Those of you who have been with me since the beginning know I am from Liberia (right off the west coast of Africa). I’ve been asked many times to share more of my family recipes and more of our traditional dishes. Well, pepper chicken is a favorite for many Liberians, and it comes together in no time.
Keeping with our theme this month, I want to keep this recipe Whole30 and Paleo friendly. So, I will be substituting a few ingredients usually used to make Liberian pepper chicken.
First, you can use whatever part of the chicken you like for this recipe. Most of us will use drumsticks or wings because they are easier to work with. And, you can easily eat them with your hands (because these are truly finger licking good).
Now, most Liberians use bouillon cubes/powder to season many of our dishes (including pepper chicken). Of course, we all know most bouillon cubes on the market contain a lot of ingredients that are not Whole30 or Paleo friendly. So, for this recipe, we are going to stick with salt and pepper, warm spice, lots of garlic and coconut aminos to add flavor to our pepper chicken.
Liberian Inspired Pepper Chicken:
WHOLE30 | PALEO
To really amp up the flavor in the pepper chicken, we traditionally add a little peanut butter to the pepper sauce. Stay with me… usually when I say that some people make the “huh” face. But trust me, it is incredible. But of course, peanut butter is not Whole30 compliant. So we are using almond butter in this recipe. Of course you can use sunflower butter or cashew butter if that’s all you have on hand or if you have allergies.
Liberian pepper chicken is usually served with rice, plantains or yams. During a round of Whole30, I enjoy serving it with cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles or yams.
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Instant Pot Liberian Inspired Pepper Chicken
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Chicken drumsticks seasoned with warm spices and simmered in a rich and spicy pepper sauce.
Ingredients
1.5 lbs. chicken drumsticks (about 6 drumsticks)
1 tsp. Smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. Turmeric powder
black pepper
2 tbsp. Grass-fed ghee
1 large onion – cut into cubes
1 red bell pepper – cut into cubes
1/2 green bell pepper – cut into cubes
1 habanero pepper – (this pepper is very hot and may not be for everyone. If you don’t like spicy food, or are feeding kids, you can omit this all together. You can try using a half of it or using crushed red pepper flakes instead)
4 garlic cloves – peeled
2 tbsp. Tomato paste
2 tbsp. Coconut aminos
1 tbsp. Unsweetened Almond butter (or peanut butter if you’re not on a Whole30)
1/2 tsp. Garlic seasoning
1/2 cup compliant or homemade chicken bone broth
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley or Thai basil leaves.
Instructions
To begin, select “SAUTÉ” on the instant pot and wait until the pot reads “HOT”. Pat the chicken drumsticks dry and season them with the paprika, turmeric and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Add the ghee to the hot instant pot and sear the chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side to brown the chicken. While the chicken sears, add the onion, peppers (bell and habanero) and garlic to a food processor and pulse until the vegetables are finely minced almost puréed. Remove the chicken from the pot and set them aside.
Now, add the puréed vegetables along with the tomato paste, coconut aminos, almond butter, and garlic seasoning to the instant pot and sauté (stirring frequently) until the puréed vegetables are just about cooked through and the liquid is almost all dried up, about 5-7 minutes. Season the mixture with a couple pinches of salt to taste. Then stir in the bone broth and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to deglaze the pan.
Return the chicken to the instant pot, cover and select “MANUAL”. Adjust the time to 5 minutes. When the alarm on the instant pot goes off, open the steam valve and release the steam from the pot. Stir the sauce, cover the pot, select “MEAT/STEW” and adjust the time to 7 minutes. When the alarm goes off, open the steam valve and allow all the steam to escape. Now, if the sauce is still a bit watery, select “SAUTÉ” on the instant pot and let the it simmer for a few minutes to thicken the sauce.
Transfer the chicken to a serving dish and garnish with fresh parsley leaves.
Serve with cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, yams…etc
Notes
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, follow these instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat with the ghee. Season the chicken and sear them for 3-5 minutes on each side. While the chicken cooks, add the peppers (bell and habanero), onion and garlic to a food processor and purée.
Remove the chicken from the pan and add the puréed vegetables along with the tomato paste, coconut aminos, almond butter, and garlic seasoning. Sauté the mixture over medium-high heat until the puréed vegetables are just about cooked through and all the liquid is almost all dried up, about 7-10 minutes. Season the mixture with a couple pinches of salt to taste. Then stir in the bone broth and olive oil.
Return the chicken to the pan, and stir to combine the chicken with the sauce. Transfer the pan to the oven. Bake until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of the chicken should read 165˚F-170˚F). Stir the mixture every 5 minutes so the sauce doesn’t burn on the bottom.
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles or yams.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
Keywords: Instant pot Liberian pepper chicken, pepper chicken
I love pepper chicken and have tried different types so far. This is one of my favorite and it is so easy to make !! Love the flavor of habanero in the sauce.
Thank you so much for sharing Akanksha! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Do you close up the instant pot two times?? Meaning cooking if twice?
Yep! You’re cooking for 12 minutes in total. But it’s broken up to make sure you don’t get the burn at the bottom.
What do you use if you are not doing whole 30 or paleo
The same ingredients doll. Whether you’re on a round of Whole30 or not, it’s delicious. That’s why I always focus on taste first and if all the ingredients happen to be Whole30 compliant, then great! But these are all just fresh ingredients. It’s a bomb dish all the ingredients just happen to be Whole30 compliant.
