Weeknight Artichoke Chicken
Artichoke chicken is an easy Instant Pot chicken dinner recipe, featuring smoked paprika, jarred artichoke hearts, and thyme for a delicious herby flavor and a beautiful color.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This recipe has a short, sweet list of ingredients and takes just a few simple steps. But it doesn’t lack for flavor in the least. Plus, the ingredients are pantry-friendly, and you can easily mix and match them with whatever you have on hand.
We adapted this recipe years ago from a slow cooker artichoke chicken recipe. We love serving it for holiday meals; however, it’s quick enough to make a great weeknight meal, so don’t just save it for special occasions.
This is one of our go-to Instant Pot chicken recipes that uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It’s delicious served over Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker White Rice.
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED
Here is everything you need to make quick and easy Instant Pot artichoke chicken:
- Chicken. We use large boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Seasonings. Spice up your dish with smoked paprika and dried thyme.
- Butter. I always use unsalted butter. If you only have salted, omit the added salt and only add more to taste.
- Chicken broth. You can use canned or homemade.
- Artichoke hearts. Make sure to drain the artichoke hearts first.
- Cornstarch. This thickens up the sauce to coat the chicken and artichokes.
How to Make Artichoke Chicken in an Instant Pot
✅ This easy recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
Start by seasoning the chicken with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Then use the sauté feature to melt the butter in the pressure cooking pot. Working in batches, brown two chicken breasts at a time until they’re golden brown on both sides. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.
Tip: If you’re in a hurry, you can brown the chicken on only one side or skip the sauté step entirely.
Then add the chicken broth and thyme and return the chicken to the pressure cooking pot. Cook on high pressure for five minutes, then release the pressure manually.
While the chicken cooks, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. When you remove the Instant Pot lid, push the chicken to one side of the pot and stir in the cornstarch mixture.
Select Sauté again and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly while the cornstarch thickens. Finally, stir in the artichoke hearts until the sauce is thickened and coats the chicken and artichokes. Serve and enjoy!
Important Tips for Making Artichoke Chicken
I find that it’s best to use an instant-read thermometer to make sure that each chicken breast is fully cooked. It should register at least 165°F in the thickest part of the breast after cooking. If yours are still undercooked, use the Sauté feature or cook at high pressure for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Browning the chicken adds a lot of delicious flavor to the dish, but it does add an extra step. If you’re short on time, you can skip the browning step.
Be sure to stir the mixture well after you add the cornstarch mixture and bring it to a full boil, otherwise the starch may not fully cook and can become lumpy.
Frequently Asked Questions about Artichoke Chicken
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container for up to four days.
Yes, if you’d like to switch up the ingredients in the recipe, you could add other vegetables. The original recipe called for mushrooms, which you would need to sauté first in the pressure cooking pot. You could also do the same with onions, bell peppers, leeks, or other veggies.
Yes, you can use bone-in chicken thighs instead of breast if you prefer with no change to the cooking time.
Yes, to double the recipe, just double the ingredients, not the cooking time. That doesn’t need to change. But be sure not to fill your pot more than two-thirds of the way full. You may need an 8-quart pressure cooking for this recipe.
Quick note: We initially made this recipe for Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, adapted from the Holiday Slow Cooker cookbook by Leigh Anne Wilkes, who writes at Your Homebased Mom.
You can find more information about converting recipes into pressure cooker recipes on my How to Convert a Recipe into a Pressure Cooker Recipe post.
MORE Chicken Dinner Recipes
Try these other easy weeknight chicken recipes next:
- Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Chinese Lemon Chicken Has a bright and zippy Asian-inspired sauce.
- Chicken Pesto Pasta is a crowd-pleasing dinner with fresh green pesto sauce and tender chicken.
- Instant Pot Lemon Tarragon Chicken is a refreshing springtime meal with fresh herbs and citrus.
Do you LOVE this recipe?
Leave us a review below to tell us why!
Artichoke Chicken - Instant Pot recipe
This Artichoke Chicken is a quick Instant Pot dinner that gets major flavor from smoked paprika, thyme, and butter for creaminess.
Ingredients
- 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 jar (14 oz) marinated artichoke hearts, drained
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cold water
- Prepared rice or pasta, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the pressure cooking pot using the sauté button. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Melt butter in the cooking pot. Add 2 chicken breasts and brown until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining chicken breasts.
- Add chicken broth and thyme to the pressure cooking pot. Add browned chicken. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 5 minutes cook time. When the cook time ends, use a quick pressure release.
- In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in cold water. Push chicken to one side of the pot and add cornstarch mixture and stir to combine. Select Sauté and stir constantly until sauce thickens and boils. Stir in the artichoke hearts
- Serve chicken and sauce over prepared rice or pasta.
