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Instant Pot Thai Lemongrass Chicken.
I havenโt talked much about this, and I donโt know how I havenโt, but you guys, Iโve basically stolen Asherโs dog, Merle, and taken him in as my own. If you follow along on Instagram, then you may have wondered about his frequent appearances, as he makes it into my stories often. Asher, who is nine, somehow convinced my parents to get her a dog towards the end of last summer. Sheโs the last child, so I think you can see why this wasnโt hard for her to doโฆ
My mom and Asher found Merle, who is a mini Australian Shepard in September. For a while, I didnโt spend much time with Merle since he is Asherโs dog. But then that whole trip to South Korea happened and I came back to the states about two weeks before my parents. This meant that I took Merle in, and in those two weeks I discovered that Merle is probably the best dog ever. No seriously, the best. He did literally everything with me those entire two weeks. We hiked every morning, heโd sit at my feet while I worked, and hang with me in the kitchen while I cooked. I took him with me everywhere I went, because again, heโs just the best dog. AND he listens to me, which I find greatly satisfying.
Since then, Merle spends a lot of time at my house. If you are a newโฆish reader, my house neighbors my parents house, so I just pick Merle up every morning, we hike and then he spends the day with me until Asher gets out of school. At which time Asher demands that he come back home to hang with her. This week however, Merle is with me full time again, and I canโt lie, I love having him here. Heโs cute, cuddly, kind, and again, he listens to me, which I love. And as I type this, Merle is sitting not an inch away. I finally get that whole saying that, dog is manโs best friend. Thatโs Merle!
Anyway, that little story has not a thing to do with todayโs recipe, but I thought we needed a fun intro, because itโs Wednesday and I think all Wednesdays could use a bright little story.
Plus, I clearly just had Merle on my mindโฆ
OK. OKAY.
Moving on.
Letโs talk all things Thai chicken and instant pot.
As I have said, when I first got my Instant Pot, I wasnโt really that crazy about it. I think I tossed the first two, three, maybe even four recipes I made out. But once I got past the learning curve, I slowly began to really love the instant pot, like I do my slow cooker. There are certain foods that I find the instant pot cooks better than others, and if you ask me, the instant pot cooks chicken perfect every single time. And thatโs where this Thai chicken comes into play.
Iโm a huge fan of Thai anything, but especially Thai food with a little lemongrass. Itโs comforting yet fresh at the same time and full of so much flavor.
As with most instant pot recipes, you pretty much just add everything to the pot, set it, and dinner is done in about twenty or so minutes. No dirtying up too many dishes or even the stove, a major bonus in my book (if you didnโt already know, I hate doing dishes and cleaning the stove!). The chicken is tender, a little on the spicy side, hinted with coconut, and finished off with plenty of lime. It would be delicious packed into a wrap or maybe even served in a salad, but I personally like to serve my chicken up over a bed of steamed rice and top it simply with carrots and greens.
Itโs nothing too fancy, but yet itโs incredibly delicious. The major plus, is that it takes no time at all to make. Perfect for busy nights, or nights when you really just donโt feel like cooking.
Oh, and if you have any leftovers, theyโd be great packed up for lunches!
Instant Pot Thai Lemongrass Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 can (13.5 ounce) full fat coconut milk
- 1 small yellow onion, quartered
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoons lemongrass paste
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red fresno pepper or jalapeรฑo, seeds removed and chopped
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly torn
- juice of 1 lime
- peanuts, shredded carrots, and green onions, for serving
- steamed rice for, serving
Instructions
- 1. In a blender, combine the coconut milk, onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, curry paste, fish sauce, and a pinch of both salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.ย 2.ย In the bowl of your instant pot, combine the chicken, coconut sauce, bell pepper, fresno pepper, and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook on high pressure/manual for 8 minutes. 3. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function. Set the Instant pot to sautรฉ and bring to a boil, boil 5 minutes or until the liquid reduces slightly. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Shred the chicken using two forks. Stir in the cilantro, basil, and lime juice.ย Season with salt.3. Serve the chicken over rice and top with peanuts, carrots, and green onions. Enjoy!ย
Slow Cooker
- 1. In a blender, combine the coconut milk, onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, curry paste, fish sauce, and a pinch of both salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.ย 2.ย In the bowl of your slow cooker, combine the chicken, coconut sauce, bell pepper, fresno pepper, and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours. Once done cooking, remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Shred the chicken using two forks. Stir in the cilantro, basil, and lime juice. Season with salt. Finish as directed above.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Dinner in minutes. Canโt beat that.
Love this recipe! I did the slow cooker method and the chicken breast was so flavorful. I omitted the spicy pepper so our 3-year-old could enjoy this with us and it was a hit with the whole family.
Hey Claire,
Awesome! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad it was a hit! Happy Halloween!๐
Love this recipe! I have made it twice and I think it will be a staple. Great for a busy week night.
Hi! Thank you SO much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! xT
This was delicious! I used chicken thighs and the instant pot directions, and it also made for delicious leftovers.
Hey Katherine,
Fantastic! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great weekend:)
This was delicious! I love that this could easily be a cozy winter dish to warm you up or a summer dish if you add some cayenne for spice and some pineapple at the end to brighten it up! So versatile!
Hi Kaley,
Fantastic!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and sharing your review:)
So, what which why two ways to cook? Don’t understand
Hi Dennis,
So sorry, I am not sure what you are asking? Please let me know how I can help! xx
Definitely not dinner in minutes, takes more like an hour in total. Like other reviews mentioned it comes out watery not thick like in pictures.
Hi Jackie,
Sorry to hear the recipe was not enjoyed, thanks for making it. xTieghan
what if i use the pan or wok will it work?
Hey there,
Sure, you can also cook this recipe on the stove top:) I hope you love the dish, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Iโve been making this on a monthly basis, and itโs so good over rice or soba noodles! I definitely read the recipe wrong however and have been blending up the pepper IN the sauce! Honestly, Iโm not going to correct this mistakeโฆ it makes the sauce a thick, peppery, coconut sauce that we love.
Thanks for this!
Hey Colin,
Wonderful! I am so glad this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! Have a lovely week:) xTieghan
Good taste but the instapot makes the sauce to runny and looks nothing like the picture even after sautรฉing for 10 minutes. I will make again but I will cook the chicken in the instapot and warm the sauce on the stove
Hey Mike,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! xTieghan
If I have lemon grass, but not lemon grass paste could I sub in the real thing? Or should I run the lemon grass through a food processor to make it paste-like? Thanks!
Hey Emily,
I think that will be fine to use because you are going to put it in the food processor anyways. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So easy and so so so good! Devoured all of this. Topped with jalapeno, green onion, peanuts, and avocado.
Yes! So happy you loved this one, Sara! xTieghan
Hey! I inaugurated my instant pot with this recipe – it was sooooooo good! Thank you so much. I have a request if you could share instant pot instructions in more recipes would be great! Thank you so much
Thank you so much Ashana! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan