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Home / Recipes / Dinner / Instant Pot / Instant Pot Chicken Thighs

Instant Pot Chicken Thighs

40 mins
| 2 Comments |
5 from 4 votes
Jump to Recipe 06/05/21 | Updated: 06/05/21 | by Nora
Instant Pot Chicken Thighs Pin 1

These Instant Pot Chicken Thighs are easy to make and turn out so juicy and flavorful. The juices make a wonderful gravy to serve with the chicken, too – great with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice!

overhead view of eight chicken thighs on white plate with gravy

Chicken thigh instant pot recipe

  • This is a great recipe if you love fall-off-the-bone tender meat – chicken thighs stay super juicy in the instant pot and turn out incredibly tender.
  • If you forgot to defrost meat for dinner, no worries: You can easily prepare this recipe with fully frozen chicken thighs.
  • The juices and broth you need in the pot for cooking make a wonderful gravy – just thicken with a cornstarch slurry in the end and you have a delicious sauce to serve with dinner.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for instant pot chicken thighs with text labels
Ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken Thighs: Chicken thighs, chicken broth, oil, cornstarch, brown sugar, ground paprika, garlic powder, onion power, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Ingredient notes

  • Chicken thighs: I used skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. I find they stay the juiciest. But feel free to use boneless, skinless thighs instead – just reduce the pressure cooking time to 8 minutes.
  • Frozen chicken: You can cook chicken thighs from frozen in the instant pot. Do not brown the chicken, just place the broth and trivet in the instant pot, then place the frozen chicken on the trivet. Sprinkle with the seasoning, then seal the lid. Pressure cook on high pressure for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of chicken thighs (and how tightly they are frozen together).
  • Broth: Just water is fine, too. It yields a little less flavorful gravy, so you may need to adjust the seasoning.
  • Brown sugar: Feel free to leave out the sugar, if you prefer.
  • Cornstarch: Please do use actual cornstarch, do not substitute regular flour.

How to cook chicken thighs in the instant pot

  • browned chicken thighs in instant pot
    brown chicken
  • browned and seasoned chicken thighs in instant pot on top of trivet
    season and place on trivet over broth
  • cooked chicken thighs in instant pot on top of trivet
    pressure cook
  • pressure cooked chicken thighs on white plate with gravy
    serve with thickened gravy

1. Brown chicken. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then brown in oil on the “sauté” setting.

2. Add broth. Remove thighs from the instant pot, then place the broth inside, scraping away any browned bits.

3. Place chicken on trivet and season. Place the trivet in the instant pot, then arrange the thighs on top. Evenly sprinkle the seasoning over the chicken.

4. Pressure cook. Pressure cook the chicken thighs for 10 minutes. Do a 5 minute natural release, then release any remaining pressure manually.

5. Finish gravy. Remove the chicken and trivet from the pot, then stir the cornstarch slurry into the juices. Set instant pot to “sauté” and simmer, stirring, for a few minutes until gravy has thickened. Serve over chicken.

Recipe tips

  • Season the chicken with just salt and pepper before browning it – the other seasoning must go on after browning! Otherwise, it will just fall off and burn at the bottom of the instant pot.
  • The chicken doesn’t need to cook through yet when you’re browning it, you just want to get some color on the outside (it improves the flavor of the chicken and the gravy).
  • I just use the standard trivet that came with my instant pot, no need to get fancy!
  • If you don’t want to bother with the gravy, feel free to leave out those final steps.
  • I make this recipe in my oldie 6-quart Instant Pot Duo. If you have a different model, your outcome may slightly vary. If you have a different size pressure cooker, please check your manufacturer’s minimum liquid requirement and make adjustments in case your appliance needs more than 1 cup of liquid.
close up photo of eight cooked chicken thighs in instant pot

Serving ideas

Here are some of our favorite side dishes, perfect to serve with your chicken and gravy:

Starchy sides

  • Mashed potatoes, egg noodles or rice are all delicious with the gravy!
  • If you like a piece of bread on the side with your dinner, these are my favorites to serve with a gravy-laden meal:
    • Homemade dinner rolls
    • Easy sourdough bread
    • No knead bread

Vegetable sides

  • Sautéed green beans (or air fried green beans)
  • Roasted asparagus (or air fryer asparagus)
  • Roasted broccoli (or air fryer broccoli)
  • Sautéed zucchini

Salad sides

  • Tomato cucumber avocado salad
  • Cherry tomato salad
  • Roasted beet salad
close up photo of instant pot chicken thighs and gravy on plate

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable Recipe Card
close up photo of eight cooked chicken thighs in instant pot
Save Recipe Saved!

