Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (2024)

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Make authentic Filipino Chicken Adobo in your Instant Pot – so delicious! This Instant Pot Chicken Adobo is so full of flavor and cooks in 15 minutes!

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (1)

Filipino Chicken Adobo is a great recipe to cook in the Instant Pot! Instant Pot allows you to brown the chicken in the same pot and also cooks the chicken in 15 minutes instead of 40!

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (2)

No Instant Pot? No problem! You can make chicken Adobo in a crockpot or on the stove with my classic chicken Adobo stovetop and slow cooker recipes!

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (3)

A classic Filipino Chicken Adobo recipe calls for marinating the meat, then browning it before cooking in a marinade. If you are short on time or like to keep things simple, you can skip the marinating and/or browning! You can make this into a “dump dinner” by simply dumping the chicken, garlic, bay leaves, soy sauce, vinegar and water into the Instant Pot and pressure cooking it for 15 minutes! Dinner is ready!

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (4)

The best cut of chicken for making chicken Adobo is the chicken thighs or chicken legs. You can use bone-in or boneless. Or you can use the whole cut-up chicken!

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (5)

I usually use boneless skinless chicken thighs as I usually have them on hand. They are so tasty, tender and juicy!

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (6)

On the picture above, Chicken Adobo is served alongside mushroom rice. If you’d like the recipe for this rice, check out my easy mushroom rice. Chicken Adobo goes really well with rice in general! Did you know you can cook perfect rice in your Instant Pot? Check out my Instant Pot White Rice and Instant Pot Brown Rice recipes.

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (7)

How To Make Instant Pot Chicken Adobo

First, make the Adobo marinade by mixing equal parts of white vinegar, soy sauce and water. Add chicken thighs, a whole head of peeled garlic cloves and several bay leaves and marinate in Adobo overnight. You can also marinate for 20 minutes on the counter instead, or skip the marinating altogether!

The next step is to brown the chicken to seal in the flavor. A great thing about the Instant Pot is that you can brown meat directly in the pot! This way you won’t have to wash another frying pan :) Brown the chicken in some oil for 2 minutes per side. If you are in a rush, you can just skip this step as well!

Next, cook the chicken in the Adobo marinade in the Instant Pot. Instant Pot does a perfect job of cooking the chicken quickly and making it tender and juicy! The chicken cooks completely in 15 minutes, and it’s so soft and full of deep Adobo flavor!

After the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and switch the Instant Pot to a Saute mode. Cook the Adobo sauce on a saute mode until it thickens and reduces to a desired consistency. Spoon some of the Adobo sauce over the chicken.

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (8)

If you like this Instant Pot chicken adobo, you will also love these other easy & yummy Instant Pot recipes:

Instant Pot BBQ Chicken – you can make this recipe with chicken breasts or thighs, it’s super easy and tastes amazing!

How To Cook Frozen Chicken Breast In Instant Pot – Instant Pot is a life-saver for people who forget to defrost meat in advance :)

Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Legs – you can cook them directly from frozen! Just dump and cook! So simple you won’t believe it!

Instant Pot Meatloaf – cut the meatloaf cooking time in more than half by making it in the Instant Pot! This is the easiest meatloaf recipe ever!

Instant Pot Meatballs – meatballs in the Instant Pot are so tender and juicy! Ready in 15 minutes!

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Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe

This Instant Pot chicken adobo recipe is amazing! Make an authentic Filipino chicken adobo right in your Instant Pot! So quick and easy and full of flavor!

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 servings

Author: MelanieCooks.com

Ingredients

Instructions

Marinate the chicken

  • Mix the vinegar, water, soy sauce and pepper in a cup to make Adobo marinade.

  • Put the chicken in a bowl and pour Adobo marinade over it. Add garlic cloves and bay leaves to the bowl. Marinate the chicken in refrigerator overnight (or for 20 minutes on the counter).

Brown the chicken (optional)

  • Put the Instant Pot on a Saute setting. Add the oil in the Instant Pot. Take the chicken pieces out of the sauce and saute right in the Instant Pot in batches until the chicken is just browned (2 minutes per side).

Cook the chicken

  • Add browned chicken, Adobo sauce, garlic and bay leaves to the Instant Pot. Close the lid and turn the valve to Sealing position.

  • Press the "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" button and set the time for 15 minutes on High Pressure. When it's done cooking, do the Quick Release (QR) of the steam.

Reduce the sauce (optional)

  • Remove the chicken from the pot and switch the Instant Pot to a Saute mode. Cook the Adobo sauce for 5 minutes, or until it's thickened and reduced to a desired consistency. Spoon some sauce over the chicken.

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Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my Instant Pot chicken so tough? ›

If your boneless chicken breast winds up with a weird, rubbery texture, it probably means that you need to cook it longer. In general, the Instant Pot does better with longer cook times for meat.

