
Chicken Adobo is a Filipino Classic and a staple dish in most Filipino households. Making this simple dish consists of only a few ingredients you probably already have on hand and requires very little effort.
Instant Pot Chicken Adobo
Chicken Adobo is kind of like the introduction to Filipino cuisine to those not familiar. If I’m making dinner for a friend who has never had Filipino food before, chicken adobo would definitely be what I would make for them.
This recipe calls for chicken legs (thighs would work too), soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaves and lots of garlic! The green onions and sugar are optional but do add a nice touch to the dish. The sugar balances out the salt from the soy sauce and the sour from the vinegar, but honestly I have made this dish hundreds of times without the sugar and its just as good!
What I love about this version of my recipe is that its all done in the Instant Pot which means it’ll be done in the same amount of time as your rice (you can time this, trust me!) AND I only have one pot to clean!
The kids absolutely love chicken adobo! I mean, who doesn’t, right?! Have you ever met anyone who didn’t like this Filipino classic dish?
Keep scrolling to read how I made it in the Instant Pot.

How To Make Chicken Adobo In the Instant Pot
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode for 10 minutes and add the avocado oil.
- Add the garlic and the chicken and brown on all sides.
- Combine the water, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar and add it to the Instant Pot.
- Add the bay leaves and stir all together.
- Turn off the Sauté mode and put the lid on the Instant Pot.
- Set it to High Pressure for 20 minutes. Turn off the Warm mode.
- Once it’s done, manually release the pressure.
- Serve with white rice.
- You can top this with green onion if you’d like.

More Filipino Recipes You’ll Love
- Chicken Tinola
- Ginisang Upo with Ground Turkey and Shrimp
- Chicken Afritada
- Filipino Style Beef Steak (Bistek)
Instant Pot Chicken Adobo
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Cutting Board
- Chef's Knife
Ingredients
- 5 pieces Large chicken legs
- 5 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
- 3/4 cup Vinegar
- 3 pieces Bay Leaves
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
- 1 tbsp Scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Using an Instant Pot, set it to the Sauté mode for 10 minutes and add the avocado oil.
- Add the minced garlic and brown for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken and brown it on all sides.
- Combine the water, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar and add it to the Instant Pot.
- Add the bay leaves and mix all the ingredients together.
- If there is still time left on your Sauté mode, hit Cancel on the Instant Pot.
- Put the lid on the pressure cooker and set it to High Pressure for 20 minutes. Warm setting Off.
- Once done, manually release the pressure.
- Give it a quick stir and serve with plain white rice.
- (Optional) Garnish with scallions.