Next Post
Extra Sticky Maple Pecan Sticky Buns.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
This Healthier Instant Pot Coq au Vin is for those cold fall and winter nights when you want a fancy slow braised chicken, but you want it ready in less than an hour. All made in the instant pot (or the slow cooker), using simple, wholesome ingredients that you might already have on hand. This dish is warm, flavorful, hearty but healthy, and so delicious. Great for both a simple family dinner and holiday entertaining.
What better way to start Monday off than with an easier, healthier take on a fancy French classic? Especially one that involves cooking with red wine? Yes, this is a good Monday recipe.
Coq au vin is a family favorite. Every time I make it, I love it more and more.
Coq au Vin is the fancy French way of saying chicken braised in red wine. It’s a truly delicious and hearty recipe that’s perfect when served over mashed potatoes. Add a side of crusty bread to soak up all the flavorful red wine sauce…la perfection!
Today I’m simplifying the traditionally lengthy recipe by cooking this entirely in the instant pot in less than an hour. If you prefer to use the slow cooker I’ve included directions for that too, you choose. But by far, the most requests this past month have been for more instant pot recipes.
It seems as though everyone is getting on board with the instant pot. Which makes me happy, because I actually love it too. It definitely took me a while to get on the instant pot train. But once I got the hang of cooking with it, I quickly realized why everyone loves their instant pot so much. It’s kind of like cooking magic, and I do think it cooks the best chicken every single time…
Which is why I am excited for today’s recipe!
As mentioned, coq au vin is traditionally a French style chicken that’s slowly cooked in red wine on the stove top. Some recipes require four plus hours of cooking, multiple steps, a good amount of ingredients, and a lot of hands on time. That’s all great if we have the whole day to spend in the kitchen, but I totally get that most of us just don’t.
Enter this healthier, easier take on Coq au Vin that’s made entirely in the instant pot.
It’s simple, it’s quick, it’s flavorful…and just oh so good. The secret? A little bit of bacon, red wine, and plenty of fresh thyme (fresh herbs are my current obsession).
Here’s how you make it. You ready? It’s simple.
Cook up the bacon and get it nice and crisp. Add in the onions, garlic, and tomato paste, cooking until fragrant. Then add the wine, chicken and herbs. Cover and cook for a bit. In about 20 or so minutes, you’ll be done.
I know it sounds too good to be true, but I promise, it really is this simple.
A few notes.
Traditionally, coq au vin is made with whole chicken pieces. I used chicken breasts, which not only cook up quicker, but are also a lighter choice than skin on dark meat. The red wine helps to keep the chicken from drying out. The instant pot cooks the chicken until it’s perfectly tender and tastes as though it’s been slow cooked all day long.
It’s going to seem like a lot of wine to use, but trust me, it’s going to be great. The wine is the heart of the recipe, providing flavor while also helping to tenderize the chicken, so don’t skip it.
Highly recommending these mashed potatoes and a crusty side of bread. And for anyone looking for a simple stove-top version, check out this recipe.
Also? Maybe pour yourself a glass of wine while you’re cooking. It’s Monday and that just sounds like a nice idea…
If you make this coq au vin please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Healthier Instant Pot Coq au Vin
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 452 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2-3 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 thyme sprigs
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- mashed potatoes, for serving
Instructions
Instant Pot
- 1. Set Instant Pot to sauté. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon. If there's excess bacon grease, drain off all but 1 tablespoon. 2. To the instant post, add the onion, garlic, and tomato paste and cook an additional 5 minutes. Turn the instant pot off. 3. Add in the red wine, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, chicken, carrots, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. 3. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function. Set the Instant pot to sauté and bring to a boil, boil 5 minutes or until the liquid reduces slightly. Turn the instant pot off. Remove the bay leaves and thyme and discard. Stir in the parsley and reserved bacon.4. Serve the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes.
Slow Cooker
- 1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. If there’s excess bacon grease, drain off all but 1 tablespoon. 2. To the skillet, add the onion, garlic, and tomato paste and cook an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to the bowl of your slow cooker.3. To the slow cooker, add in the red wine, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, chicken, carrots, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. 3. Once done cooking, cook, uncovered on high for 15-20 minutes to reduce the sauce. Remove the bay leaves and thyme and discard. Stir in the parsley and reserved bacon. 4. Serve the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes.
