This Hearty Instant Pot Coq Au Vin is classic comfort food and a French traditional recipe. This coq au vin pressure cooker recipe is made with dry white wine, but red wine can be substituted. It pairs so well with heavenly Instant Pot mashed potatoes and parsnips.

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This Instant Pot Coq au Vin recipe is a comforting recipe that fills my kitchen with delightful aromas. My family asks me to make this recipe all the time!
This French rustic stew recipe, which is translated as ‘rooster in wine’, is characterized by tender chicken pieces, typically a whole chicken, cut into pieces and cooked until tender. I prefer to use just chicken thighs.
The original recipe for this classic French dish was popularized in the US by the iconic chef Julia Child.
I prefer the white wine version of coq au vin to the red wine version. However, you can use either.
As with most of my Instant Pot recipes, this pressure cooker recipe is an adaptation of my stove-top version. I give you directions for both versions in the recipe card.
I love this coq au vin recipe for its rich, creamy sauce from simmering chicken with bacon, mushrooms, and aromatic vegetables.
If you like hearty recipes like this one, you might like Instant Pot short ribs made with red wine and Guinness!
Pressure cooking this French chicken stew involves the following steps:
- Searing: Chicken pieces are first browned in bacon fat, which imparts a smoky flavor.
- Sauteing: Aromatics like onions and garlic are sautéed until soft, followed by mushrooms that absorb the flavors from the pan.
- Deglazing: Brandy is added to deglaze the pan, lifting all those flavorful bits stuck to the bottom.
- Braising: The chicken is returned to the pot with wine, broth, and herbs, then pressure cooked until tender.
- Finishing: A final touch of butter and flour enriches the sauce before serving.
Serve it with sides that can soak up the delicious sauce, like creamy mashed potatoes and parsnips (they go together so well!), a crusty baguette, or even a healthy arugula salad to balance the richness.
➡ Looking for other stew recipes? Try my Instant Pot chicken stew, beef curry stew, or African peanut stew. These are all family favorites that my readers love!
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients You’ll Need for Instant Pot Coq au Vin

💡 Recipe and Ingredient Tips
Here are some tips that will help you make this coq au vin a success.
🍷 Wine: I love the flavor of white wine (especially sauvignon blanc) in this dish, but you could use red. Avoid sweet wines like rieslings. Dry vermouth is also a decent substitute. If you don’t want to use wine, substitute chicken broth.
🍾 Brandy: Traditional recipe calls for cognac, but brandy is cheaper and works well. A substitute for brandy can be white wine or broth. The alcohol does add a unique flavor to the dish!
🍗 Chicken: Use bone-in skin-on or skinless thighs and legs. It is essential to pat the chicken dry before browning. Chicken thighs work best if you’re making this recipe in the Instant Pot.
🧅 Pearl Onions: I love using pearl onions for this recipe, and I usually find them in the freezer aisle of the grocery store. Substitute shallots or yellow onions and saute them with the vegetables.
🥓 Browning: It takes time, but it is worth it. Brown in batches. It’s important to pat chicken dry before browning. After browning, deglaze the pot with liquid, scraping up browned bits.
🍲 Broth: Homemade chicken broth enhances flavor. Store-bought works fine too.
🥕 Leeks: Wash leeks thoroughly. Cut, soak in water, then rinse in a sieve to remove dirt.
🧈 Beurre Manie: (Pronounced burr mahn-yay) It’s a great flavor enhancer! Mix softened butter and flour. Add gradually to thicken the sauce without clumps.
🍵 Healthier Options: Use cornstarch to thicken, reduce/omit bacon, or use olive oil instead of bacon fat. Note: These changes will affect flavor.
❓FAQs
You can substitute ¾ teaspoon dried herbs for the fresh herbs.
This dish is traditionally made with whole chicken pieces. You can use boneless chicken (whole or pieces) and cook for less time. You can also decrease the liquid since the chicken will cook much faster.
How to Make Coq au Vin
♨️ Instant Pot Method
Pat chicken dry and rub with salt and pepper. Set aside until needed.

