Quick and easy comfort food at it's finest with this Instant Pot sticky garlic peanut noodles with chicken recipe. 4 minutes under pressure and a take out fake out dinner is done!
Creating this recipe was a bit of a labor of love. It took me a few times to get the noodle and water ratios right, but alas, I finally created Instant Pot sticky garlic peanut noodles with tender delicious chicken, that is ready to share.
A quick note about rice noodles in the instant pot:
** This doesn't come out like a typical pad Thai dish. Because the noodles are starchy and everything cooks in the sauce, the sauce thickens with the starch (YUM!), the noodles are sticky. NOT MUSHY, sticky - and I just LOVE IT**
But Steph, you cook the chicken in there too? How does it cook in 4 minutes?
It is true! The key here is to make sure your chicken is cut into VERY SMALL pieces. This is where Instant Pot cooking can be bit of a skill. You need to create you ingredients in such a way that everything has a similar cook time.
For this recipe, you can also just omit the chicken if you like.
I haven't tested this recipe with different types of noodles yet, so I can't say it will turn out if you use anything other than rice stick noodles.
I was worried about how these sticky noodles would reheat.
I was shockingly surprised to like this recipe even better reheated for next day lunch. One key thing though, is that I added about a tablespoon of water before I reheated, and it was perfect!
One last tip for this recipe.
When you put the noodles on top of the liquid, push them down as much as you can into the water, and try to spread the noodles out as best you can. Otherwise, you end up with a big clump of noodles.
Ready to give this a try?
Instant Pot Sticky Garlic Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken, cut into small bite size pieces
- 125g flat rice stick noodles (not vermicelli noodles)
- 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 2 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp sambal oelek chili paste
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ cup scallions, chopped
- 1 cup matchstick carrots (or julienne)
- 2 red peppers, diced
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup peanuts garnish
Instructions
- Press the saute button on your instant pot and add in the ginger, chili paste, fish sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, peanut butter, and broth into the liner. This allows the peanut butter to thin out so you don't get he burn notice.
- Add the chicken to the pot.
- Place the noodles on top and push down slightly.
- Secure the lid on your instant pot and set on manual high pressure for 4 minutes.
- When the pressure cycle is complete, quick release the pressure. Do not let the noodles sit in the pot too long after cooking - they will go mushy - not sticky.
- If your noodles are too sticky for your liking, add water in ½ cup increments and stir, to make it more saucy. mmmm saucy!
- Add the carrots, scallions, and red pepper into the pot. Stir gently.
- Add peanuts for garnish, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
So, there you have it, a quick and easy take out fake out dinner idea using your Instant Pot!
If you make this recipe, I want to see it! Tag me @mealplanaddict over on Instagram, or come post a photo in the Meal Plan Addict Community!
ROSANNE MORRIS says
How many servings does this make???
Steph says
4-6 people I would say
Ashlee says
I just made this and it was so delicious and easy! Instead of chicken I threw a couple handfuls of frozen, raw, tail on shrimp on top. I also added a dash of sugar to brighten up the peanut butter a bit. So so tasty and easy!
Steph says
You are killin it! The recipe hasn't even been up 24 hours! So glad you liked it! Brown sugar. SO SMART!
ROSANNE MORRIS says
Has anyone made this with powdered peanut butter?? I would love to cut the calories on this!!
Steph says
Just be aware the whole texture of the sauce will change too with that swap. The PB is what is what gives it such a great texture. How about making the sauce with the chicken, and then adding it to veggie noodles such as zucchini (not cooked in the IP).
Michelle says
What brand of noodles did you use? Having trouble picking one. 😭
Sarah says
Would cooking the carrots and peppers with the rest change the cooking time or liquid amount?
Steph says
No. But they will be overcooked (in my opinion), but I am on team crunchy veggies. You can't decrease the time or the chicken and noodles won't cook.
Racine says
Made this for the first time and it was absolutely amazing!
Sarah says
Excited to try! Do you use chicken thighs or chicken breasts??
Steph says
I use thighs as I find that breasts dry easily. But you can use either.
Danielle says
Is there a way to make this meal freezer friendly? Either before cooking or after.
Anonymous says
SOOOOOOO good!!!! Thanks!
Anonymous says
I just made this and it was amazing! But, I forgot to add garlic because it's not listed in the directions of when to add it!
Steph says
Ah! Thanks ha ha.
Jenna says
I made this last night and it was AMAZING! But, I forgot to add the garlic in because it's not listed in the directions of when to add it in! May want to make that edit.
Steph says
Thanks for pointing this out! ha! I will fix.
Melinda says
More heat than I thought but it’s manageable. So much perfect peanut buttery goodness though. I stirred my sauce with the chicken in, it ended up a little grainy instead of smooth-I should have stuck to the instructions and whisked them together too. Tried with nest noodles because that’s what I had and those worked ok too. Will be making again!
Mackenzie says
I made this last night and it was soooo good! My boyfriend who hates Thai styled food loved it. I didn’t add the chilli paste as I’m a wimp with spice and it was perfect. Put a splash of water in it and warmed it up the next day for lunch and it was just as good if not better! So easy too.