A delightful citrus herb chicken chorizo dish that’s meant to share. It’s seasoned with sun-dried tomatoes, orange juice, floral thyme and salty olives.
Today’s recipe comes from The Art of Great Cooking with Your Instant Pot by Emily Sunwell-Vidaurri. Emily is the founder of Recipes to Nourish, which is a blog full of recipes made with real food ingredients.
Although the cookbook isn’t low carb specific, many of the recipes can be easily adapted. For instant, orange juice is typically not used in keto cooking, but it can easily be replaced with lemon.
However, I made Emily’s Citrus Herb Chicken Chorizo recipe exactly as written in the cookbook. And, I’m glad I did because the flavor combination was amazing.
I wish I had time to try a few of the other recipes in the book because they all look so delicious. If you are just learning how to use the Instant Pot or know someone who is, this is a terrific book resource for making awesome pressure cooked foods.
I tried this yummy pressure cooker chicken dish right after finishing my one month AIP paleo elimination diet. And, it was a perfect opportunity to reintroduce tomatoes.
There was some spicy paprika in the chorizo which is one of the foods avoided on AIP. But, I wanted to make the dish authentic so I actually reintroduced two nightshades versus just one.
I did opt for nitrate-free fresh chorizo so at least I didn’t have to worry about nitrates. This was the first time I’ve used organic chicken chorizo and I liked it better than the regular sausage made with pork.
In her cookbook, Emily says that the recipe was inspired by the flavors of Basque cuisine which are simple yet bold. Since her husband is of Basque heritage, I’m sure they enjoy a lot of Basque inspired dishes.
The flavors in this pressure cooker citrus herb chicken dish reminded me of some of the Spanish dishes I used to enjoy living in Florida. I had to look up where the Basque region is as I didn’t know. Turns out it’s a region right on the border of France and Spain.
Emily gave great detailed instructions for cooking this dish in the Instant Pot. I’m still a beginner when it comes to pressure cooking so I was glad that the recipe was easy to follow.
I usually don’t cook with olives or dried tomatoes so it was a nice change from my usual meals. And, I rarely eat chorizo. But, after enjoying this citrus her chicken chorizo, I may need to buy it more often.
Because of my Graves’ Disease and vitiligo, both autoimmune condition, I won’t be eating too many nightshades. Unfortunately, tomatoes and the paprika in chorizo are in the nightshade family.
I didn’t notice any obvious symptoms coming back after eating the tomatoes and chorizo, so I may be okay eating both occasionally. However, I’d like to stick to the AIP friendly foods as much as possible.
It was nice to make a real meal in my Instant Pot versus the coconut dairy free yogurt that’s usually brewing in my pressure cooker. And, it’s a much needed step above the vegetables that I frequently steam in the pot.
This isn’t the first time I’ve done chicken in the electric pressure cooker, though. I regularly make pressure cooker whole chicken which I then use the carcass for making Instant Pot bone broth.
I’ll admit the the Instant Pot was a bit overwhelming at first. But, thanks to cookbook’s like The Art of Great Cooking with Your Instant Pot, I’m finally getting the hang of using the pressure cooker.
I absolutely love how you can brown the meat right in the Instant Pot so you don’t have to dirty another pot. And, the keep warm cycle is perfect to keep food warm when entertaining.
My Instant Pot has become such a useful tool, I need to make room for it on my kitchen counter. It’s definitely more useful than the coffee pot, especially since I’ve stopped drinking coffee!
Are you a fan of cooking in the electric pressure cooker? What’s your favorite dish to make?
Basque Citrus Herb Chicken Chorizo in the Instant Pot Recipe
Citrus Herb Chicken Chorizo in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp grass-fed butter, ghee or avocado oil 43 g, divided
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs
- 1¼ tsp sea salt 4 g, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion thickly sliced
- 4 fresh garlic cloves minced
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs leaves removed and stems discarded
- ½ lb chorizo 230 g, casing removed
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes 18 g
- ½ cup pitted green olives 67 g
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 79 ml
- ¾ cup chicken bone broth 177 ml
- Handful of fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoons (29 g) of healthy fat of choice to the Instant Pot and press “Sauté.” Once the fat has melted, add the chicken thighs, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of sea salt and brown for about 2½ minutes per side. Remove the browned chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon (14 g) of healthy fat of choice, onion, garlic, thyme leaves and the remaining ¾ teaspoon of sea salt, sautéing for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chorizo and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, orange juice and bone broth. Give it a good stir. Add the browned chicken, making sure it’s submerged and some of the liquid is ladled over it.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, making sure the steam release valve is sealed. Press the “Poultry” setting, then increase the time using the “+” button until you reach 20 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot is done and beeps, press “Keep Warm/Cancel.” Using an oven mitt, “quick release”/open the steam release valve. When the steam venting stops and the silver dial drops, carefully open the lid.
- Serve immediately, topped with fresh cilantro.
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Notes
Nutrition
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
About Lisa
Lisa has been creating low carb recipes for herself and sharing them with others since 2010. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and find new ways to create low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites! Her recipes have been featured on popular magazine sites including Fitness, Shape, Country Living, Women's Health, and Men's Health. Lisa lives in Southeastern Connecticut. Connect with her and Low Carb Yum at:
Emily Kemp says
This sounds utterly delicious, need to get an instant pot asap!
fdr says
I tried this out in my instantpot and it came out amazing! Even my kids enjoyed it with a side of white rice. Making it again as I type! Thanks for sharing!
Mary says
It would be great to have this with another way to cook it; like a slow cooker or dutch oven.
Lisa says
You can cook it in a dutch oven or slow cooker. Just follow the directions, but cook longer.
Eunice Robertson says
I’m sorry, but what is an instant pot? Here in South Africa we’re a bit behind the rest of the world.
Lisa says
It’s a multi-function electric pressure cooker. There are other brands, but Instant Pot is the most popular one.