Notes
Notes: If you're a mushroom lover, add 1/2 lb. mushrooms, trimmed, washed, and halved. Sauté the mushrooms in the cooking pot before browning the chicken, then remove to a plate and stir them in just prior to serving. Or, for convenience, you can always use canned mushrooms.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 266Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 534mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 27g
Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.
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Wow! This is delicious! I made half the chicken but the full sauce recipe. I served it over rice but I think next time I will have rice on the side because the amazing flavor of the sauce wasn’t as discernable over the rice. I should have used half the artichoke hearts with half the chicken too but no big deal there. Defintely a keeper. Thanks!
Thanks for the rave review Shannon and for sharing your tips.
I used 6 bone-in chicken thighs and the cook time worked just fine (wound up with shredded chicken as opposed to chunks). Definitely needed more salt and additional paprika, but everything else about this was nice! We also added some sliced roasted red peppers for another dimension of flavor. Thanks!
Thanks Elaine – glad you enjoyed it!
How would I double the amount for my family? Do I double ingredients and time? Or just double ingredients?
Hi Kim – you double the ingredients but not the time. The cook time is the same. Do you have an 8 quart pressure cooker? Be sure you never fill your pot more than 2/3’s full.
I made this tonight. Here’s what worked, what didn’t and changes I’d make next time.
* The sauce was delicious and we loved it and the chicken over the rice.
* Loved how quickly the dish can be made as they’re very little prep.
* The chicken breasts were overcooked and a bit dry and my chicken breasts were very thick. I think it can be difficult to pressure cook chicken breasts without overcooking them, especially if they’re sautéed first. At about 3 minutes per side for the sautéing plus 5 minutes of cooking under pressure plus the time it takes the chicken to come to pressure, as well as the time the sauce is thickened, the chicken breasts cook for more considerably more than 11 minutes. That’s too long. Options for next time include:
– substituting chicken thighs for the chicken breasts which we generally prefer anyway,
– not browning the chicken at all,
– browning the chicken for much less time, or
– browning the chicken on the stove where it can be browned more quickly and efficiently. As much as I love my Instant Pot, the sautéing feature isn’t as efficient as sautéing on a stove.
– removing chicken while thickening the sauce and returning it when sauce is ready
* The recipe calls for thickening the cooking liquid with 3 T. cornstarch mixed with ¼ C. of water. Except when I make Asian stir-fries, I like to thicken juices for gravies and sauces with flour rather than cornstarch. That’s what I did with this recipe. I thickened the cooking liquid with 3T. of Wondra Gold Medal Quick-Mixing Flour. Judging by what the sauce looks like in Barbara’s photo, I think the next time I need to use 4 T. of flour rather than three as the sauce was a little thinner than I’d have preferred.
Thanks for the feedback. Typically you will need to use more flour than cornstarch to thicken a sauce.
I wasn’t sure if I’d need more or less flour and water to thicken and I remember you asked me when I made pork stroganoff how much flour I had used and I didn’t recall. Thus this time I measured and agree, it does take a bit more flour than cornstarch. Of course one factor might be how thick or thin one likes her sauces and gravies.
It’s nice to know cooking liquids can be thickened with flour or cornstarch – according to one’s preferences.
We had the leftovers for lunch today and the rice and sauce were even better than they were initially.
Or Arrowroot.
Thank you for this recipe. I used to make a similar chicken prior to having an instant pot. So I was looking for an instant pot version of it. My recipe did not use paprika, and I loved that addition in the sauce. I did crush 2 cloves of garlic and threw them in just before sautéing the chicken. And I also deglazed the pot with a few splashes of white wine after browning the chicken. The family enjoyed this, so it’s a keeper!
Glad it was a hit Linda! Those sound like delicious additions.
I’m new to instapot. Five minutes seems ridiculously tiny. Am I reading that right?
Hi Sherri – yes, that’s correct. You have to be careful not to overcook boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the pressure cooker. The chicken is also cooking as it’s coming to pressure and releasing pressure. So the overall cook time is longer. Enjoy!
Could you do the sauteing ahead of time, put the pot in the fridge with all the ingredients, then just pop it out & put it in the cooker & pressure cook? Would you increase the time, to make up for the fact that the stuff is cold?
Hi Margaret – yes, you could do that without increasing the time. It will just take longer to come to pressure when it’s cold. Enjoy!
This was delicious! Definitely a keeper! Thanks Barbara, you rock the pc!
Awwww thanks Kathleen!
How could this be prepared with a steam pot for rice over the chicken and other ingredients so everything is cooked in the IP? Thanks so much!
Hi Cheryl – I give instructions on cooking the rice above the chicken in this recipe https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/pressure-cooker-chinese-lemon-chicken/ I’d still use a 5 minute cook time. Enjoy!
