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This Instant Pot Coq au Vin recipe concentrates flavors with less effort and time than the traditional method! You’ll love this take on the beloved chicken recipe.
You may also enjoy this Sunday Pot Roast or Crockpot Red Wine Braised Short Ribs.
Why you’ll love it
This Coq au Vin recipe, while staying fairly true to the classic, really benefits from being cooked in the Instant Pot. This electric pressure cooker Coq au Vin is fast enough to make on a weeknight, but it’s also great for company. The leftovers are fantastic, so it’s something that you can enjoy more than once! It also freezes well.
What is Coq au Vin?
- Coq au Vin (chicken in red wine) is a classic French dish of braised chicken that’s then stewed. It’s normally a labor of love, but the Instant Pot makes this process quicker. The flavors get really concentrated without having to stew it for hours. Traditionally, bone-in, skin-on chicken is used.
What you’ll need
- Bacon – I love making it with thick cut, but regular bacon is good too
- Chicken – boneless, skinless chicken thighs are the way to go for this one
- Garlic and pearl onions – our tasty aromatics. Pearl onions taste much sweeter and milder than other varieties.
- Carrots and mushrooms – classic veggie component of this stew
- Red wine and chicken broth – the base of the sauce. Cabernet sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Burgundy wines (e.g. Pinot Noir) work well in Coq au Vin.
- Tomato paste – it adds rich, savory tomato flavor
- Thyme – this fragrant, woodsy herb is amazing with poultry
- Cornstarch – to thicken the sauce
Important notes
- When I first tested this recipe, I did use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, and that’s fine, but I like it better with boneless, skinless thighs. Why? It’s less effort, the sauce is less fatty, and I find the skin isn’t exactly edible anyway after pressure cooking it. If you go that route, brown the chicken in the Instant Pot for 7-5 minutes with the skin-side down and then drain the fat.
- I do not recommend using chicken breasts in this recipe. They will end up a lot drier. Chicken thighs are more flavorful and more forgiving when it comes to recipes like this one.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I’ve got an older model, but you can pick up the newest Instant Pot if you don’t already own one.
- Mincing the garlic is a cinch with this garlic press.
- A pair of kitchen shears makes cutting up the bacon effortless.
- Save your leftover bacon grease in this bacon bin.
How to make Instant Pot Coq au Vin
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Prep the ingredients, and sauté the bacon in your Instant Pot until crispy. Discard most of the fat. Add in the garlic, red wine, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Stir, and scrape up the browned bits to avoid a burn warning.
Add in the chicken, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and thyme. Give it a stir, then pressure cook for 10 minutes. After the countdown and release, add in a cornstarch slurry to give the sauce more body. Season with salt & pepper.
What to serve with Coq au Vin
- It’s fabulous served over Mashed Potatoes or a Simple Baked Potato. Pasta (like egg noodles) or rice are also great starchy options to go with the sauce, or simply go with a slice of crusty bread.
- Steamed vegetables, Simple Sautéed Leeks, or learn How to Cook Asparagus for easy veggie side dish pairings.
- Craving a salad? Dress it up with my Creamy Balsamic Dressing (Easy, No Blender!).
Leftovers and storage
- Keep leftover Coq au Vin in the fridge in a covered container for 3-4 days.
- When reheating this dish, you may want to skim some of the fat off the top. That’s a totally normal thing to do! Warm it up over a low heat in a saucepan for best results.
- You can definitely freeze leftovers of this one.
If you made my Instant Pot Coq au Vin recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! Let me know if the post didn’t answer your questions. I’m also on Instagram.
Instant Pot Coq au Vin
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon chopped into small pieces
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 10 ounces pearl onions peeled
- 7 ounces button mushrooms (leave them whole)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups red wine
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 2 tablespoons cold water
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prep your ingredients. I use kitchen shears to make cutting up the bacon easier. You can always finish prepping the remaining ingredients while the bacon is cooking to save time.
- Add the bacon to your Instant Pot. Press the sauté button and fry the bacon until crispy (about 10-12 mins).
- Once the bacon is crispy, move the bacon to one side of the Instant Pot and scoop most of the grease out with a spoon. Discard the fat (or store it and save it for other recipes).
- Add the garlic, red wine, chicken broth, and tomato paste to the Instant Pot. Let it start to bubble, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom so you don't get a burn warning.