This post was originally published on October 29, 2018
Your recipe says, “use the natural or quick release function.” I’m kind of new at this Instant Pot thing, but to me, those are contradicting instructions. Once the time is up, do I do a quick release or do I let it sit until the button pops up naturally? Either way, I’m going to try this tonight… 🙂 Thanks!
Hey Carrie! I would just release the steam right away! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
The BEST!! I’m a big fan of all of these recipes, but this one is easily my favorite. SO delicious and so easy!! It’s quickly becoming a staple in our household!
Love to hear that! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Delicious. Definitely will make again.
Thank you Norma! xTieghan
I followed the recipe to a tee using the Instant Pot Max but 1) the sauce did not thicken; I boiled it on sauté for a little more than 5 min, added extra tomato paste and cornstarch but in the end the sauce did not look anything like the pictures. It was more of a red color and runny, 2) while the sauce tasted delicious despite being watery, the chicken itself was really bland. I did season the meat with salt and pepper as per the recipe. Any tips on what I could have done differently? Thanks
Hi Catherine, Next time I would use 1/4 cup tomato paste, 1 cup wine and only 1/2 cup broth, then add more liquid as needed to thin the sauce. This should ensure you sauce to come out thicker next time. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope this helps! Thank you!! xTieghan
I’ve never actually had Coq au Vin, but I have read about it, so when I came across this recipe I decided to try it! I had plenty of time so I used the slow cooker version in my instant pot. It was so easy and turned out AMAZING! Definitely will make again!
Thank you so much Joy! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Heavenly, easy and really tasty. I used the Instant Pot method. Don’t skimp on the wine either in the recipe or during cooking. Felt like I was dining at a fine French restaurant.??
Wow yes!! Such an amazing compliment! Thank you for trying this Gerrie! xTieghan
Hi! I wanted to make this for my family and wondered if I could double the recipe? There are 6 of us that includes my parents and two kids and wanted there to be enough… Do you think I would need to double and would that still work out ok?
Hi Ashlee!! If you want to double the recipe, I would do 1 batch in the Instant pot and 1 batch on the stove. Your instant pot will not hold a double batch of this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I’ve Never heard of this dish and was looking for something new to me. It turned out fantastic and will be making again! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Jeremy! I am so glad it turned out so well for you! Thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
This recipe is so easy and delicious! I followed all the steps as directed – only change is I added 1 TBS of flour mixed with 2 TBS water to thicken up the sauce. Definitely going to keep this one on a regular rotation of recipes!
Thank you so much Kristen! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Would suggest cutting chicken in large chunks not as pretty plated but soaks in all the flavors
We added a tablespoon of corn starch when boiling after the cooking added enough to thicken it
Thank you Ellen! xTieghan
I have never eaten much less made this dish. I made it in the instant pot and it was easy and delicious … Nothing wrong with this so not much to add … I used boxed Cabernet Sauvignon from Target which worked just fine. Make sure you read the recipe … I mixed my carrots and onions and my parsley and thyme not realizing they are added at different times so I ended up cooking the onions and carrots together and just added some dry thyme and then the mixed herbs at the end. It was still was delicious.
Hi Eliia! I am so glad you still loved this recipe! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
This recipe was super flavorful, but what I ended up with was super runny. I’m not sure if I did something wrong but I ended up adding a roux with flour to try and thicken it up, and it still didn’t work. I let it boil to hopefully let it reduce further, but it also didn’t work. It was still very delicious and the flavor was wonderful, but the texture wasn’t what we expected from coq au vin.
Hi Liz! Is there anything that went wrong while making it? I am not too sure what could have happened! If you could give me more detail I would love to help!! xTieghan
that is such a personal opinion of what healthy means.
Made this last night and it was delicious! The only difference I made to the recipe (because I didn’t read previous comments saying to leave chicken breasts whole) was that I cut up the chicken into 8 chunks before throwing them in the instant pot. I also boiled on sauté after cooking for about 20 minutes to reduce the sauce down to a nice thick stew like consistency. I took the chicken chunks out after about 10 minutes of boiling because I was worried they might dry out… but they were fall apart juicy and delicious! I probably could have left them in the whole time and been fine. Served with a riff on the butter herb mashed potatoes… it was amazing!
That is so amazing to hear! I am so glad this turned out so well for you Emmalee! Thank you! xTieghan
Fantastic! Everyone loved it. I liked it because it works well with skinless chicken breast. I recommend adding corn starch or flour to thicken it up a bit. Thank you for sharing it!
Thank you so much Rhonda! xTieghan