Can you overcook chicken in a Instapot? ›

Chicken can get a rubbery texture in the instant pot when over cooked. To avoid this, try not to over cook your chicken.

Why does adobo need vinegar? ›

Flavor Enhancement: Depending on the type of vinegar used, it can add a tangy and acidic flavor to the meat.

What makes adobo so good? ›

The chiles are rehydrated and combined into a thick paste with an acid like vinegar or citrus juice and flavorful additions like onions, garlic, cumin, and oregano. Mexican adobo, like Spanish adobo, is often used as a marinade for meat and seafood.

Does chicken get more tender the longer you pressure cook it? ›

Cooking any meat on high heat (or high pressure) for an extended period will both: denature more the proteins / collagen making the meat more tender; "squeeze" more water out of the meat, making it drier / chalkier in texture.

Does chicken get more tender the longer you cook it? ›

Most whole chickens become fully tender in about one hour on medium-low heat. Yes, chicken breast will get softer the longer you cook it, as long as it is cooked at a low enough temperature to prevent it from becoming dry and tough.

Does chicken need to be submerged in pressure cooker? ›

One is having the chicken submerged in the liquid and the other option is placing the chicken on top of the trivet. Submerging the chicken method is great for shredding in enchiladas, etc; while cooking the chicken on the trivet creates a firmer chicken that can be sliced for salads, etc.

Should I slow cook or pressure cook chicken? ›

So can a Crock-Pot cook better chicken than an Instant Pot? Well, it really depends on what you're making. The Instant Pot cooks chicken much faster than its non-pressure counterparts, but the resulting texture isn't going to be the same as what you'd get with a slow cooker or Dutch oven.

How long do you can chicken in a pressure cooker? ›

Once you're getting 4 “jiggles” per minute, or your dial gauge has come up to pressure, start your timer and process the chicken. If you're canning pint jars, you will process them for 1 hour 15 minutes (75 minutes). If you're using quart jars, you will process for 1 hour 30 minutes (90 minutes).

Why don't you mix vinegar in adobo? ›

It's important not to stir the simmering chicken once the vinegar is added. The vinegar tightens up the chicken, preparing it to work with the soy sauce and take on that rich brown color. In a large pot over medium high heat, add oil and garlic, cooking until garlic is golden brown. Add onion and cook until softened.

What is the most important ingredient in adobo? ›

Most modern-day Filipino adobo is prepared with vinegar and soy sauce. Some families keep it simple with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and black pepper. Others add fresh ginger or coconut milk.

What vinegar is best for chicken adobo? ›

What is Filipino adobo sauce made of? Soy Sauce: I like to use low-sodium soy sauce, but regular works too. Vinegar: Use a third cup of apple cider vinegar, white vinegar can also be used. Garlic: Crush a small head of garlic – about eight garlic cloves.

What vegetables to put in adobo? ›

I've since learned that the technique of searing and then softening in sauce extends to other vegetables: Mushrooms, cabbage, cauliflower, okra, squash, and even wilted greens like water spinach all welcome the process of adobo. Writer Ria Elciario makes green bean adobo, topped with crumbled tofu.

What are the 2 versions of adobo? ›

Even people in the same household can cook adobo in significantly different ways. A rarer version without soy sauce is known as adobong puti ("white adobo"), which uses salt instead, to contrast it with adobong itim ("black adobo"), the more prevalent versions with soy sauce.

Is chicken adobo Mexican or Filipino? ›

Chicken adobo and pork adobo are two popular variations of adobo, a traditional Filipino dish that is made by braising meat in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and spices.

Why is my chicken still hard after cooking? ›

Leaving chicken in a pan, oven, or grill for just a little too long can suck the moisture right out and leave you with a dry, rubbery bird. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic. The types of chicken you buy at the store can also make a difference.

Why is the chicken I cooked so tough? ›

Overcooking leads to dry, tough, sawdusty meat with nearly no flavor. High doneness temperature for food safety. Salmonella is the food safety enemy in chicken that dies only at higher temperatures. But cooking chicken breast to an instant thermal-kill doneness temperature will cause it to dry out excessively.

Why is my chicken extremely tough? ›

If your chicken breast are tough, you cooked them too long. Chicken breasts are hard to get right because they have a fat end and a skinny end. The fat end takes a bit longer to cook. Cooked perfectly, a chicken breast is moist and tender, with no pink flesh in the middle of the thickest part.

Why is my chicken hard after cooking? ›

Cooking meat covers a spectrum of textures, colors, flavors and, of course, temperatures. As you go higher in temperature, the proteins shrink, moisture is pushed out, and the meat turns stiff and dry. All those things are especially unpleasant, and easy to do, with chicken breasts.

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