Instant Pot: Smothered Chicken & Mushrooms

I've been testing some crockpot recipes lately and converting them for the Instant Pot and enjoyed this dish for Smothered Chicken & Mushrooms. Creole seasoned chicken is lightly fried and blanketed in a savory mushroom and tomato sauce with bacon, mushrooms and garlic before pressure cooking. The result is a flavorful, hearty and comforting dish perfect for an easy weeknight meal or even for guests.

This is an easy dish to prepare with little effort with the Instant  to do most of the work! Season the chicken breasts and fry lightly for a bit of color. Next, sauté bacon, mushroom and garlic for some depth of flavor. The last step is combining tomato sauce and cream of mushroom soup to create a gravy that smothers the chicken, imparting serious flavor and richness. Leave it to your Instant Pot to let the magic happen in just an hour before dinner! If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can get the slow cooker/crockpot recipe version here!

Smothered Chicken & Mushrooms

recipe adapted from Creole Contessa

1 tablespoon creole seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
8 chicken thighs or breast, bone-in, skinless
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons + 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
4 slices of bacon, diced
3 cloves garlic
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce
1 small can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 bunch fresh parsley, minced to garnish

In your Instant Pot:

Plug in the IP with insert set in place.

In a shallow dish, combine the Creole seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and set aside.

Place chicken in a large bowl and coat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the seasoning blend, mix well. Lightly flour chicken and set aside.

Press SAUTE on the IP and add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Once hot, brown the seasoned chicken in batches, for about 3 minutes on each side. When all chicken has been browned, return all chicken into IP.

Add bacon, mushroom and garlic to IP; saute for about 5 minutes. 

Add chicken broth and tomato sauce; mix well. 

Secure the lid of the IP and ensure the valve is set to SEALING.

Press MANUAL and adjust the time to 20 minutes on HIGH pressure.

The display will reflect ON while the IP comes to pressure. Allow a few minutes for your IP to come to pressure.

Once at pressure, the display will reflect 20 (the number of minutes you initially set) and will begin to countdown to 0 minutes.

When the IP beeps after pressure cooking for 20 minutes, allow your IP to naturally release pressure for 5 minutes. While naturally releasing pressure (also known as NPR or NR), the display will reflect numbers counting up from 1. The numbers indicate how many minutes the IP has stopped cooking since it beeped (or how many minutes it has been naturally releasing pressure).  No need to touch your IP while it naturally releases pressure. The pin at the top of your IP will drop when all pressure has been released and it's safe to open.

When the display reflects 5:00 (which is 5 minutes since the IP has beeped), turn the setting on top of your IP to VENTING. Doing so allows the IP to quickly release any remaining pressure (also known as QPR or QR). I use a wooden spoon to carefully turn the setting to avoid close contact with the potential steam. You may also want to turn your IP away from cabinets to allow the released steam to escape freely. The pin at the top of your IP will drop when all pressure has been released and it's safe to open.

Open up your IP when the pin has dropped (allow a few minutes for this to happen).

Add the cream of mushroom soup to the IP and stir; allowing to warm through.

Transfer chicken to serving dish and garnish with parsley on top if desired. Serve over hot rice or potatoes.