If I cook only two chicken breast, may I still follow the recipe otherwise?
Hi Harold – you could cut the sauce ingredients in half as well, but use the same cook time – unless you have an 8 quart pressure cooker, then you’ll need the additional liquid.
Harold,
Barbara is of course correct, you could cut the sauce ingredients, but I’d suggest that you don’t. The sauce for this dish is delicious, especially when spooned on your leftover rice.
Any thoughts on how long for bone in, skin on thighs would take?
Hi Erin – I would recommend 13 minutes for bone in skin on chicken thighs.
I’m wondering if I could sub chicken thighs for breasts and if this would affect the cooking time?
Hi Simone – yes, you can use thighs. I like to cook thighs a little longer – 9 minutes.
How much longer should I cook the chicken if it is frozen?
It depends on how thick your chicken breasts are, but if they’re not huge, 7 minutes. Here’s more information on cooking frozen chicken breasts https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/how-to-pressure-cook-frozen-chicken-breasts/
This was the second dish I made in my Instant Pot. It was so good, & I have requests to add this to my repertoire. I also made my own marinated artichokes, & they were so flavorful. This recipe was definitely a hit!
Thanks Lynn – how great to use your own marinated artichokes. How did you make them?
Barbara, did Lynn ever explain how she made her own marinated artichokes? I wonder if she used frozen artichoke hearts or perhaps used canned, plain artichokes.
Sigrid – I never did hear back from Lyyn.
Barbara, when I first saw your recipe, I could not wait to prepare it. I included the mushrooms and removed the chicken while I thickened the sauce so the chicken would not overcook. Unfortunately, I found the recipe lacking in flavor despite adding more salt, pepper and smoked paprika than the recipe called for and still had to salt my dish. I don’t know what more I can do.
Thanks for sharing all of your recipes.
Hi Cary – thanks for the feedback. Were your marinate artichokes flavorful?
Hi Barbara,
Made this recipe tonight. Everyone loved it! Lots of yum-yum sounds around the dinner table.
I did have to do some improvising. My fault. When I went to the grocery store, I picked up regular canned artichoke hearts instead of marinaded. To compensate for my mistake, I found a recipe for homemade marinaded artichokes, which calls for lemon, italian seasoning and garlic.
So, before bringing the pot to pressure, I added 2 cloves of garlic (sauteed) , 1 tps of Penzeys powdered lemon peel, and 1 tsp of Italian seasoning.
The flavor was amazing!
Thank you so much for sharing.
Sounds like delicious additions! Thanks for sharing Teresa
HI Barbara,
I’d really like to know about how many pounds of chicken you use for this recipe. It seems like chicken breasts get bigger and bigger all the time, so I’m never quite sure how much to use.
Hi Melissa – 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts would be about 2 pounds.
This recipe looks delicious, but I’m a much bigger fan of chicken thighs than I am chicken breasts. How would the PRESSURE COOKING TIME change if I substituted boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the boneless, skinless chicken breasts? I assume the browning time would be about the same for thighs as it would be for breasts.
Thanks! I like to use a 9 minute cook time for tender chicken thighs. Yes, the browning time would be the same.
Barbara are the artichokes in your recipe marinated as well. Can’t wait to try this
Hi Sandy – yes, they are marinated. I updated the post. I used Napoleon brand.
Do you drain them first or add the whole thing
Hi Sarah – yes, you drain them first.
I have a electric pressure cooker, but not the instapot. How long is the cooking time for high pressure plus 5 minutes?
Hi Jeanne – your cook time will be the same generally in most electric pressure cookers. Which brand do you have?
Power pressure cooker xl
Here’s my post about using the Power Pressure Cooker XL https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/how-to-use-the-power-pressure-cooker-xl/ Enjoy!
Thankz for the info. So what is the total cooking time that the chicken is pressurized?
It is cooked at high pressure for 5 minutes and it takes around 5 to 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure before the 5 minute cook time starts counting down.
If you have lots of fresh thyme available (I’m an avid gardener), could you sub that in for the dried, using the usual increased ratio of 3 times the fresh amt. for the dried?
Yes, I think that would work well Bonnie!
Thanks, Barbara! I will be making it soon.
My first recipe was your chicken stock (adapted for my turkey carcass). Really great. I also see your name on the Instant Pot recipe booklet. Can’t wait to check it out.
Hi, Barbara,
I just got the Instant Pot 8 quart from Amazon’s Black Friday sale, so of course your recipe immediately caught my eye. Does your recipe call for fresh thyme or dried? Also, could you post the amount? Thanks so much!
Hi Diane – 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves. I’ve updated the recipe. Thanks for letting me know it was missing. Have fun with your new Instant Pot!!