- Add the chicken, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and thyme to your Instant Pot. Stir it as best as you can. Close the lid and set the valve to "sealing". Set the timer to cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Once the countdown has finished, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, and then do a quick release of the remaining pressure.
- Add the cornstarch slurry (mix the cornstarch and cold water together) to the Instant Pot. Press the sauté button and this will help the sauce sauce thicken a little bit (the sauce isn’t meant to be too thick) if you let it cook for a few more minutes. Season with salt & pepper if needed.
Notes
- I used about a pound of chicken thighs in this recipe. Anything around that mark (or even up to 1.5 lbs. or so) would work.
- Serves 4-6 depending on portion size.
- Inactive time = the time it takes your Instant Pot to get up to pressure.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on March 22, 2019. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
I made this last night OMG!! Delicious! I used the bone in skin on thighs, because I think they impart better flavor. I trimmed a lot of fat off them first and then I browned them on both sides and if any skin stuck to the pot, I took it out. I removed the bacon and the chicken and poured out all the rendered fat save maybe a Tbsp. My market was out of pearl onions so I cut 1/2 medium white onion in 1″ chunks. when it was finished venting, I removed the chicken and let the sauce stand and cool and then I skimmed off most of the fat. I removed the skin before serving. I know this sounds like more work, but the cooking with the fat and the bone gives so much flavor to the sauce. I will make this again for sure.
Correction*** 1 1/2 medium onions
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂 Thank you!
I usually make this the traditional way in my Crueset. I did all the pre-sauteeing, while chicken sat in red wine, thyme, ,s of garlic, fresh. thyme, lots&p. Used sweet Italian chicken sausage broken up, in place of bacon, leeks, mushrooms, & onion. Didnt brown chicken,, threw into Instant pot skin-removed thighs & a large breast for my husband. .Cooked at high pressure 15 min, let depressurize. No flour..wished we had more of the sauce! (And had added extra broth & wine. ) Really rich & delicious.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Leslie!
I used a Cab, and a pound and a half of boneless skinless thighs, and the outcome was fabulous. I was concerned that my InstantPot did not release a lot of pressure naturally, but the final step of boiling the liquid down with a roux made all the difference. My family loved this dish and I will make it again! I served on a wide bowl with a garlic-herb pilaf on the side.
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! 🙂
A tip. Use skin-on thighs. After releasing the pressure, remove the skins from the thighs and cook them on a pan in a toaster oven. Crunchy goodness. You can crumble the crispy skin over the main dish for some added texture.
Yum!!
Thank you for the recipe and write up on this lovely dish .
You’re very welcome, Jenny! 🙂
Is it exactly the same time for cooking if you double the recipe and use an 8 qt.instant pot or should you cook for 20 min and then natural release. Thanks betty dong
I would do it for the same amount of time since it’ll take longer to get up to pressure. Let me know how it goes!
I don’t get the timing but it’s too late now coz I’m making it already so I did 10 min on high pressure then you said natural release. I presume that means I just leave it be and not vent. Hope I’m right.
Correct! 😊
oops, a couple of other questions: can i use frozen pearl onions (only b/c i have them on hand and want to use them up)? and can i use a combo of chicken thighs AND legs? thanks!
think frozen pearl onions should be fine, and yes, the thighs and legs combo should be fine.
i’m going to be away for valentine’s day. this is my hubby’s favorite dish. i plan to make it and freeze for him. what’s the best way for him to heat it up? he’s not great with the instant pot, so heat in oven? microwave? is this ever served with mashed (sweet) potatoes or cauli mash? i’d like to pair it with a heat-upable side. thanks so much! love your blog. YUMMM.
Hi! That’s sweet of you to make it for him! 🙂 I would portion it into individual (or for 2) portions and then have him reheat it in a small pan on the stove on fairly low heat. Microwave will work too, but the chicken can easily overcook if it’s nuked for too long haha. I think it would be yummy with either sweet potatoes or mashed cauliflower. So glad you like my blog! XO
I made this with pancetta instead of bacon. Otherwise, the only things I added was bay leaves & red wine vinegar. We loved it– my man doesn’t even like dark meat and was quite smitten! very easy & flavorful.
I’m so glad to hear it, Kimberly! 😀