- In Saute mode, cook bacon until crisp. Set aside.
- Brown chicken in batches on both sides and set aside. This step can be done on the stovetop, which is quicker!
- Sweat the leeks, carrots, and mushrooms in the bacon drippings.
- Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook until the tomato paste changes color and/or sticks to the bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes. Deglaze with brandy and make sure there’s nothing stuck on the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add reserved chicken, wine, broth, pearl onions, and thyme. Close the Instant Pot.
Program the Instant Pot and release pressure

- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.
- The display will go from On to 12:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a 10 minute natural release of pressure or a quick release. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.

- While the chicken is cooking, make the beurre manie by mixing together softened butter and flour. Set aside.
- Open the Instant Pot and drop the butter and flour mixture into the pot using a teaspoon.
- Stir the chicken coq au vin and simmer in Saute mode until thickened.
- Top each serving with bacon and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.
⏲️ Stovetop Method
- Rub chicken with salt and pepper
- Saute bacon and set aside
- Saute chicken and set aside
- Saute the vegetables
- Add tomato paste and garlic
- Deglaze and add remaining ingredients
- Simmer till chicken is cooked
- Add beurre manie
- Simmer to thicken
Recipe card below has detailed instructions!
✅ Why Trust Neena at Paint the Kitchen Red?

I’m Neena, and I’ve spent a lifetime perfecting the recipes I share. My years of practice have honed my skills, resulting in consistently delicious and easy meals. My experience (including hits and misses!) enables me to provide valuable insights, troubleshooting advice, and innovative recipe ideas. Every recipe is tested multiple times, so you can be sure it works the first time!
Instant Pot Coq au Vin
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs or drumsticks bone-in, skinless
- salt to taste
- black pepper powder to taste
- 4 bacon strips – diced
- 2 cups leeks cleaned well and diced
- 1 ½ cups baby carrots or thickly sliced
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced or quartered
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- ¼ cup brandy
- 1 cup dry white wine [See Note 1]
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth preferably homemade
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
- 4 springs fresh thyme or ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoon butter softened
- 1½ tablespoon all purpose flour
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- Select Saute and cook bacon until crisp. Press Cancel and remove bacon; set aside.
- Select Saute and brown the chicken in batches. Remove and set aside. (You can also brown the chicken in a skillet. This may allow you to do it in one batch since there's more room.)
- Saute mushrooms and set aside.
- Cook leeks and carrots till leeks are soft, about 1 minute.
- Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook till tomato paste begins to change color and/or begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Press Cancel and deglaze with brandy, until almost evaporated, stirring often.
- Stir in chicken, wine, broth, pearl onions and thyme and close the Instant Pot.
- Pressure cook on High Pressure for 12 minutes.
- While Chicken is cooking, mix together the softened butter and flour.
- Do a Quick Release of pressure and open the Instant Pot. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Stir in the sauteed mushrooms.
- Select Saute and drop the butter and flour mixture into the Instant Pot using a teaspoon. *
- Stir the coq au vin and simmer until thickened. Press Cancel.
- Top each serving with bacon.
Stovetop Instructions [See Note 2]
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- Cook bacon in a large pot over medium heat. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Increase heat to medium-high, brown the chicken in batches on both sides and set aside.
- Cook the leeks, carrots, and mushrooms in the drippings until leeks are soft, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomato paste and garlic. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and deglaze the pot with brandy, stirring frequently, until brandy has almost evaporated.
- Add back the reserved chicken, wine, broth, pearl onions, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer the stew, partially covered, for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is done.
- While the chicken is cooking, mix the softened butter and flour in a small bowl. Stir mixture into the chicken stew and simmer until thickened. Serve in individual bowls and top with bacon.
Video
Notes
- Note 1: Substitute red wine for white wine if desired.
- Note 2: To make this recipe on the stovetop, use:
8 pieces of chicken, ½ cup brandy, 2 cups of white wine, 2 cups of chicken broth, 4 tablespoon butter, 3 tablespoon flour. All other quantities remain the same.
Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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