Chicken thighs with or without bone, with or without skin, fresh or frozen – get the times needed to cook chicken thighs of any type in the Instant Pot. This is a great technique for when chicken thighs are on sale and you’re doing meal prep for the week.
Thanks to a little slurry of flour and hot chicken broth or water, the gravy that comes with these chicken thighs is luxuriously smooth and full of chicken flavor. We think it's the best thing you can do with those magical chicken fat drippings!
Living the gluten-free lifestyle? Sub out the 2 tablespoons flour for 1 tablespoon cornstarch and you'll have perfect gravy in no time.
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!
Here are the cooking times for chicken thighs in the Instant Pot:
Bone-in skin-on thighs are great. You’ll be setting the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 12 minutes with about 6-8 thighs in there. Note that you should remove the skin before serving. It will be limp.
Bone-in skinless thighs are also going to go for 12 minutes for 8 thighs.
Boneless skinless thighs only need 10 minutes for 8-10 thighs.
Frozen thighs of any kind: Freeze them individually, not in a big clump. Do everything as instructed but use your frozen thighs. For 8 frozen thighs of any type, go with 14 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
INGREDIENTS
6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
2 tsp. freshly chopped thyme
1 tsp. paprika
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 c. water or chicken broth
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
INSTRUCTIONS
Season chicken all over with chopped thyme Season chicken all over with chopped thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper. Set Instant Pot to Sauté setting.
Add oil to pot and add thighs skin-side down Add oil to pot and add thighs skin-side down. Cook, in batches if needed, until golden and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes, then flip and cook 3 minutes more. Remove chicken from pot.
Add garlic to pot and cook until fragrant Add garlic to pot and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add water or chicken broth and thyme sprigs, and use a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
Fit Instant Pot with trivet Fit Instant Pot with trivet and place thighs skin side up. Secure lid and press the manual setting. Cook on high for 12 minutes and then naturally release pressure.
Carefully remove thighs Carefully remove thighs and trivet. Place back on Sauté mode. Whisk 3 tablespoons of the hot broth (or water) into flour until smooth, then pour back into pot. Bring up to a simmer and cook until gravy has thickened slightly, about 7 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Yes, you can definitely stack chicken in the Instant Pot. The only thing you'll need to be wary of is to make sure each piece is seasoned well before you stack them on top of one another. Otherwise, you may have unevenly seasoned chicken.
How do you steam chicken thighs in an instant pot?
Put the chicken thighs on top of the trivet. Close the Instant Pot lid and turn the steam release valve to the sealing position. Press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 5 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will begin counting down.
What is poultry mode on instant pot?
Poultry. Make your favorite chicken recipes with the “Poultry” button with the Instant Pot. It will default to a High Pressure for 15 minutes. You can adjust for “More” to High Pressure for 30 minutes or “Less” for High Pressure for 5 minutes.
How many chicken thighs are in a pound?
Chicken thighs can range in size, but for typical grocery store brands, figure that four bone-in, skin-on thighs will weigh about 1 ½ pounds. But each of those thighs will yield about 2 ½ to 3 ounces of meat (the rest of the weight is skin and bone). I generally figure on two thighs per person.
