Pressure Cooker Chicken Tagine With Butternut Squash
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 5 servings
- 2tablespoons canola oil
- 1large red onion, finely chopped
- Kosher salt
- 1(4-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced (about ¼ cup)
- 6large garlic cloves, chopped
- 1cinnamon stick
- 2teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¾teaspoon cumin
- ½teaspoon hot smoked paprika
- ½teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼teaspoon ground cayenne
- ⅛teaspoon ground cloves
- Black pepper
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- 1cup chicken stock
- ¼cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon), plus more to taste
- 2pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 8dates, such as Medjool, pitted and halved
- 1(2- to 2½-pound) butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 1-by-3-inch wedges
- 1small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 4scallions, thinly sliced
- Cooked couscous or pita for serving (optional)
- Plain yogurt, for topping (optional)
- Toasted almonds, for topping (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (5 servings)
579 calories; 15 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 74 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 33 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 1422 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Using the sauté setting, warm the oil in the pot of a 6- to 8-quart pressure cooker. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the fresh ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes. Add the cinnamon stick, sweet paprika, turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, ground ginger, cayenne and cloves. Season generously with black pepper. Stir well.
- Step 2
Add the tomato paste and stir until fully combined, fragrant and brick-red in color, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and lemon juice, scraping any browned bits that have collected at the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat. Add the chicken and the dates and stir to combine. Place the butternut squash wedges on top and season them generously with salt and pepper. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 16 minutes.
- Step 3
Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release remaining pressure manually. Open the lid, add the parsley and scallions and gently fold everything together. (The butternut squash will fall apart slightly to thicken the sauce.) Taste and add lemon juice and salt, if necessary. Serve with couscous or pita and top with yogurt and toasted almonds, if desired.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
A. Cleary
Very nice recipe for your pressure cooker collection but 2 pieces of advice: 16 minutes is way too long. 12 minutes is plenty of time with manual release. Also, I've made this successfully with bone in thighs, so if you can't find boneless or don't feel like de-boning the thighs, go ahead and use the bone-in ones. Absolutely no difference.
Kristin D.
The photo doesn’t match the recipe. It shows skin-on thighs, browned, instead of boneless unbrowned. I just made it now according to the recipe and will see if I should try it the other way next time.that certainly looks more appealing.
Dini G
I made this in the oven with skin on bone in thighs. Baked covered at 350 for an hour then uncovered for another hour. Flavors were spot on, it was a hit with the family. I served it with farro. Great the day after too.
Mimi
So far, everyone loves this recipe. So good, so easy. My husband, NOT a cook, made this for his first Instant Pot attempt - he is now an Instant Pot poster boy!
Kevin Osinski
Used this as a template to riff off of. I used 3/4 lb thighs, 2 cups home-cooked chickpeas, 3/4 lb pre-cut squash, a can of diced tomatoes instead of paste, half a preserved lemon and 16 green olives. No dates. Kept the spice blend but cut the fresh ginger in half. Cooked 8 min on high with a 5 min manual release -- my standard for boneless thighs. Turned out really well.
Laura
Made this tonight, following the recipe faithfully, and it was simply fantastic. However, if you're not a fan of spice-heat in food, you may want to scant either the cayenne or the hot paprika - it had quite a bit of zing, much more so in a pressure cooker than the same quantity of those spices in a non-pressure cooker.
K. Sax
I have an instant pot Ultra, so I can't speak about other models. The saute cycle doesn't really get hot enough to brown meat quickly, so I brown it on the stove. This recipe burned in the bottom of the instant pot. Recipes with Indian spices like this often do that if there is not enough liquid. I suspected that it was going to, but I didn't really see any comments about burning. So I gave it a try. I had to dump it in a bowl, scrub the pan out and add another cup of liquid.
Becca
Looks like they re-used the photo that accompanied the slow-cooker version of this recipe, which does call for browning the thighs.
Fran Duchene
I followed the directions exactly and made this for Erev Rosh Hashanah, leaving out the yogurt. Everyone loved it. The chicken was moist and tender and everything was flavorful. Being able to prepare it in the instant pot so quickly was a real plus. This recipe will become a staple.
Denise
We made this with skin-on bone-in chicken thighs. I browned the chicken first hoping to have a crisp skin, but everything falls apart in the stew, and the meat fell off the bones. Still delicious, but the browning was superfluous! We had no dates, so substituted prunes--should have used more for the sweet fruity flavor. Served with cops-cous--was a hearty stew.
milo v.
Phenomenal. Brown the chicken first and don’t skip the dates. I cooked this is midnight on Thursday and enjoyed it 1:30 in the morning with a glass of French Malbec.
