Lighter on the calories and made completely in the instant pot, this Thai basil chicken is loaded with fresh basil flavor, soft sweet peppers, and tender chicken cubes.
I am LIVING for this Thai basil chicken right now. Hello, less calories. Hello, INSTANT POT.
Face, meet your match. It’s that beautiful saucy stir-fry mess up there. We got this.
We’ve made a lot of stir-frys around here and as each one hits the blog that newest one always becomes the current fav. So obviously I’m ALL OVER this Thai basil chicken, especially since it lets me pull out the magical dinner device you may better know as the instant pot.
We’re gonna lighten up this whole dinner deal by making a few healthy swaps in the stir-fry sauce which means less soy sauce, less sugar, but more FLAVOR. Promise it’ll be good.
We’re gonna start off by sauteing chicken thigh cubes + onion + garlic + ginger straight in the instant pot using the SAUTE function. From there, it’s building the sauce directly in the pot and then high pressure for 12 minutes.
I throw the sweet pepper cubes and torn basil leaves into this chicken AFTER releasing pressure and then just snap the lid back on and let ’em sit for about 5 minutes. That way the peppers don’t get overly soft and the fresh basil maintains its super fresh flavor.
Holy heck, the SAUCY-NESS of this Thai basil chicken. You want it all cause you’re gonna pile it over piles of fluffy rice and you want it in every bite (bonus points for Jasmine rice, cuz extra FLUFFINESS)
Meet your new weekday dinner addiction. That took, what 30 minutes? Double batches also work WONDERS for leftover night if you’re interested in the least amount of dinner exertion possible.
The only energy you’ll be exerting? Faceplanting straight into this Thai basil chicken madness. Facts.
Lighter Instant Pot Thai Basil Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-in cubes
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 3/4 cup fresh roughly torn basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 3 tablespoons water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Hot cooked jasmine rice for serving
Instructions
- Heat sesame oil in an instant pot set to SAUTE function. Once shimmery, add chicken and onions. Saute several minutes until browned and onion is translucent. Add ginger and garlic and saute 1 additional minute. Turn off SAUTE function.
- Add chicken broth, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, rice vinegar, and brown sugar to instant pot and stir until combined. Seal lid on instant pot and cook on high pressure 8 minutes.
- Manually release pressure from instant pot, remove lid, and add red pepper, basil, and cornstarch mixture. Seal lid back on instant pot and let sit 5 minutes until peppers are slightly softened, basil is wilted, and sauce is slightly thickened.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm over jasmine rice. Enjoy!
Barbara Waterss says
One of my favorite recipes. Always delicious!
Sarah says
Ours too. 🙂 Thanks for reporting back, Barbara!