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keto instant pot coq au vin with mashed cauliflower in a white bowl on a white background
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5 from 10 ratings

Keto Instant Pot Coq Au Vin

Low carb chicken braised in red wine sauce with carrots, mushrooms and onions. Slow cooker and dutch oven directions too!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Servings: 4
Calories: 401
Author: Natalie

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 4 slices of thick cut bacon chopped
  • 2 pounds skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic grated or finely minced
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 3/4 cup chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 12 ounces mushrooms sliced (about 4 cups)
  • 4 carrots chopped into 1" pieces (about 2 cups)
  • 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
  • kosher salt + pepper

Instructions

  • Press the SAUTEE button on your instant pot. Add in the chopped bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
    4 slices of thick cut bacon
  • Season the chicken with kosher salt + pepper. In the bacon drippings, brown the chicken thighs in batches so you don't overcrowd the instant pot. Cook them skin side down for 5 minutes until golden brown. (You only need to cook the skin side. The rest of the chicken will cook in the instant pot, just developing flavor from the skin!) Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.
    2 pounds skin-on bone-in chicken thighs, kosher salt + pepper
  • Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the cooking fat from the instant pot. Add in the chopped onion and garlic. Season with kosher salt. Cook for 5 minutes until soft, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the instant pot. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
    1 yellow onion, 3 cloves of garlic
  • To the instant pot on top of the cooking onions, add in the carrots, mushrooms, red wine, chicken stock, tomato paste, browned chicken and thyme. Stir to combine.
    1 cup red wine, 3/4 cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 12 ounces mushrooms, 4 carrots, 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • Close with the lid, and make sure the vent is at SEALING. Hit CANCEL, then cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes. Will take about 10-15 minutes to reach pressure, then it will start counting down from 10. After the 10 minutes is up, do a QUICK RELEASE, where you move the valve to VENTING to release all the steam. Once all the steam is gone and the float valve has dropped, you can safely open the instant pot.
  • Remove the lid, and press SAUTEE to bring to a boil.
  • Make a slurry by scooping out 1 cup of the cooking liquid to a bowl and whisk with the 2 tablespoons tapioca starch. Try and remove all the lumps. Pour this back into the instant pot and stir to combine to thicken the sauce slightly.
    2 tablespoons tapioca starch
  • Hit cancel, and let the coq au vin cool for a few minutes before serving, since it will be very hot. Stir in the cooked bacon bits, stir to combine. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust if needed.
  • Serve over mashed cauliflower, and garnish with more fresh thyme.
  • Leftovers will keep in an airtight container refrigerated for at least 5 days, or frozen for at least 6 months.

Video

Notes

Chicken: My favorite chicken to use for this is bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. I get my organic chicken from ButcherBox, which I highly recommend! You could use boneless, skinless thighs, chicken breasts, drumsticks or a combination of all 3. If the cut of chicken you are using doesn't have a skin, you can skip the browning in Step 2, and just add the chicken in raw in Step 4. No need to adjust the cooking time. All the cuts of chicken will cook for 8 minutes.
Thyme: I prefer using fresh thyme, but you could use dried thyme. I would add in 2 teaspoons dried thyme as a substitution.
Wine: Cooking down the wine gets rid of all the alcohol! (Common question I get asked a lot, ha!) I don't have a specific wine preference, not much of a wine snob. I usually get something in the $10-$15 price range. Often Josh Cellars, mostly because my sons name is Josh, haha! If for some reason you don't drink wine, you could just use all chicken stock (2.5 cups) or a combo of chicken stock and balsamic vinegar (2-1/4 cup chicken stock and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar) to give it more depth of flavor.
Mushroom Substitute: If you don't like mushrooms, you can just substitute some chopped celery. Will add depth of flavor and great texture. Same amount. You can also optionally add in maybe 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce/coconut aminos/balsamic vinegar to give it that "umami" flavor the mushrooms add. Taste your sauce once it's done cooking and decide if it needs it!
Carrot Substitute: Poor carrots get such a bad rap in Keto. They are a little on the higher carb side, but so healthy for you! And delicious! I'm fine enjoying them in these smaller quantities. If you want this even more keto friendly, you could leave out the carrots and use celery instead. Same amount.
Thickener: I prefer tapioca starch, but you could also use arrowroot powder. If you don't need this to be gluten free/keto friendly you could use flour or corn starch. Same quantities for all substitutions.
Slow Cooker: Cook the bacon, chicken thighs and onions in your cast iron skillet over medium heat as directed above. Add to your slow cooker, and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. Then, cook uncovered for 30 minutes to reduce the sauce, and make the slurry.
Dutch OvenUse your dutch oven over medium heat and follow steps 1-4. Cover your dutch oven with a lid, and transfer to a 250ºF oven for 45 minutes. Transfer the dutch oven to your stove top. Skip step 6. Then continue with step 7-10.
Freezing Instructions: Freeze in a freezer safe airtight container for at least 6 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat either in the microwave until warm, about 3-5 minutes. Or reheat on the stove in a pot over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 401 | Total Carbs: 9.7g | Protein: 23.6g | Fat: 26.6g | Fiber: 1.9g | Net Carbs: 8g