I just have no idea what are coconut aminos and how I can use them besides this recipe lol
Hi Aneta. Great question. Coconut aminos is a soy sauce substitute. Use it anywhere you would use soy sauce or add flavor to sautéed vegetables…etc
So much flavor, a great smoky flavor. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
This was the first recipe if yours that I made and I LOVEDDDDD it! I wanted to change up my cooking habits with something that didn’t seem too daunting and this was just what I needed. My husband was also super impressed that something so flavorful could be whipped up so fast.
I used jalapeño because, while I like spice, I didn’t want to go too hard. Next time I will definitely use half a habanero because I can imagine how well a little kick will work with this. I also used some leftover cilantro lime rice as our side and it was perfect!
Thank you Emily! I am so happy you and your hubby love this! The habanero is definitely a step up in spice so yes tart with half. But it is sp flavorful too.
I have a question about the garlic seasoning- I don’t have that, but I have garlic powder, garlic granules, and fresh garlic. I also have dried chives. What is your recommendation on amounts of each to sub for the seasoning mix?
I would say just mix equal amounts of garlic powder and granules, dried chives and parsley and a little salt to make a small container of seasoning. Then use 1/2 teaspoon of that mixture as your garlic seasoning.
So delicious and comforting and perfect. Beyond loved it!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Love this recipe! Great depth of flavor – can’t wait to try it with habanero (the market didn’t have it so I substituted serrano). Even my daughter who will try almost everything but won’t necessarily eat it, really liked it (and asked for seconds).
I’m beyond happy you guys enjoyed it Donna! It is special dish and I’m so happy I am able to share it with you.
Delicious!! Thank you! I used the stovetop and oven method and it worked great. I was craving trying a new flavor and this was perfect. So yummy and easy 👍
So happy you enjoyed it Lecia! Thank you for sharing.
So good. I doubled the recipe, but seared the chicken in a cast iron on the stove. Next time I will probably add 1 one habanero, but I really like heat. I didn’t have smoked paprika, so just used regular. I’ll have try with smoked paprika next time. Otherwise followed the recipe as written. All of your food is so flavorful, thank you for sharing another great recipe!
Thank you so much Carina! You are the reason I continue to share these recipes and I hope you continue to love them! Definitely try adding more habanero it’ll give you a nice kick but the sweetness from the bell peppers will cut that heat down a little.
My husband and I just made this recipe for dinner tonight and it won’t be the last time we cook this glorious meal! Just amazing and fairly simple to pull together during a week night. This recipe is packed with flavor. We had it with rice and green beans. YUM!
Thank you so much, Jessica! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Hello! I have a question about the finished product- does it freeze well? If I freeze, should I cook it entirely as directed or stop at a certain point in the recipe? I’m trying to figure out if I’m going to make the whole recipe to freeze 1/2 or if it’s better to just make 1/2 the portion. Thank you!
Hi Kimberann! You can just cook it for half the time and then freeze. I hope you enjoy it 💗
Hi Charlotte! This is the first recipe of yours that I’ve made, and my family and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I used boneless chicken thighs instead of the drumsticks, and served it with brown rice, sweet potatoes and broccoli. This is definitely a keeper!
Thank you Coby! I love how you served it and made it your own. thank you so much for the love.
I made this for dinner tonight and I can’t say enough good things about it! I used about half the habanero pepper, and omitted the nut butter just because I didn’t have any on hand and it still turned out amazing. If you don’t have an instant pot, a Dutch oven works perfectly, too! Will definitely be making this again & again.
YES!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Susan! Next time, you can totally use peanut butter if you’re not allergic. That’s usually how Liberians make it but I switched it up to almond butter to keep it Whole30 friendly.
This chicken is incredible! I wanted to use the recipe for meal prep for the week, so I cut a whole chicken into fryer pieces and tripled the sauce ingredients. Just… Wow. I can only imagine the sauce gets better as it sits overnight, I’m excited to eat this throughout the week! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Kara! Makes me so happy to hear this.
Made this for dinner last night. Will add the whole habanero next time. My house smelled amazing! Ate leftovers for lunch. Even better. Will 100% make this again!
I am so happy you enjoyed it Gabriella! Thank you for sharing!
Do you have any suggestions on how to adjust cooking times for using chicken breasts?
Hi Michelle! I would say maybe 3-4 minutes less. So maybe just set it for 10 minutes on manual. And then skip the second pressure cooking time. You will want to simmer the sauce uncovered afterwards.
So delicious! I followed the stove top/ oven directions because I don’t have an Insta-pot and it was fantastic! The technique of pureeing the vegetables before cooking was new to me. It produced such a tasty sauce. Thank you for this great recipe!
Thank you for sharing Maria! Im so happy you enjoyed it!
Bomb. This is my 3rd of your recipes and they are all so good. Never feel like they need tweaking. And my picky ass husband has been a big fan of all.
Didn’t have habanero at my grocery store so used calabrian chili paste. Still bomb.👏🏼👌🏼
Yes!! I love being hubby approved! Thank you so much for sharing Dayna! I appreciate you so much.
I just made this tonight and WOW! Full of so much flavor and delicious! I’m so glad I tried this out tonight and that I get to have leftovers tomorrow! Thank you!
Thank you Vanessa! Im so happy you enjoyed it!