Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (2024)

32K Shares

This post may contain affiliate links (disclosure).

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!

Click Here To Pin This Recipe

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (10)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

No ratings yet

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.

NEVER MISS A RECIPE!I publish a new recipe several times per week. Want the new recipes in your inbox? Sign up for FREE notifications!

Save This Recipe

Save this for later on your social media:

32K Shares


Get Melanie's FREE Recipes In Your Inbox!

You also need these yummy recipes in your life:

32K Shares

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why does my Instant Pot chicken taste rubbery? ›

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.

Does chicken get more tender the longer you cook it in an Instant Pot? ›

Can you overcook chicken breast in an Instant Pot? Yes, you can! Pressure Cookers don't work the same as slow cookers, where longer cooking times equal more juicy and tender meat. Too much time in a pressure cooker will create dry tough meat.

What if I add too much water to my adobo? ›

The more water you use in your adobo, the longer your adobo cooks. This also means more time for your meat to absorb flavor and fully tenderize. But too much water can waterlog your adobo, which risks losing all the flavor you've already developed up to this point.

Why is my chicken tough after pressure cooking? ›

Maybe the pressure build-up inside wasn't enough for the chicken. Maybe you didn't really cook it long enough. Maybe you released the pressure too soon, without allowing it to cook completely. Maybe there's something wrong with your pressure cooker.

Does cooking chicken longer make it less rubbery? ›

In addition, chicken breast has less fat and can become dry (chewy or rubbery) if cooked for too long. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic. Included with each meal is a set of instructions to help you cook the meals.

Can you overcook chicken in a Instapot? ›

While all cuts of chicken are fair game for the Instant Pot, thighs are the most forgiving. Because chicken breast is so lean, just a couple of extra minutes of cook time turns them from juicy to overcooked and dry.

Is it better to pressure cook or slow cook chicken? ›

Ultimately, slow cooking allowed our chicken to be perfectly seasoned without compromising the meat texture, a luxury pressure cooking can't afford.

Do you cover meat with liquid in pressure cooker? ›

Add Liquid: Pour in enough liquid, such as broth, wine, or water, to cover the meat partially. This liquid creates steam, which builds pressure and helps in cooking the meat. Set the Pressure and Time: Follow the recommended cooking times and pressure settings for different types of meat.

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.

Why is vinegar important in adobo? ›

On the other hand, the Filipino adobo base is comprised almost exclusively of vinegar, which not only flavors but also tenderizes the meat.

Why not stir adobo? ›

After pouring in the vinegar, do not stir the vinegar into the soy sauce. This helps to burn off the acid in the vinegar in the bottom of the pot. Using the right vinegar is important. It's crucial to use the vinegars recommended for chicken adobo as some can really change the flavor.

Can chicken taste rubbery? ›

What makes cooked chicken rubbery? Over cooking the meat or cooking beyond the required time can make the chicken lose its moisture and make it hard to chew/swallow. It also makes the meat dry and tasteless at a point. Sudden change in temperature can also make the meat lose its texture and become rubbery.

Why is my cooked meat rubbery? ›

Yup, cooking most meat too long is a bad thing. Cooking lamb too long like that will result in rubber. Its also possible that you accidentally cut with the grain instead of against it - which would result in a very chewy, rubber like texture. You end up with long proteins that are harder to chew.

Why does my meat feel rubbery? ›

While overcooking makes steak tough and dry, undercooking can also create chewy steak for a different reason. When you undercook your steak, the connective tissue doesn't have time to break down into tender gelatin. Meat needs sufficient time and temperature to transform the collagen into gelatin.

Why does my chicken taste weird? ›

The reason behind this phenomenon can be attributed to exposure to oxygen, which causes deterioration of the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the chicken. This, in turn, affects the flavor of the meat.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Gregorio Kreiger

Last Updated:

Views: 6269

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (57 voted)

Reviews: 88% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Gregorio Kreiger

Birthday: 1994-12-18

Address: 89212 Tracey Ramp, Sunside, MT 08453-0951

Phone: +9014805370218

Job: Customer Designer

Hobby: Mountain biking, Orienteering, Hiking, Sewing, Backpacking, Mushroom hunting, Backpacking

Introduction: My name is Gregorio Kreiger, I am a tender, brainy, enthusiastic, combative, agreeable, gentle, gentle person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.