Welcome to Day 4 of Philly Fit Foodies Meal Prep Week! You knew you weren’t getting out of here without an air fryer/instant pot recipe, right?! While we love the air fryer wholeheartedly, it’s not the most meal prep friendly; therefore, we bring you: Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore with Spaghetti Squash. Yum!
The instant pot is great for literally anything, but one of my favorite things to cook in the instant pot is chicken thighs. I swear the instant pot takes the texture and flavor of chicken thighs to a whole new level. They get perfectly browned, which amps up the flavor, and when you go to shred them, they fall apart so quickly! It’s a beautiful sight, really.
Aside from being ridiculously delicious, this recipe secured a spot in our meal prep lineup for two main reasons. First, cooking with the instant pot means everything can start and end in the same pot, keeping dirty dishes minimal. Also, the instant pot cooks quickly (*cough cough, instant*), so if you’re cooking lots of food, this quick recipe won’t steal your time.
Have other ingredients you’d like to see us use in the instant pot? Let us know!
Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore with Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 medium spaghetti squash
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 3 cloves garlic
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth (or chicken bone broth)
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- pepper, to taste
- olive oil spray
Instructions:
- Cut spaghetti squash in half and scrape out seeds.
- Place trivet in base of instant pot. Pour 1 cup of water into pot. Put one spaghetti squash on trivet, cut side facing up. Set to cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Quick release pressure. Remove spaghetti squash from pot. Once cooled, shred and set aside.
- Repeat steps 1-3 with second squash.
- Pat chicken dry, trim of excess fat, and season with salt and pepper.
- Set instant pot to sauté. Spray with cooking spray. Brown chicken on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Add garlic, peppers, and onion to the instant pot and sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened.
- Return chicken to the instant pot. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and salt.
- Secure instant pot lid. Set to high pressure and cook for 25 minutes. Quick release.
- Quick release pressure, then remove chicken from pot and shred. Return to instant pot and combine thoroughly with sauce. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste.
- Portion evenly over spaghetti squash and enjoy!
Yield: 6 servings
Serving size: 1 generous cup chicken cacciatore + 1 cup cooked spaghetti squash
Philly Fit Foodies 
really interesting !