Lauren
The amount of fresh ginger was too much, in my opinion. The recipe calls for so many different spices and flavors, only to be completely overpowered by ginger. I’d maybe try this again with one tbsp of fresh ginger rather than 1/4 cup.
Chris
Made this tonight and it was a hit! Used 2t of soy sauce and 1t of sugar to replace the tomato paste for a family member who avoids tomatoes/nightshades. Perfectly spiced and warming for a winter night!
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
I subbed dried apricots for dates and omitted smoked paprika because I didn't have any but otherwise made as instructed. It was amazing. Sweet and comforting! Left my house smelling amazing as well. Adding to the regular rotation!
Michael Conley
Wow, was this good! I really liked the minced ginger vs grating it. 4 stars
Rrose Selavy
Made pretty much as written and it was outstanding. I used the Instant Pot for both slow pressure cook: first browned the chicken as instructed, removed, sauteed the onion in the pot, added spices, and removed. Had to wash out pot, as the bottom was pretty burnt up. Then layered as instructed for slow cooking and let it do its thing for about 4-1/2 hours. I wasn't sure it was entirely cooked, so I put it on the pressure cooker setting for just a few minutes, and it melded perfectly.
Sara
Think maybe the 16 minutes at pressure is for bone-in thighs. Anyway, that’s what we did and it was perfect. Squash does get soft enough this way to stir and dissolve it into the sauce. Used spring onion tops (greens) instead of scallions and they were perfect, very mild but adding a nice crunch and freshness. Parsley less of a contribution actually. Served over couscous. Forgot the almonds but sliced almonds next time definitely, wish they’d been listed with regular ingredients. Great recipe!
Deb
I tried to follow exactly but the long list of ingredients made it a challenge so I was forced to make a couple substitutions. Dried cranberries instead of dates. Rotisserie chicken , shredded, and added at the end to avoid overcooking. I served on rice. The dish is so packed with flavor it needs a neutral base to break it up and prevent your mouth from exploding. Really enjoyed this dish.
Brad
This is a keeper, but it looks nothing like the photo. It's basically a stew as the chicken and squash fall apart with cooking. I might use kabocha squash in the future as they tend to hold up better yet still do a good job of thickening. I might also experiment with different ways of cooking the chicken in the oven and then adding it to the cooked squash. I realize that this is a "tagine" that's done in the pressure cooker so the texture is bound to be different.
Carla
I agree with the comments regarding less fresh ginger and reduce the cooking time. Very good, I'll make it again
Linda
How can I cook this without a pressure cooker cooker?
k s
Served with couscous. Charlie liked it (4.5), Georgia did not.
Erin
Used boneless breasts, pounded and cut into large tenders. 1T harissa paste + 1t tomato paste. Cajun spice mix for sweet paprika. Cooked 10 min at pressure, then 5 min natural release (probably could've done 8). Really yummy but lots of prep for weeknight.
Es
Pleasantly surprised that this turned out as well as it did. Here's what I did for the 2 of us: 4 bone-in, skin-on thighs; all the rest of the components as written except that I omitted the dates. Served over pearl couscous with a spoon. Chicken and squash remained intact and are extremely tasty (and attractive). Was surprised that garlic, ginger, and spices melded together so well and the dish wasn't too sweet (the cayenne helps).
susan
Too much liquid left over… had to sauté for at least 5-6 extra minutes. Taste was good, but will try slow cooker method next times. Not visually appealing and texture a little off- chicken just mixes in to the squash and results in a kind of orange mess.
Jamie
Delicious! 1.25 cups broth. Turkish apricots instead of the dates. Cilantro instead of parsley. Definitely go with the yoghurt and almonds. Instant Pot high steam for 13 minutes, then 10 minutes natural release. Butternut squash melted into the sauce. Was perfect.
Hudson Valley mama
Whole family loves this and it’s even better the next day. Some necessary changes to avoid the BURN error on the Instapot: —the first step should be to bloom the spices in oil until fragrant, then add onions and proceed with the rest of the recipe. —Double the broth. Might want to increase the spices proportionally as well to keep balanced flavors. I saw someone recommended a 12-min cook time but it is definitely better with the full 16 minutes. Enjoy!
LF
This was fantastic. Doubled the recipe and kept the same cooking time. Used prunes and apricots instead of dates. Used 12 frozen ginger cubes (for the doubled recipe) and no powdered ginger. Harissa instead of tomato paste. Used pre-cut butternut squash pieces. Served with couscous but ate the leftovers with cauliflower rice and it was delicious the day after as well.
Dawn
Am I missing something? Scallions are listed in the ingredient list but never mentioned in the preparation.
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