🥣 Instant Pot Chicken Tinola · Breakthrough Body Blueprint

🥣 Instant Pot Chicken Tinola

High-Protein • Comfort Food • Busy-Mom Friendly

If you need a meal that feels like a warm hug and supports your fitness goals—this is it. This Instant Pot Chicken Tinola is light, nourishing, and packed with protein. Ginger-forward broth, juicy chicken thighs, tender chayote, and fresh spinach make this a go-to for recovery days, cold nights, or easy meal prep.

🛒 Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 small yellow onion, sliced

• 5 cloves garlic, smashed

• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, julienned

• 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• 2 tbsp fish sauce (patis)

• 1 medium chayote, peeled and sliced

• 2 cups fresh spinach

• Black pepper, to taste

• Optional: squeeze of lemon or calamansi

⚡ Easy Instant Pot Instructions

1. Sauté

Turn Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add olive oil and cook onion until soft (2–3 minutes). Add garlic and ginger; stir until fragrant.

2. Add chicken

Add chicken thighs and lightly brown for 2–3 minutes.

3. Build the broth

Pour in chicken broth and fish sauce. Season with black pepper.

4. Pressure cook

Secure lid. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes.

Let natural release for 5 minutes, then quick release.

5. Add vegetables

Add chayote. Close lid and pressure cook 2 more minutes. Quick release.

6. Finish fresh

Stir in spinach until just wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add citrus if using.

🥗 How I Serve It

• As-is for a light, high-protein meal

• Over cauliflower rice for volume

• With a small scoop of jasmine rice on training days

Have you tried Tinola before—or is this your first time?

Drop a 🥣 if you’re adding this to your meal prep this week, and comment how you’d serve it!

📊 Macros (Per Serving | ¼ Recipe) [estimate]

• Calories: ~310

• Protein: ~34 g

• Carbs: ~7 g

• Fat: ~15 g

• Fiber: ~2 g

Chayote (also called sayote in Filipino cooking) is a mild, light-green squash that looks like a wrinkly pear. It’s super popular in Southeast Asian, Latin American, and Caribbean dishes—especially soups like tinola—because it soaks up flavor while staying crisp-tender.

🌱 What it tastes like

• Very mild and slightly sweet

• Texture is similar to zucchini or cucumber

• Takes on whatever seasoning or broth you cook it in (aka very coach-approved 😄)

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💪 Health benefits (why it’s a quiet nutrition MVP)

🥗 Low calorie, high volume

• ~25 calories per cup

• Great for fat loss or volume eating without blowing macros

🌾 High in fiber

• Supports digestion and gut health

• Helps keep you full longer (huge win for appetite control)