Instant Pot Spinach Artichoke Chicken
Instant Pot Spinach Artichoke Chicken is a healthy, dairy-free twist on the classic dip we know & love! Creamy, dreamy, packed with protein, and bursting with flavor, this simple recipe is sure to become a new, easy weeknight dinner staple.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cups plain unsweetened almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)
- 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 10-oz bag frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed very dry
- 1 14-oz cans artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and roughly chopped
- 1 8-oz can diced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast*
- 3 tablespoons avocado mayonnaise or veganaise**
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
optional
- 1 cup water***
Instructions
- Pulse the cashews in a blender until a fine powder forms. You’re looking for a flour-like consistency. Be careful not to overmix, or you’ll end up with cashew butter. Remove the cashew powder and set aside.
- To the same blender, add the almond milk, garlic, salt, lemon juice and mustard. Blend on high until smooth.
- Pour the liquid into a 6-quart electric pressure cooker. Add the spinach, artichoke hearts, water chestnuts, and chicken (and water if using, see recipe notes below). Stir until well combined.
- Secure the lid, select the manual setting, and set it to high pressure for 15 minutes. Your instant pot may take anywhere from 25-35+ minutes to come to pressure before the cook time starts.
- When the pressure cooker timer is done, quick release the pressure.
- Uncover and remove the chicken to a cutting board. Chop into bite-sized pieces, shred, or leave whole.
- To the pressure cooker, add the cashew powder, nutritional yeast, and mayonnaise. If the sauce seems dry, add an extra splash of almond milk. Taste and add additional salt or freshly ground pepper to taste.
- Add back the chicken and stir. Serve the chicken, topped with the sauce.
Notes
*Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavor without containing any dairy. Find it on the bulk aisle of your natural foods store, or in the baking section. If you can't find or don't want to use it, feel free to omit.
**Avocado mayonnaise is made with avocado oil and is usually free of canola and soy oil, which is why I recommend it over regular mayo. Veganaise is an egg-free, vegan alternative to mayo, and is a great choice if you're avoiding eggs or want to keep this dish completely plant-based.
Stirring in a few tablespoons of mayonnaise or veganaise at the end of the cooking time adds an extra creamy layer that makes this dip taste almost identical to its dairy-laden counterpart. If you're not a fan of mayo, though, feel free to skip it
***IMPORTANT NOTE: Some pressure cookers have a very sensitive burn sensor, which may be set off by this recipe. If you know that your pressure cooker is very sensitive, you may want to skip this recipe altogether. Alternatively, you can add 1 cup of water prior to cooking. The sauce will be thinner at the end, but adding the water can help avoid the sauce burning to the bottom during cooking.