Instant Pot Chicken Thighs

These Instant Pot Chicken Thighs are easy to make and turn out so juicy and flavorful. The juices make a wonderful gravy to serve with the chicken, too!
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
5 from 4 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 15 mins
Cook 10 mins
Extra Time 15 mins
Total 40 mins
Servings 8 servings
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

  • 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon ground paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon brown sugar optional
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch optional

Instructions
 

  • Season chicken with salt and pepper.
  • Heat instant pot on "sauté" setting. Add oil, then brown chicken for 3-4 minutes on both sides (it doesn't have to cook through yet). Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
  • Pour broth into pot, scratching any browned bits off the bottom. Insert metal trivet and set chicken on top. Close lid and set valve to "sealing".
  • Pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes, then do a 5 minute natural release (just switch off the instant pot and leave it alone). Manually release any remaining pressure, open lid and carefully remove chicken and trivet (hot!).
  • To thicken gravy, whisk cornstarch into 2 tablespoons cool water. Stir into juices in instant pot, then bring to a simmer using "sauté" setting. Stir and simmer 2-3 minutes, until thickened. Serve gravy over chicken.
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Notes

Ingredient notes

  • Chicken thighs: I used skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. I find they stay the juiciest. But feel free to use boneless, skinless thighs instead – just reduce the pressure cooking time to 8 minutes.
  • Frozen chicken: You can cook chicken thighs from frozen in the instant pot. Do not brown the chicken, just place the broth and trivet in the instant pot, then place the frozen chicken on the trivet. Sprinkle with the seasoning, then seal the lid. Pressure cook on high pressure for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of chicken thighs (and how tightly they are frozen together).
  • Broth: Just water is fine, too. It yields a little less flavorful gravy, so you may need to adjust the seasoning.
  • Brown sugar: Feel free to leave out the sugar, if you prefer.
  • Cornstarch: Please do use actual cornstarch, do not substitute regular flour.

Recipe tips

  • Season the chicken with just salt and pepper before browning it – the other seasoning must go on after browning! Otherwise, it will just fall off and burn at the bottom of the instant pot.
  • The chicken doesn’t need to cook through yet when you’re browning it, you just want to get some color on the outside (it improves the flavor of the chicken and the gravy).
  • I just use the standard trivet that came with my instant pot, no need to get fancy!
  • If you don’t want to bother with the gravy, feel free to leave out those final steps.
  • I make this recipe in my oldie 6-quart Instant Pot Duo. If you have a different model, your outcome may slightly vary. If you have a different size pressure cooker, please check your manufacturer’s minimum liquid requirement and make adjustments in case your appliance needs more than 1 cup of liquid.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 236kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 16gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 473mgPotassium: 236mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 201IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

More chicken thigh recipes

  • Instant Pot Lemon Chicken
  • Instant Pot Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Thighs
  • Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
  • Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
  • Instant Pot Bacon Ranch Chicken and Potatoes
  • Chicken and Asparagus Sheet Pan Dinner
  • Balsamic Glazed Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
  • Mushroom Orzo and Chicken Skillet

More easy instant pot recipes

  • Instant Pot Sour Cream Pork Chops
  • Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
  • Instant Pot Pot Roast
  • Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken and Rice

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

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Comments

  1. Olivia says

    July 13, 2022 at 12:40 am

    5 stars
    I can finally make a good chicken dish! I always steer clear of chicken because it’s so easy to overcook it and it ends up rubbery or dry. The gravy was a hit and my family asked me to make this again soon. I’m beyond happy that I can add it to my rotation because who doesn’t enjoy finding a delicious recipe. Thank you so much for sharing and the steps are super straightforward.

    Reply
    • Nora says

      July 23, 2022 at 11:00 am

      I’m so glad, Olivia!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

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