When I set out to write my second cookbook, which focuses on lighter eating, I knew I had to create a chicken dish that featured a creamy, avocado sauce. The reason being that, aside from loving avocados (and guacamole), it’s one of the healthiest fats you can eat.
You are about to have a divine eating experience with this one – done to magnificent, keto and guilt-free brilliance in your Instant Pot!
Here’s How I Made It! (scroll to the bottom for the fully-written recipe):
Take a red onion…
…and dice it up.
Then take some chicken breasts…
…and cut into bite-sized chunks.
Add some olive or avocado oil to the Instant Pot…
…along with some ghee (clarified butter which has no milk solids)…
Give the pot some heat until the oil’s heated and the butter’s sizzling.
Sauté the onion for a few moments…
…then add in some garlic…
…and the chicken.
Sauté until the chicken becomes pinkish-white in color.
Lastly, pour in some broth, secure the lid and pressure cook.
As the chicken’s cooking, let’s make that amazing avocado sauce! Take two ripe (softened) avocados…
…and with a sharp knife, carefully cut them in half. Set on of the halves aside and focus on three for now.
Remove the pits…
…scoop out the meat with a spoon.
Take the remaining avocado half and slice into thin slivers for garnish. Set aside.
Place the meat from the three avocados in a food processor bowl…
…along with olive or avocado oil, jalapeño pepper (if using), greek yogurt, lime juice, hot sauce (if using), cilantro, seasoned salt, garlic powder and oregano.
Pulse until puréed.
And looka that! A magnificent avocado sauce! (NOTE:You can even actually use this a creamy guacamole on its own if you want!)
When the chicken’s done pressure cooking, it won’t look gorgeous…YET.
Remove about half to three-quarters of the broth from the pot and either save/freeze for another day or discard. How much broth you remove is dependent on how thick the sauce will be; the more broth left in the pot, the thinner the sauce. (NOTE: I suggest removing most of the broth and you can always add more back after adding in the avocado sauce to make it the desired consistency.)
Add the avocado sauce to the pot…
…and stir everything until well-combined.
From there, the sauce will meld and thicken!
Serve over cauliflower rice, quinoa, or a rice of your choice.
And feel free to add on some additional cilantro, sliced jalapeños and those avocado slivers.
Now look at what you’ve done and raise the brows!
Give it a try…
…take a moment to collect your thoughts… !
…and, folks, I kid you not – you’ll be amazed that what you just made and ate isn’t only beyond delicious, it’s also lighter eating!
Instant Pot Creamy Avocado Chicken
Ingredients
The Chicken
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1 red onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
The Avocado Puree
- 2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and halved
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish (optional)
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced (optional, and you can slice another for garnish)
- 1/2 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, plus more for garnish (optional)
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- To make the chicken, add the oil and ghee to the Instant Pot, hit Sauté, and Adjust to the More or High setting. Once the oil’s bubbling and the ghee’s melted (about 3 minutes), add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes, or until lightly softened. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken and sauté for about 3 minutes, until it turns pinkish-white.
- Add the broth to the pot and smooth out the chicken so it’s submerged. Secure the lid, move the valve to the sealing position, hit Keep Warm/Cancel, and then hit Manual or Pressure Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes. Quick release when done.
- Meanwhile, let’s make the avocado sauce! Combine 3 of the avocado halves and all of the remaining avocado puree ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. It will be very thick, like guacamole (and feel free to enjoy it on its own as such).
- When the Instant Pot lid comes off, it will look very liquidy. Good! Add the avocado puree to the pot and stir until it’s fully melted into the broth. From there, it will thicken into a wonderful sauce (NOTE: see Jeff’s Tip).
- Slice the remaining avocado half into thin slivers. Serve the chicken and avocado sauce topped with additional cilantro (if using), a few shakes of hot sauce (if using), jalapeño slices (if using) and a few slivers of avocado.
Jeffrey's Tips
The sauce can be made richer and thicker, if you like. In Step 5, before adding the avocado puree, feel free to spoon out half to three-quarters of the broth. Then add the avocado puree; if you decide you want it thinner, stir some broth back in until it’s the desired consistency.
Sandi
Can you use Herdeez avocado salsa?
Jeffrey
You need the avocado but you can add some for a kick
Debbie moss
Absolutely delicious!!! Had on cauliflower rice! Jeffrey, you have a huge fan in Canada!!! You taught me how to use my instant pot.
Edie
What if I don’t have ghee? Can I use butter?
Jeffrey
Absolutely!
Mary
Love my new book. Bound it and one for my friend. Also, grateful for instant access to the recipes when I don’t have time to read the whole post.
Sherril McGann
Nutrition information?
Linda Rebiger
I’d like that information as well.
melissa
i make the purée for a dip with tortilla chips! it’s so yummy!
Debbie
Made this tonight and it was fantastic! I can’t wait for the new book to arrive!
Cindy R.
how can I cut this down to 2 servings, I am just one person here…but 2 servings will give me enough for leftovers the next day (and btw, how long do you cook chicken thighs, that’s what I use) and what did you serve this over? pasta?
Supriya Kutty
The steps helped me a lot throughout cooking especially the images that you have shared step by step. Today I made it and everyone in the family really appreciated me thank you so much.
Michael
made this for my parents tonight. They loved it! My mom couldn’t get over how it tasted like Tortilla Soup. She also wants me to make the avocado puree again, but this time so she can eat it as a dip XD
Thanks for the recipeeee <3
Melissa
So, I took this in a soft taco direction. I kept the chicken breasts whole (because they were a frozen solid chunk :D) and pressure cooked for 16 minutes followed by a 10 minute natural release. I used the same amount of broth, garlic and onion, though I have a kid that is onion averse, so used slices rather than a dice to provide flavoring. When the cook time was up, I fished the chicken out and shredded it. I then added the yummy avocado sauce and maybe just 1/4 to 1/3 of the broth, since I wanted a “drier” soft taco filling. The results were stupendous! I never would have thought of using avocado in this way, but my fam went nuts for it. And I too plan on making the sauce on its own sometime just as a dip- it’s that good. Of course by the time I added the tortilla and cheese and sour cream, I made your healthy recipe unhealthy, Jeffrey! Thanks for your wonderful recipes. All 3 of your cookbooks are my favorites and I have a serious amount of cookbooks!
AZJake
As expected, another great recipe from Jeffrey. It was easy and no crazy ingredients. It’s also easy to modify to your taste with another jalapeno, extra hot sauce etc I served it over wild rice. Again, as expected, the prep time was waaay off. Dice an onion, dice some garlic, cut up the chicken, prepare the avocados, chop the cilantro, seed and dice the jalapeno, and juice a lime. I’m 78 and I’m not as fast as a young Jeffrey. Am I kvetching, yes, but the Creamy Avocado Chicken was excellent despite the fact that the prep time was about 20 minutes for me. Thanks, Jeffrey
Jeffrey
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Curt McLey
Love this one, Jeffrey. I can’t wait to try it over toast or in a tortilla. Mmm!
Because I was using already cooked rotisserie chicken, I used the stove-top and food processor to prepare the recipe. I had more dishes, but I didn’t want to obliterate the chicken.
For anyone else who wished to try it, it worked fine.
I’m a big fan, Jeffrey, own two of your instant pot cookbooks and have sold many units as a result of my personal recommendations to my culinary friends. I have personally made at least half of the recipes in both books. I’m never disappointed in the results. Good work and continued success to you!