 5:59 am

    Made this again with some tweaks after enjoying it the first time as written! No bacon, subbed olive oil. Added chopped fennel with onion. No wine, subbed extra freshly-made chicken broth. Skipped the bay leaves since I’d already used them to make the broth. Upped the potatoes by one, and doubled the thickener (cornstarch & water). What a soul-satisfying meal!
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      May 02, 2025 at 4:28 pm

      Thanks Kim! These are great tweaks and tips for other folks making this recipe. Thanks for letting me know and happy cooking!
      Reply
  3. Eve

    July 04, 2024 at 4:09 pm

    I just recently got my first pressure Cooker and was looking for easy recipes to start with. This was perfect! I skipped on peas but used everything else. Me and my family loved it. I will definitely be making this one again. It’s a keeper.
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      September 02, 2024 at 1:09 pm

      So glad you enjoyed, Eve! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, it is much appreciated!
      Reply
  4. Lee

    June 16, 2024 at 12:15 pm

    First time I used the pressure cooker and this was the perfect recipe to make with Very tasty and easy to make

    4 stars

    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      July 01, 2024 at 9:21 am

      So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Lee!
      Reply
  5. Patricia

    March 21, 2023 at 1:51 pm

    It was delicious!

    5 stars

    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      April 02, 2023 at 9:34 am

      So glad you enjoyed, Patricia!
      Reply
  6. Lesley

    May 21, 2022 at 9:56 pm

    Can this dish be frozen
    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      July 16, 2022 at 10:27 am

      Hi Lesley! I've never tried it, but I can imagine that this would freeze well. Let me know how it goes!
      Reply
  7. aMac

    October 12, 2021 at 9:25 pm

    So good…. There were no peas on the recipe but I’m going to add them next time. I did use a bit more cornstarch. Can you tell me what the green topping is on the photo? This was so yummy. A big hit! Thank you
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      October 20, 2021 at 8:24 pm

      Hey there! You're right, there should be peas in the recipe--good catch, I'll make that fix. It's a sprinkling of fresh parsley, I like the brightness that it brings to the dish!
      Reply
  8. Freya

    June 24, 2021 at 2:42 pm

    Yum!!!!! 4 stars because if I had followed the recipe and put salt in it would have been too salty! Bacon and stock have enough salt in them already in my opinion so I didn’t add the salt and it came out great! I also didn’t thicken it, it’s great as is. I used vege stock instead of chicken stock. And I replaced peas with celery. Will definitely be making this again!!!
    ★★★★☆
    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      August 31, 2021 at 9:29 am

      So glad you enjoyed it Freya! Yes everyone has different tastes in terms of salt!
      Reply
  9. Robyn Pryse

    October 28, 2020 at 12:54 am

    Going to try this tonight, looks easy and tasty. Love my pressure cooker!!
    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      November 11, 2020 at 11:30 am

      I hoe you enjoyed it, Robyn! Let me know how it turned out. :)
      Reply
  10. Anne

    July 07, 2020 at 1:30 pm

    We enjoyed this recipe. It wasn't quite what we were hoping for in terms of interesting flavour but a nice, hearthy and filling meal that was easy and cheap to make. We used bone in chicken to give it some more flavour and fat (and reduce the cost further) and I think that was definitely the way to go! One tablespoon of cornstarch wasn't enough to thicken it for us, not sure what went wrong there. We let it cook down for at least 15 minutes and still had to add an additional tablespoon of flour. Even then it didn't get quite as thick as the picture but it was getting there and good enough for us in our hungry state! I think in future I'd just add some less broth but good to know for others who might want to give this tasty recipe a try.
    ★★★★☆

    4 stars

    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      July 15, 2020 at 2:56 pm

      Thank you Anne! Glad you enjoyed it, I'm sorry to hear it didn't get quite as thick as you were hoping but I'm happy that you were still able to enjoy it.
      Reply
  11. Laura Corr

    May 05, 2020 at 1:35 pm

    This stew is absolutely delicious!! I made it in my pressure cooker that I have had for 40 years. I added frozen peas at the end.
    ★★★★★
    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      May 15, 2020 at 11:50 am

      Thanks Laura, so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
      Reply
  12. Asma Sheikh

    December 11, 2019 at 1:34 am

    Hi Louisa, This looks so yummy and healthy. Can I try this recipe with Rice Cooker?
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply
    • Louisa Clements

      December 22, 2019 at 8:41 pm

      Hi Asma, thank you! I've never tried this in a rice cooker, but you could definitely do this in a slow cooker as well. Let me know if you have any other questions!
      Reply

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Hi, I'm Louisa Clements & welcome to Living Lou. I've been creating simple, fresh & flavorful recipes for the modern kitchen for 14 years.
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