Brokenhearted Chicken–tender bites of chicken thighs are simmered in a savory onion balsamic gravy and are served over mashed potatoes. Made with your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Brokenhearted Chicken
Juicy chicken thighs soak up a tangy, sweet balsamic, dijon sauce with crispy bacon on top and creamy mashed potatoes underneath to catch all that flavor. This dish is comforting and warm and will help you feel better if you’ve just had an emotional day. Creamy buttermilk mashed potatoes are just like therapy! It’s the perfect “treat yourself” dinner for mending a heart or just feeding your feelings in the tastiest way possible.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Bacon
- Onion–I like yellow
- Garlic cloves
- Balsamic vinegar
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Dijon mustard–or spicy brown mustard
- Brown sugar
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Dried thyme
- Russet potatoes
- Butter
- Milk–or buttermilk
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the bacon and cook it until crisp.
Move bacon to a paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon grease.
Add onion into the 1 Tbsp of bacon grease and saute for 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add in the balsamic and broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
Stir in the dijon and brown sugar. Nestle the chicken into the pot. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and thyme.
If making mashed potatoes: place a long legged trivet* into the pot.
Add potatoes into a pot-in-pot dish* and cover the potatoes with water. Place the dish on top of the trivet.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Carefully remove the potato pan and trivet out of the pot. Drain off the water of the potatoes. Add potatoes into a mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes and then stir in butter, milk and salt and pepper to taste.
In a small bowl stir together 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp cold water. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the pot to thicken the sauce. Once thickened turn off Instant Pot. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
Serve chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes. Crumble some bacon over each of the servings.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with steamed green beans or roasted Brussels sprouts.
- This recipe is gluten free and can be dairy free if you don’t make the mashed potatoes.
- Try adding in 4 ounces of sliced mushrooms when you add in the onions.
- If the sauce is too tangy for your taste, a touch more brown sugar or a splash of cream can mellow it out.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with dijon are Instant Pot Dijon Chicken and Instant Pot Meatball Stroganoff.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Brokenhearted Chicken
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Tender bites of chicken thighs are simmered in a savory onion balsamic gravy and are served over mashed potatoes. Made with your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bacon, chopped
- 1/2 of one onion, halved and sliced
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- 20 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs, each thigh cut into 4 pieces
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
For the mashed potatoes (optional)
- 1 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the bacon and cook it until crisp. Move bacon to a paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon grease.
- Add onion into the 1 Tbsp of bacon grease and saute for 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add in the balsamic and broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Stir in the dijon and brown sugar. Nestle the chicken into the pot. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and thyme.
- If making mashed potatoes: place a long legged trivet* into the pot. Add potatoes into a pot-in-pot dish* and cover the potatoes with water. Place the dish on top of the trivet.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Carefully remove the potato pan and trivet out of the pot. Drain off the water of the potatoes. Add potatoes into a mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes and then stir in butter, milk and salt and pepper to taste.
- In a small bowl stir together 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp cold water. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the pot to thicken the sauce. Once thickened turn off Instant Pot. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- Serve chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes. Crumble some bacon over each of the servings.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the bacon and cook it until crisp. Move bacon to a paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon grease.
- Add onion into the 1 Tbsp of bacon grease and saute for 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Move to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the balsamic, broth, dijon and brown sugar. Nestle the chicken into the slow cooker. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and thyme.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- In a small bowl stir together 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp cold water. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the slow cooker to thicken the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- Serve chicken and crumble some bacon over each of the servings.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot
More recipes with bacon…
Worm Casserole
A savory Instant Pot pasta made with French onion soup, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, and cheese.
Alabama Bacon Casserole
An easy egg, bacon, crouton and cheddar breakfast casserole.
Mount Rushmore Casserole
An Instant Pot pasta dish featuring tender chicken, smoky bacon, ranch seasoning, and fire-roasted tomatoes in a creamy alfredo sauce, finished with spinach and melted cheese.
4th of July Casserole
A tasty slow cooker side dish for a holiday barbecue with bacon, ground beef, beans and barbecue sauce.
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Made exactly as written and this was delicious! The gravy is the star of the show and I’ll be putting this recipe into the ‘Gravy File’, as well. Thanks again, Karen.
P.S. I made the potatoes stovetop and used the pressure cook times you noted.
The gravy really is the star! Thanks for your review, John!
I look forward to making this soon, but I have a question. Will the pressure cook time change if I choose not to use potatoes? Thanks, Karen.
sorry for the late response! Looks like it worked out okay 🙂