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Instant Pot Thai Lemongrass Chicken.
I haven’t talked much about this, and I don’t know how I haven’t, but you guys, I’ve basically stolen Asher’s 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. She’s the last child, so I think you can see why this wasn’t hard for her to do…
My mom and Asher found Merle, who is a mini Australian Shepard in September. For a while, I didn’t spend much time with Merle since he is Asher’s 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, he’d 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, he’s 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 new…ish 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 can’t lie, I love having him here. He’s 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 man’s best friend. That’s Merle!
Anyway, that little story has not a thing to do with today’s recipe, but I thought we needed a fun intro, because it’s Wednesday and I think all Wednesdays could use a bright little story.
Plus, I clearly just had Merle on my mind…
OK. OKAY.
Moving on.
Let’s talk all things Thai chicken and instant pot.
As I have said, when I first got my Instant Pot, I wasn’t 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 that’s where this Thai chicken comes into play.
I’m a huge fan of Thai anything, but especially Thai food with a little lemongrass. It’s 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 didn’t 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.
It’s nothing too fancy, but yet it’s 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 don’t feel like cooking.
Oh, and if you have any leftovers, they’d be great packed up for lunches!
Instant Pot Thai Lemongrass Chicken
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 516 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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 jalapeño, 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. 2. 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 sauté 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. Season with salt.3. Serve the chicken over rice and top with peanuts, carrots, and green onions. Enjoy!
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. 2. 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.
Dinner in minutes. Can’t beat that.
This post was originally published on April 18, 2018
A twofer…very good flavor and finally something I’ve made in my instapot that I’d make again! Thanks Tieghan!
Thank you Anne! I am so glad you liked this!
I love the sound of this recipe! I’m all for less washing up! I don’t have an instant pot, so would a slow cooker work instead?
Hi Toni! Yes, a slow cooker is great. The instructions are included in the recipe already. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Amazing article thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
Hey Tieghan this looks delish but I haven’t invested in an Instant Pot yet! Any chance to use a crock pot or make this on the stove the old fashioned way?
Hi! You can use the crockpot (directions are listed with the recipe) or the stove top (just add to a pot and simmer over medium heat for 25-30 minutes until the chicken shreds easily). Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Made this tonight – delicious!! Thank you! Never a disappointment with your recipes
Thanks Julia!!
Dream dinner right here! Love these flavors!
Thank you!
I just finished making Panang Curry and this pops up… it may be an excellent long week of Thai food. This recipe looks amazing. 🙂
YES! I hope you love this Ginger! Honestly, a week of thai food sounds amazing to me!!
Lemongrass chicken is my favorite! I really need an instant pot!
Kari
http://sweetteasweetie.com/passion-fruit-colada/
Thanks Kari!
@Carol .. blogger aesthetic > actual recipe
This looks good but Thai people don’t use chopsticks to eat rice dishes by the way
Thank you Chana!
I love thai food so this is getting me drooling
Thanks Ruth!
Dogs ar the absolute BEST! I have two golden doodles which I adore. Your story about Merle touches my heart. Also this recipe makes me so happy. The flavors in this dish sound amazing, of course they would because it is Thai!
They are!! Thanks Kristy!
There is a lot of basil in the pictures but not in recipe. Can you clarify this?
So sorry about that. The basil has been added to the recipe. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Aww, Merle! 🙂 And love this recipe.
Thank you Liz!
Having downsized to a condo, I left most of my appliances at the curb and haven’t missed them. I love to cook and also have the time to do so and as a result no matter what the craze, I will likely never invest in an instant pot. Can you provide stove top directions for this? Thanks!
HI! I would just add everything to a large pot and simmer over medium heat for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken shreds easily. I would leave the top partially covered. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