Instant Pot

Instant Pot Creamy Mushroom Chicken

Name: Instant Pot Creamy Mushroom Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons salted butter; 6 garlic cloves, thickly sliced; 1 cup sliced yellow onions; 2 cups quartered button mushrooms; 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs; 3 or 4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried; 2 tablespoons water; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 4 cups baby spinach; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

by: Urvashi Pitre

March 11, 2019

18 Ratings

Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani

Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 35 minutes
Serves 4

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

Happily for you, I’m not about to suggest using a can of cream of mushroom soup in this (or any other) recipe. But, happily for you, if you like cream of mushroom soup, you won’t miss it after you try this recipe. It’s the taste of comfort for many of us, just healthier than anything that might come out of a can. It’s also an easy recipe. I ask you to put the spinach in with the rest of the ingredients to add more flavor to the dish. The spinach will cook down and blend in with everything else, and you’ll have a vegetable and chicken dish done in one shot.

Excerpted from INSTANT POT FAST & EASY © 2019 by Urvashi Pitre. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. —Urvashi Pitre

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: 10 Instant Pot Chicken Recipes for Comforting Dinners All Week Long. —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved

Ingredients

2 tablespoons salted butter
6 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
1 cup sliced yellow onions
2 cups quartered button mushrooms
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 or 4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups baby spinach
¹/₂ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

Select SAUTÉ on the Instant Pot. When the pot is hot, add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the garlic. Cook, stirring continuously, until garlic is fragrant and slightly softened, about 1 minute (take care not to let it burn).
Add the onions and mushrooms and stir to coat. Add the chicken, thyme, water, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the spinach on top of the chicken mixture. Select CANCEL.
Secure the lid onthe pot. Close the pressure-release valve. Select MANUAL and set the pot at HIGH pressure for 8 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, allow the pot to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Cover lightly with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Select SAUTÉ on the Instant Pot. While stirring continuously, slowly add the cream in a steady stream. Cook, stirring, until the mixture starts to thicken, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Select CANCEL.
Serve the chicken with the mushroom-spinach mixture.

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Dr. Urvashi Pitre is the President of a global marketing consulting firm, as well as the author of several best-selling cookbooks.

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21 Reviews

Write a Review

Sarajitt March 13, 2023

I doubled this recipe because I have an 8 quart Instant Pot Pro. Instead of baby spinach, I used fresh mature spinach leaves, chopped. With 4 tablespoons of water added, it took 20-25 minutes to come to pressure. After 8 minutes at high pressure with a 10 minute natural release, the spinach was overcooked. I am now wondering how to incorporate the spinach and maintain its vibrant green. In any case, I will definitely make this recipe again. It was delicious and the chicken so very tender.

Laffy T. February 4, 2023

I followed the recipe, plus half because the chicken came 1.5 lbs in the package. There was so much liquid that I couldn’t get the sauce to cook down once I added the cream. Next time I would skip the cream and lemon substituting sour cream instead. I added fresh rosemary along with the thyme. At the end, I also added Dijon and whole grain mustards. It was delicious!

cara592 January 29, 2023

I have a small instant pot, so i had to add the spinach at the end with a little bit of the sauce left. I also used almond milk creamer bc I don't eat dairy. It turned out quite well, i would totally make it again.

judy January 10, 2023

I don't ahve an Instant. I sauce on stove, then move all to oven pan and bake. Works great, takes a little longer, but Wanted to let folks know that this is really good baked in the oven. Can use an oven safe deep fry pan or sauté pan, and put in oven after sautéing. I love cooking with thighs, and replace any chicken breast recipe with thighs. Nice to find some that use them. I always cut away some of the excess fat, remove skin, but keep the bone in to improve overall flavor of dish. So good.

NXL November 28, 2022

This has a ton of flavor and a ton of sauce! Wish I'd cooked some noodles or rice to have with it. Instead, I chopped the chicken and ate like a soup. Chicken breasts work, as does rosemary.

Kellia B. September 21, 2022

Good flavor, but woah - the chicken was extremely dry and pretty tough. Maybe better suited for thighs? I made it almost exactly as written with fewer mushrooms as the only difference because I didn’t have the full amount.

judy January 10, 2023

REcipe is written to use chicken thighs.

Nina L. January 29, 2023

The recipe states chicken thighs!

AnniC February 9, 2021

Thank you for another great recipe! I already had cooked chicken breast and broth from throwing a package of bone-in breasts and wings in the IP and was in the mood for a spinach and mushroom dish when I found this. I followed the recipe pretty closely, using pre-sliced baby Bella mushrooms, but since I wasn't cooking the chicken with the other ingredients, I did use rich chicken stock instead of water, no extra salt, and probably closer to 1/2 C. Even though I made the stock with plenty of thyme, I still used more since I never worry about too much thyme. I then waited until everything was done and the sauce thickened to stir in the cooked chicken. Before that, I also removed about a 1/2 C of the sauce once the cream had been added, whisked in a heaping Tb of tapioca flour then returned it to the pot, stirring about 5 more min until it thickened a little more. I couldn't decide between heavy cream and coconut milk, and had both, so I used half of each to give the sauce a subtle coconut flavor. The lemon juice was a nice addition to make it more complex. I used a little zest as well. Making it again tonight just a week or so later, starting with uncooked chicken breasts this time, so I came back to leave a review and refresh my memory.

Odessa November 15, 2020

This is the first thing I cooked in my instant pot. A complete and delicious success. I did have a lot of sauce so might use less cream and add a parmesan rind next time. Served with Hassleback potatoes.
Would like to know how doubling the quantity would change the cook time.

Urvashi P. January 15, 2021

While it might increase the time the pot takes to come to pressure, you don't need to increase time under pressure if you double recipes in an Instant Pot.

xiao_lan August 31, 2020

I made this almost exactly according to the recipe and it’s a real keeper! I will be making this again and again, it’s so easy and delicious. The only changes I made were eliminating the cream and increasing the cook time to 10 minutes + 10 minutes instead of 8 minutes + 10 minutes. This made the chicken extra tender. Thank you so much for this recipe.

Katrina W. May 14, 2020

This was great! I cut back on the mushrooms and added asparagus only because that's what I had on hand. Also added some Parmesan cheese to thicken up the sauce and served it over buttered rice with thyme. Thank you!

Allison H. November 12, 2019

Ohmygosh, this was amazing! Really delicious. I didn't use the lemon, subbed a little milk out for the whole 1/2 cup of cream, and tossed some leftover bacon crumbles from the fridge in there -- but other wise followed the recipe, and it was perfect. Served over egg noodles, and voila! Quick and fabulous weeknight dinner.

don July 10, 2019

I thought this was quite tasty especially considering how few ingredients there are. I used baby portobellos instead of the button mushrooms which I think gave it a bit more depth and if I do it again I think I would reduce the cream to 1/4 cup

Danna F. April 7, 2019

It was okay. Not outstanding. Kind of blah.

Phil C. July 11, 2019

I used wine & broth - left out cream...and lots more garlic/pepper.

Tracy D. March 15, 2019

I am a bit confused by this recipe, it has 2 tbs. of water. I thought a pressure cooker needs at least 1 cup of liquid to be able to come up to pressure. Please advise.

Laurie T. March 17, 2019

The cookbook author addresses this in her book. She is using the liquid inherent in the meat and vegetables as it is more flavorful than water. It makes sense. I’m willing to give it a try - this recipe looks yummy. 😊